Sushun's Assassination and a Broken Throne

Emperor Sushun was killed in 592. The Nihon Shoki attributes the order to Soga no Umako, a powerful court minister, and names Yamato no Aya no Koma as the killer. Umako had helped place Sushun on the throne after the defeat of Mononobe no Moriya in 587. The alliance that supported the sovereign had become a source of danger to him.

The chronicle describes conflict between Sushun and Umako, but it was compiled more than a century later. Its attribution of responsibility provides the principal account; the private intentions of everyone involved are less securely recoverable. The concrete outcome was the removal of a reigning sovereign while Umako retained his position.

Nukatabe, known after accession as Empress Suiko, succeeded Sushun. She was a daughter of Emperor Kinmei, the widow of Emperor Bidatsu and closely related to the Soga. These connections gave her royal standing within the same political world in which Umako held power.

Her accession continued the monarchy after the killing. It also left the court dependent on cooperation between a sovereign and influential royal and ministerial figures. The reign began with a violent succession, before the later image of Suiko’s court as the setting for Prince Shōtoku’s reforms.