Keitai is considered to have ruled the country during the early 6th century, but there is a paucity of information about him. There is insufficient material available for further verification and study. Significant differences exist in the records of the
Kojiki and the
Nihon Shoki. The
Kojiki puts this emperor's birth year at 485; and his date of death is said to have been April 9, 527. In the extant account, he is called . The
Nihon Shoki gives his birth year at 450; and he is said to have died on February 7, 531 or 534. Keitai's contemporary title would not have been
tennō, as most historians believe this title was not introduced until the reigns of
Emperor Tenmu and
Empress Jitō. Rather, it was presumably , meaning "the great king who rules all under heaven". Alternatively, Keitai might have been referred to as or the "Great King of Yamato".
Genealogy Keitai was not the son of the immediate previous monarch. According to the
Kojiki and
Nihon Shoki, Buretsu died without a successor, at which time a fifth generation grandson of
Emperor Ōjin, Keitai, came and ascended the throne. If Emperor Keitai began a new dynasty as some historians believe, then
Emperor Buretsu would have been the last monarch of the first recorded dynasty of Japan. According to the
Kojiki and
Nihon Shoki, his father was and his mother was . When Buretsu died,
Kanamura recommended Keitai (at the age of 58) as a possible heir to the
Chrysanthemum Throne. His mother, Furihime, was a seventh generation descendant of
Emperor Suinin by his son, Prince Iwatsukuwake. His father was a fourth generation descendant of
Emperor Ōjin by his son, Prince Wakanuke no Futamata. Genealogy information is supplemented in
Shaku Nihongi which quotes from the now lost text
Jōgūki (7th century). It says he was a son of Ushi no Ōkimi (believed to be equivalent to Hikoushi no Ōkimi), a grandson of Ohi no Ōkimi, a great-grandson of Ohohoto no Ōkimi (brother to
Emperor Ingyō's consort), a great-great-grandson of Prince Wakanuke no Futamata, and a great-great-great-grandson of Emperor Ōjin. The genealogical trees of the
Nihon Shoki have been lost, and the accuracy of its account of events remains unknown. This uncertainty raises arguable doubts about this emperor's genealogy. Although genealogical information in the
Shaku Nihongi leaves room for discussion, many scholars acknowledge the blood relationship with the Okinaga clan, a powerful local ruling family or the collateral line of the Imperial family-governed Ōmi region (a part of present-day Shiga Prefecture). This family produced many empresses and consorts throughout history. According to the
Nihon Shoki, Ohohoto no Ōkimi, the great-grandfather of Emperor Keitai, married into the Okinaga clan. Keitai's mother, Furihime, was from a local ruling family in Koshi (
Echizen Province), so his mother brought him to her home after his father's death. Abundant traditions relating to the family have been passed down by shrines and old-established families in both regions. Regardless of speculation about Keitai's genealogy, it is well settled that there was an extended period of disputes over the succession which developed after Keitai's death. A confrontation arose between adherents of two branches of the Yamato, pitting the supporters of sons who would become known as
Emperor Ankan and
Emperor Senka against those who were backers of the son who would become known as
Emperor Kinmei. ==Keitai's reign==