Emperor Buretsu

Emperor Buretsu (武烈天皇 Buretsu Tennō) (c.489-507) was the 25th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He is a son of Emperor Ninken and his mother is Kasuga no Ōiratsume no Kōgō (春日大郎皇后). His name was Ohatsuse no Wakasazaki no Mikoto(小泊瀬稚鷦鷯尊).

No firm dates can be assigned to this emperor or to his reign, but he is believed to have ruled the country during the late 5th century CE. According to various records including Kojiki and Nihonshoki, he was born on 489 and died on January 7, 507 and is believed to have ruled from 498 to 507.

He is described as a strongly wicked emperor in Nihonshoki likened to Di Xin of the Shang Dynasty but the record in Kojiki has no such indication. There are several theories on this difference. Some believe that this was to justify and praise his successor Emperor Keitai who took over under questionable circumstances. In history textbooks available before and during World War II, part of Buretsu's record was intentionally omitted.

If Emperor Keitai began a new dynasty as some historians believe, then Buretsu is the last emperor of the first recorded dynasty of Japan.