Prince Shiki

Prince Shiki (c. 668–716) was the seventh son of Emperor Tenji and an imperial prince of the late Asuka period. In 679 he joined the princes at Yoshino in swearing unity before Emperor Tenmu, the Yoshino Covenant.

Keeping clear of succession struggles, he devoted himself to waka poetry, and an elegy on his death is preserved in the Man'yōshū. He rose to the second imperial rank and died in 716. When his sixth son, Prince Shirakabe, ascended as Emperor Kōnin in 770, Shiki was posthumously honored as Emperor Kasuga.