The Establishment of the Title of Japanese Monarch “Tenno(天皇)” and Its International Momentum

In this paper, I reviewed the timing and process of the establishment of the ‘Tenno(天皇)’, the title of the monarch of the ancient Wa(Japan), and examined that there was a sense of competition for ancient Korea in the background of the establishment of the ‘Tenno’. I analyzed the establishment of the 'Tenno' title based on the perspective of seeing the emergence of names and the establishment of institutional public titles separately, and suggested the transition process of “<Ohokimi(大王)> → <Ohokimi-Tenno(大王天皇)> → <Tenno>”. The ‘Tenno’ of “Ohokimi-Tenno” is a social honorific name, and it was found to show that it was still used with the existing ‘Ohokimi’ title before it was established as an institutional title (established in the late 7th century). In addition, several examples suggesting the possibility of use as such a social honorific name were presented as data for evidence. This change in the title of monarch referred to the status of monarchs of the three ancient countries of Korea at the time. Although the Japanese Empire had a superior sense of power over Korea in the 7th century, it was not accepted by the other party, so real diplomatic relations appeared as a form of mutual equality. I identified this aspect as a crack between the ideals and reality of ancient Japanese diplomacy and examined it through examples of Japanese diplomatic rituals.