Who Is Emperor Keiko (Keiko Tenno)?
The twelfth emperor, father of Yamato Takeru
Otarashihiko-Oshirowake-no-Sumeramikoto
Emperor Keiko is the figure the Kojiki names as the twelfth emperor of Japan and the father of Yamato Takeru (Prince Ousu). He ruled from the Hishiro Palace at Makimuku.
When his elder son Ousu (Oousu) stopped coming to meals, the emperor told Prince Ousu to "instruct him kindly" — and Prince Ousu killed his brother. Fearing his son's violent nature, the emperor sent him west to destroy the Kumaso Takeru brothers. When the son returned, the emperor gave him no rest and immediately sent him to the eastern lands as well. Yamato Takeru lamented to his aunt, "Does my father wish me dead?"
The Kojiki records that Emperor Keiko had eighty children in all, counting those whose names were recorded and those whose names were not.
Episodes featuring this character3
NEWEpisode 8
Japan's Greatest Hero, Disguised as a GirlYamato Takeru and the Kumaso Brothers
Kojiki Book II, Episode 8. Prince Ousu carries out his father's order to the letter—and the terrified Emperor Keiko sends him off to the far west. Disguised as a girl in his aunt's robe, the boy slips into the Kumaso Takeru brothers' feast. The name his dying enemy gives him: Yamato Takeru.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 9
The Sword I Gave My Friend Was WoodYamato Takeru and Izumo Takeru
On his way home from the west, Ousu (Yamato Takeru) befriends the hero of Izumo, then kills him with a hollow wooden sword. Back in the capital, his father sends him straight off to conquer the east. In front of his aunt, the boy cries for the first time, and she gives him a real sword and a tightly tied pouch.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 13
Home Was Just Over the MountainsThe Death of Yamato Takeru
Gravely ill, Yamato Takeru reaches the plain of Nobono. There he sings a farewell song to his homeland, Yamato, and entrusts his father's cord to his son before he dies. He then becomes a great white bird and flies away, and his family chases it across paddies, bamboo stubble, sea and rocky shore, singing as they go. This is the final chapter of Book II.
19 pages