Empress Jitō (645-702, died at age 58) was the first emperor to be cremated. She was the third female emperor in the history of the Imperial family. Her father, Prince Nakano Oe, carried out the Taika Reforms. She established the foundations of Japanese politics by enacting the Ritsuryo Code, establishing the family registry, and building a proper capital. She moved the capital to Fujiwara-kyō, and the Taihō Code of 701 was Japan's first proper legal code. Her will states, "Persons should wear plain clothing and without any signs of mourning, civil and military officials should carry out their duties as usual, and funerals should be conducted with frugality." This was the first time in Japan that an imperial will calling for frugality was issued. She wished to simplify her own funeral to alleviate the hardships of the common people. She was the first emperor to be cremated at Asuka Hill, and her ashes were placed in a silver urn and interred together with Emperor Tenmu at the Hinokuma-Ōuchi Mausoleum. The tomb of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō is the joint burial site of a married couple. The mound is currently 58 meters east to west, 45 meters north to south, and approximately 9 meters high. Ancient burial sites were constructed with the assumption that they would eventually become forests. Over time, plants took root, trees grew, and the area resembled a small forest.
During the Heian period, even emperors and upper-class aristocrats did not have the custom of visiting graves. Buddhist ceremonies for the deceased were held at family temples or the homes of surviving family members. For this reason, the tombs of such aristocrats were generally left to fall into disrepair after the bodies and remains were interred.
In his diary, Meigetsuki, written by Fujiwara no Teika, a great poet of the imperial era and judge of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, there is a record of the theft of remains from the tombs of Emperor Tenmu and Jitō. According to the records, a grave robbery occurred in 1235, during which grave goods and the silver urn containing Empress Jitō's remains were stolen. The robbers were caught two or three months later, but since their original target was the silver urn itself, they abandoned the remains by the roadside.
Fujiwara no Teika, the recorder, also seemed completely unconcerned about the remains not being searched for. Even after the authorities learned of the emperor's remains being abandoned by the roadside, it seems surprising that they were not. The remains of the first cremated emperor in Japan were dumped by the roadside, and remain there to this day. This suggests that there was little attachment to the deceased's body or remains, especially in the Kinki region, which was a political, economic, and cultural center. This reminds us once again that attitudes toward remains vary greatly over time. |
