Legendary Narrative
Seimu is regarded by historians as a "legendary emperor" and there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study. The name Seimu Tennō was assigned to him posthumously by later generations.
If Seimu did exist, there is no evidence to suggest that the title tennō was used during the time period to which his reign has been assigned. It is much more likely that he was a chieftain, or local clan leader, and the polity he ruled would have only encompassed a small portion of modern day Japan.
His father was Emperor Keikō and his mother was Yasaka no Iri Bime no Mikoto, a granddaughter of Emperor Sujin and a first cousin of his father.
The actual site of Seimu's grave is not known. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Nara.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Seimu's mausoleum. It is formally named Saki no Tatanami no misasagi.
Seimu's tomb can be visited today at Misasagi-cho, Nara City.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Seimu
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