Prince Shioyaki

Prince Shioyaki was a son of Prince Niitabe and a grandson of Emperor Tenmu. He married Princess Fuwa, a daughter of Emperor Shōmu. Court service brought both promotion and punishment: he helped organize Shōmu's journeys, but in 742 he and female attendants were imprisoned before his exile to Mishima in Izu. He was permitted to return in 745 and regained his former rank in 746. In 756, he served in arrangements for Shōmu's tomb. [S01, S02]

When his brother Prince Funado lost the crown-prince designation in 757, Fujiwara no Toyonari and Fujiwara no Nagate proposed Shioyaki as successor. Empress Kōken rejected him, citing Shōmu's earlier rebuke. He was also implicated in the Tachibana no Naramaro affair that year but spared further exile. Scholarly dictionaries differ on whether he joined its deliberations or was a proposed successor. He subsequently received the surname Hikami no Mahito and continued in government. In 759, his petition to grant certain lower-generation royal descendants seasonal stipends regardless of attendance was put into effect. [S01, S03]

Shioyaki rose to middle counsellor and held ministerial posts. In 764, Fujiwara no Nakamaro's armed rebellion placed him forward as ima no mikado, “the present emperor.” The challenge failed, and Shioyaki was executed with Nakamaro. This claim to sovereignty should be distinguished from an accepted imperial succession. His recorded career includes a policy petition and years of official service, as well as two unsuccessful occasions when others proposed or proclaimed him as ruler. [S01, S03]