Empress Genmei

Empress Genmei (660–721), Japan's fourth reigning empress, was a daughter of Emperor Tenji, consort of Crown Prince Kusakabe and mother of Emperor Monmu. When Monmu died in 707 she took the throne in trust for her young grandson Shōmu.

Copper deposits found in Musashi in 707 gave the Wadō era its name in 708, when a mint was established. In 710 she founded the new capital Heijō-kyō, now Nara, opening the Nara period; under her the Kojiki was completed in 712 and the provincial Fudoki gazetteers begun in 713. She abdicated in 715 for her daughter Empress Genshō and died in 721.