List of emperors of Japan

<a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a> has been ruled by <a href="/facts/Emperor_of_Japan/efBDe6cj">emperors</a> since <a href="/facts/Ancient_Japan/XYqQMJCQ">antiquity</a>. The sequence, order and dates of the early emperors are almost entirely based on the 8th-century <a href="/facts/Nihon_Shoki/5pClhB9u">Nihon Shoki</a>, which was meant to retroactively legitimise the <a href="/facts/Imperial_House_of_Japan/XVfvd9gL">Imperial House</a> by dating its foundation further back to the year 660 <a href="/facts/Anno_Domini/NmQwnQNj">BC</a>. <a href="/facts/Emperor_Kinmei/DakeUcEC">Emperor Kinmei</a> (r. 539–571) is often considered the first historical emperor, but the first Japanese ruler supported by historical evidence is actually <a href="/facts/Emperor_Y%25C5%25ABryaku/mRJmuUN4">Emperor Yūryaku</a> (r. 456–479), who is mentioned in the 5th-century <a href="/facts/Inariyama_Sword/sv2JAK4W">Inariyama</a> and <a href="/facts/Eta_Funayama_Sword/nkv0MQX6">Eta Funayama</a> Swords. According to Chinese sources, the unification of Japan took place between the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
The terms <a href="/facts/Tenn%25C5%258D/efBDe6cj">Tennō</a> ('Emperor', 天皇), as well as <a href="/facts/Nihon/U5mz0SRT">Nihon</a> ('Japan', 日本), were not adopted until the late 7th century AD. In the <a href="/facts/Japanese_era_name/rzgRT7NF">nengō</a> system which has been in use since the late 7th century, years are numbered using the <a href="/facts/Japanese_era_name/rzgRT7NF">Japanese era name</a> and the number of years which have elapsed since the start of that nengō era.

List of emperors of Japan open-in-new

List of emperors of Japan