Soga Emishi

▪ Japanese feudal lord

died July 11, 645, Yamato, Japan

      a leader of the great Soga family of Japan, whose assumption of imperial prerogatives provoked a coup d'état that destroyed the power of the Soga house and marked the end of the Asuka period (552–645) of Japanese history.

      Under Emishi's father, Soga Umako, the Soga family had begun to dominate the imperial court. Umako had been content to remain unobtrusive in exercising power, but Emishi built a giant tomb for himself, gave a purple crown to his son Iruka, and assumed many of the privileges formerly reserved for the emperor. In 643 Iruka murdered Prince Yamashiro Ōe, the heir apparent to the throne, and it became obvious that he intended to usurp the imperial office. Two years later he was assassinated by the imperial prince Nakano Ōe (later the emperor Tenji) and Nakatomi Kamatari, head of the Nakatomi family.

      Emishi then gathered his followers in an attempt to destroy his rivals, but dissident members of the Soga family joined the conspiracy, and Emishi's forces were soon dispersed. Emishi committed suicide in his house after first setting it on fire. Many valuable papers were destroyed, including the only copies of the first history of Japan.

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