was the 110th

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

(''Kunaichō'')
後光明天皇 (110)
/ref> according to the traditional

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Nanboku-chō

Emperor Kōmyō (January 11, 1322 – July 26, 1380) was the second of the Emperors of Northern Court, although he was the first to be supported by the Ashikaga Bakufu. According to pre-Meiji scholars, his reign spanned the years from 1336 through 1348. Genea ...

and ''go-'' (後), translates as ''later'', and thus, he could be called the "Later Emperor Kōmyō". The Japanese word ''go'' has also been translated to mean ''the second one'', and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Kōmyō, the second", or as Kōmyō II".

Genealogy

Before Go-Kōmyō's accession to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions, ...

, his personal name (his ''

imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, in that order. Nevertheless, when a Japanese name is written in the Roman alphabet, ever since the Meiji era, the official policy has been to cater to Western expecta ...

'') was ; and his pre-accession title was .Titsingh
p. 412.
/ref> He was the fourth son of

Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and was the first emperor to reign entirely during the Edo period. This 17th-century sovereign was n ...

. His mother was Fujiwara no Mitsuko, the daughter of the

Minister of the Left The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the ini ...

(''

Sadaijin The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the ini ...

''); but he was raised as if he were the son of Tōfuku-mon'in. His predecessor,

Empress Meishō was the 109th monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')明正天皇 (108)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 115. Her reign lasted from 1629 ...

, was his elder paternal half-sister. Go-Kōmyō's Imperial family lived with him in the Dairi of the

Heian Palace The was the original imperial palace of (present-day Kyoto), the capital of Japan, from 794 to 1227. The palace, which served as the imperial residence and the administrative centre for most of the Heian period (from 794 to 1185), was located a ...

. His family included only one daughter and no son:Ponsonby-Fane, p. 116. *Lady-in-waiting ( ''Naishi-no-Suke'') : Niwata Hideko (d. 1685; 庭田秀子), Niwata Shigehide's daughter **First daughter: Imperial Princess Takako (1650–1725; 孝子内親王) later Empress Dowager Reiseimon’in (礼成門院)

Events of Go-Kōmyō's life

Tsuguhito-shinnō was granted the title of

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

; and the following year, he became Emperor when

abdicated. His sister stepped down from the throne and the succession (''senso'') was received by the new monarch. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Kōmyō is considered to have acceded to the throne (''sokui'').Titsingh
p. 412
Varley, p. 44; n.b., a distinct act of ''senso'' is unrecognized prior to

Emperor Tenji , also known as Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')天智天皇 (38)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 5 ...

; and all sovereigns except

Jitō were medieval territory stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates. Appointed by the ''shōgun'', ''jitō'' managed manors including national holdings governed by the provincial governor ( kokushi). There were also d ...

, Yōzei,

Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; an ...

, and Fushimi have ''senso'' and ''sokui'' in the same year until the reign of

Emperor Go-Murakami (1328 – March 29, 1368) was the 97th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and a member of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period of rival courts. He reigned from September 18, 1339, until March 29, 13 ...

. The events during his lifetime shed light on his reign. The years of Go-Kōmyō's reign correspond with a period in which

Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

and

Tokugawa Ietsuna was the fourth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan who was in office from 1651 to 1680. He is considered the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, which makes him the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. E ...

were leaders at the pinnacle of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. * April 20, 1633: The birth of an Imperial prince who will become known by the posthumous name of Go-Kōmyō''-tennō''.Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999)
''Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit,'' p. 186.
/ref> * 1641 (''

Kan'ei was a after ''Genna'' and before ''Shōhō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644. The reigning emperors and empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./ref> Chang ...

19''): Prince Tsuguhito was named heir; and he was given the title of Crown Prince. * 1643 (''Kan'ei 20, 29th day of the 9th month''): The empress ceded her throne to her brother by abdicating; and the succession (''senso'') was received by his younger brother. * November 14, 1643 (''Kan'ei 20, 3rd day of the 10th month''): Go-Kōmyō accepted the title; and he is said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui''). He was age 11.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 115. His reign is considered to have begun. * 1645 (''

Shōhō was a after ''Kan'ei'' and before ''Keian''. This period spanned the years from December 1644 through February 1648. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 412./ref> Change of era * 1644 : The ...

2, 23rd day of the 4th month''): The ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' was elevated to the rank of ''

sadaijin The ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the ini ...

''. * 1649 (''

Keian : ''For the Zen Buddhist monk, see Keian Genju (1427–1508).'' was a after ''Shoho, Shōhō'' and before ''Jōō (Edo period), Jōō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1648 through September 1652. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, ...

2, 20th day of the 2nd month''): There was a major earthquake in Edo. * 1651 (''Keian 4''): Tokugawa Ietsuna was proclaimed ''shōgun''. * 1652 (''Keian 5, 5th month''): ''

Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the ''American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...

'' is first published in Kyoto under the patronage of the

tairō ''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing ''rōjū'' council in the event of an e ...

Sakai Tadakatsu was a Sengoku period Japanese samurai, and early Edo period ''daimyō'' and served in several important positions within the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. Papinot, Edmund. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' Sakai. pp. 50–51 Biography Ta ...

, lord of the

Obama Domain The was a '' Fudai'' feudal domain of the Edo period of Japan. It is located in Wakasa Province, in the Hokuriku region of the island Honshū. The domain was centered at Obama Castle, located in the center of what is now the city of Obama in ...

Wakasa Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the southwestern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Wakasa''" in . Wakasa bordered on Echizen, Ōmi, Tanba, Tango, and Yamash ...

. * 1653 ('' Jōō 2, 12th day of the 8th month''): A violent fire destroyed a large part of the imperial palace and many temples which were nearby. Shortly thereafter, several girls, aged 12–14 years, were imprisoned for arson involving this fire as well as other fires in Kyoto. * 1654 (''Jōō 3, 6th day of the 7th month''):

Ingen Ingen Ryūki () (December 7, 1592 – May 19, 1673) was a Chinese poet, calligrapher, and monk of Linji Chan Buddhism from China.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ingen" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ' ...

, a Buddhist priest who would eventually become very influential, arrived at

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

from China. His intention was to reform the practice of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

in Japan. * October 30, 1654 (''Jōō 3, 20th day of the 9th month''): The emperor died. He was buried at

Sennyū-ji , formerly written as , is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. For centuries, Sennyū-ji has been a mausoleum for noble families and members of the Imperial House of Japan. Located within the temple grounds are the official tom ...

on the 15th day of the 10th month. There is a probability that the emperor died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Go-Kōmyō is among those enshrined in the imperial mausoleum, ''

Tsuki no wa no misasagi is the name of a mausoleum in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto used by successive generations of the Japanese Imperial Family. The tomb is situated in Sennyū-ji, a Buddhist temple founded in the early Heian period, which was the hereditary temple or of the ...

,'' at Sennyū-ji in

Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. History It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku. During the years 1931 to 1976 it also covered the area of present-day Yamashina-ku, which ...

. Also enshrined are Go-Kōmyō's immediate predecessors,

and

. Go-Kōmyō's immediate Imperial successors are also memorialized in this ''misasagi'', including Go-Sai, Reigen, Higashiyama, Nakamikado, Sakuramachi, Momozono,

Go-Sakuramachi was the 117th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 後桜町天皇 (120)/ref>Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 120. She was named after h ...

and Go-Momozono.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' p. 423.

Kugyō

is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

in pre- Meiji eras. Even during those years in which the court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Go-Kōmyō's reign, this apex of the ''

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

'' included: * '' Sesshō'',

Nijō Yasumichi , son of Kujō Yukiie and Toyotomi Sadako. He was also adopted son of Nijō Akizane, was a Japanese ''kugyō'' (court noble) of the early Edo period. He held a regent position sesshō from 1635 to 1647. He married a daughter of Emperor Go-Yōzei, a ...

, 1635–1647 * ''Sesshō'',

Kujō Michifusa , son of regent Yukiie, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position sesshō in 1647. He married a daughter of second head of Echizen Domain Matsudaira Tadanao. One of the couple's daughter ...

, 1647 * ''Sesshō'', Ichijō Akiyoshi, 1647 * '' Kampaku'', Ichijō Akiyoshi, 1647–1651 * ''Kampaku'',

Konoe Hisatsugu , son of regent Nobuhiro, was a '' kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1651 to 1653. His mother was not recorded. His sister was the consort of Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the daimyō ...

, 1651–1653 * ''Kampaku'',

Nijō Mitsuhira , son of Nijō Yasumichi, was a Japanese ''kugyō'' (court noble) of the early Edo period. He held regent positions kampaku from 1653 to 1663 and sesshō from 1663 to 1664. Nijō Tsunahira was his adopted son. With Imperial Fifth Princess Yoshiko ...

, 1653–1663 * ''

'' * ''

Udaijin was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''udaijin'' in the context of a central administr ...

'' * ''

Naidaijin The , literally meaning "Inner Minister", was an ancient office in the Japanese imperial court, Japanese Imperial Court. Its role, rank and authority varied throughout the pre-Meiji period, Meiji period of Japanese history, but in general remain ...

'' * ''

Dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

Eras of Go-Kōmyō's reign

The years of Go-Kōmyō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

or ''

nengō The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

''. * ''

'' (1624–1644) * ''

'' (1644–1648) * ''

'' (1648–1652) * '' Jōō'' (1652–1655)

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999)
''Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867''.
Münster: LIT Verlag.
OCLC 42041594
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan''.
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''.
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''.
New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842

Genealogy

Events of Go-Kōmyō's life

Kugyō

Eras of Go-Kōmyō's reign

Ancestry

Notes

References

See also