was a Japanese poet and the son of Emperor Tenmu.
Viewed as the emperor's likely heir, Imperial Prince à Âtsu began attending to matters of state in 683, but was demoted in 685 when the court rank system was revised. Soon after Emperor Tenmu's death, à Âtsu was accused of conspiracy and was swiftly executed in 686. The last days of his life are described in the Nihon Shoki and Man'yà Âshà «; his personality emerges through poetry anthologies including the Kaifà «sà Â.
His mother was Princess à Âta whose father was Emperor Tenji. He was therefore the younger full-blood brother of Princess à Âku. His consort was Princess Yamanobe, daughter of Emperor Tenji, thus his aunt.
A popular and highly capable figure, Prince à Âtsu was positioned as the likely successor to the imperial throne, but was executed after false charges were laid against him by Empress Jità  in order to promote her own son, Prince Kusakabe, to the position of crown prince. Kusakabe himself died suddenly in 689.
Two examples of his work are below, including the death poemâÂÂ
Poem sent by Prince à Âtsu to Lady Ishikawa
Gentle foothills, and<br> in the dew drops of the mountains<br> soaked, I waited for you âÂÂ<br> grew wet from standing there<br> in the dew drops of the mountains.
Farewell poem
Japanese poet and scholar Shinobu Orikuchi featured a fictionalised version of Prince à Âtsu in his novel Sisha no Sho (The Book of the Dead, also made into a film by Kihachirà  Kawamoto) as a restless ghost kept on Earth by the memory of a young woman whose gaze he connected with just prior to his death.