Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇, Saga tennō) (786–842) was the 52nd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He was the second son of Emperor Kammu, and younger brother of Emperor Heizei, his predecessor. He ruled from 809 to 823. Events September 14 - Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi, and appoints Salim Yunisi as the Abbasid governor of Sindh and the Indus Valley A council is organized in Constantinople, but disturbed by soldiers Beatus of Liébana, Spanish monk, publishes his... Events Oaths of Strasbourg — alliance of Louis the German and Charles the Bald against emperor Lothar — sworn and recorded in vernacular languages. ... His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito. ... Emperor Kanmu Emperor Kanmu ) (737–806) was the 50th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... Emperor Heizei (平城天皇 Heizei Tennō) (774-824) was the 51st imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... Events Saga succeeds Heizei as emperor of Japan. ... Events Crete is conquered from the Byzantines by the Saracens. ...

Saga was a scholar of the Chinese classics and, according to legend, the first Japanese emperor to drink tea. He was renowned as a skillful calligrapher. Saga succeeded to the throne after the retirement of Heizei due to illness, and soon after his enthronement was himself ill. This gave Heizei an opportunity to foment a rebellion, which Saga put down in a bloody civil war. Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ...

Saga was a supporter of the Buddhist monk Kukai and helped him to establish the Shingon School of Buddhism by granting him the Toji temple in the capital Heian-kyō (present day Kyoto). A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found in Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... Painting of Kukai (774-835). ... Shingon (真言宗) is a major school of Japanese Buddhism, and the most important school of Vajrayana Buddhism outside of the Himalayan region. ... Five-story pagoda of Toji Toji (東寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in Kyoto, Japan. ... Kyōto ) (lit. ...