Tennō in the context of "List of emperors of Japan"

Japan has been ruled by emperors since antiquity. The sequence, order and dates of the early emperors are almost entirely based on the 8th-century Nihon Shoki, which was meant to retroactively legitimise the Imperial House by dating its foundation further back to the year 660 BC. Emperor Kinmei (r. 539–571) is often considered the first historical emperor, but the first Japanese ruler supported by historical evidence is actually Emperor Yūryaku (r. 456–479), who is mentioned in the 5th-century Inariyama and Eta Funayama Swords. According to Chinese sources, the unification of Japan took place between the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

The terms Tennō ('Emperor', 天皇), as well as Nihon ('Japan', 日本), were not adopted until the late 7th century AD. In the nengō system which has been in use since the late 7th century, years are numbered using the Japanese era name and the number of years which have elapsed since the start of that nengō era.

Emperor Montoku (文徳天皇, Montoku-tennō) (August 827 – 7 October 858) was the 55th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Montoku's reign lasted from 850 to 858.

Emperor Seiwa (清和天皇, Seiwa-tennō; May 10, 850 – January 7, 881) was the 56th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.

Josei Tennō (女性天皇) is a Japanese term referring to an empress regnant. Tennō is the title for the emperor; the addition of the term josei (女性, woman) distinguishes that the emperor is a woman. It is distinct from the title Kōgō, which refers to an empress consort.

Emperor Go-Sanjō (後三条天皇, Go-Sanjō-tennō; September 3, 1034 – June 15, 1073) was the 71st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His given name was Takahito (尊仁).

Go-Sanjō's reign spanned the years from 1068 through 1073.

Emperor Shirakawa (白河天皇, Shirakawa-tennō; 7 July 1053 – 24 July 1129) was the 72nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Shirakawa's reign lasted from 1073 to 1087.

Emperor Go-Yōzei (後陽成天皇, Go-Yōzei-tennō; Japanese pronunciation: [ɡo̞jo̞ːze̞ː tẽ̞nːo̞ː]) December 31, 1571 – September 25, 1617 was the 107th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Yōzei's reign spanned the years 1586 through to his abdication in 1611, corresponding to the transition between the Azuchi–Momoyama period and the Edo period.

This 16th-century sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Yōzei, and go- (後), translates as later, and thus, he could be called the "Later Emperor Yōzei". The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the second one, and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Yōzei, the second", or as "Yōzei II".

Empress Suiko (推古天皇, Suiko-tennō) (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, and the country's first and longest-reigning empress regnant, according to the traditional order of succession.

Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628.

Empress Genshō (元正天皇, Genshō-tennō; 680 – May 22, 748) was the 44th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Her reign spanned the years 715 through 724.

Genshō was the fifth of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant, and the only one in the history of Japan to have inherited her title from another empress regnant rather than from a male predecessor. The four female monarchs before Genshō were Suiko, Kōgyoku, Jitō and Genmei; the three reigning after her were Kōken, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi.