Background
Tennō Kōtoku was born on 22 Aoril 597 in Japan. His name was Imperial Prince Karu.
孝徳天皇
Tennō Kōtoku was born on 22 Aoril 597 in Japan. His name was Imperial Prince Karu.
In 645, after Imperial Prince Naka no Oe, Nakatomi no Kamatari, and others of their party had assassinated Soga no Iruka and wiped out the Soga family, Empress Kogyoku, who was the mother of Prince Naka no Oe and the reigning sovereign at the time, turned over the throne to Prince Kara, making him the thirty-seventh ruler.
As leader of the coup d’état against the Soga family, Prince Naka no Oc should by rights have succeeded to the throne, but it was decided to make Prince Kara, the empress’s younger brother, the ruler instead in order to avoid friction with the older and previously established elements within the government. As a result, the emperor in time became estranged from Prince Naka no Oe and the other members of his powerful group.