, Tajimaru (多治丸) in his childhood, was a ''

kugyō is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre- Meiji eras. The term generally referred to the and court officials and denoted a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank un ...

'' or Japanese court noble of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

(1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1690 to 1703.

Early life

He was a son of regent

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 ...

and a concubine. Motohiro was not considered a legitimate member at first, but his father Hisatsugu and his wife, Princess Shoshi, a daughter 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 ...

, had no child and Hisatsu died in Motohiro's childhood. Thus by an imperial order from Go-Mizunoo, Motohiro was installed in the Konoe lineage, and grew up under imperial protection. In 1654 he performed his

genpuku is a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony which dates back to Japan's classical Nara Period (710–794 AD). /sup> This ceremony marked the transition from child to adult status and the assumption of adult responsibilities. The age of participat ...

ceremony and entered adulthood and therefore courtier life. In 1664 he married Princess Joshi, another daughter of Emperor Go-Mizunoo and his consort. With her he had a son, Iehiro, and a daughter, Hiroko, who was a consort of

Tokugawa Ienobu (June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemi ...

, the 6th ''

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 ...

'' of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Family

Parents *Father:

(近衛尚嗣, 1622 – 1653) *Mother: Lady Yorin-in (瑤林院), a court lady Consorts and issues: *Wife: Imperial Princess Tsuneko (常子内親王; 8 April 1642 – 17 September 1702), daughter of

**Konoe Hiroko (30 April 1666 – 13 April 1741), Wife of

, first daughter **

Konoe Iehiro , son of regent Motohiro, was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1707 to 1709 and from 1709 to 1712. Family Parents *Father: Konoe Motohiro (近衛基熈, 28 April 16 ...

(近衛家熈, 24 July 1667 – 5 November 1736), first son **Ōinomika Nobuname (大炊御門信名, 26 Mai 1669 – 20 November 1684), second son *Unknown concubine **Konoe Kanmori (近衛寛守, 1713 –1730), third son **Konoe Shūsi (近衞脩子), Wife of Prince

Kan'in-no-miya The was the youngest of the four shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out. It was founded by Prince Naohito, the son of Emperor ...

Naohito (閑院宮直仁親王),sixth son of

Emperor Higashiyama was the 113th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 東山天皇 (113)/ref> Higashiyama's reign spanned the years from 1687 through to his abdication in 1709 corresponding to ...

second daughter

Political career

After his entrance to the court, he served three emperors:

Emperor Reigen was the 112th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 霊元天皇 (112)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', pp. 117. Reigen's reign spanned t ...

and

. Go-Mizunoo was his protector since his childhood, so his early career was prospective along with his noble lineage. But Emperor Reigen did not get along with 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 ...

, and considered Motohiro sympathetic to the Shogunate, hence his career in Reigen's court was not as splendid.

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...

, the shogun at that time, was not warm to Ienobu at all, one of the candidates for his successor, hence also Motohiro, as the father-in-law of Ienobu. In Higashiyama's court, Motohiro however gained power again. He served as kampaku, the most powerful courtier from 1690 to 1703. After he quit, he had his supporters, including his own son, succeed the kampaku position respectively, and kept his influence. In 1704 the Tokugawa shogunate designated Ienobu, Motohiro's son-in-law, the successor of Tsunayoshi, hence the future shogun. His relation to the shogunate was therefore strengthened. Motohiro visited

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

twice, and was even welcomed to give political opinions, however it made the terms between ex-Emperor Reigen and him worse. Emperor Reigen even cursed him at

Shimogamo Shrine is an important Shinto sanctuary in the Shimogamo district of Kyoto city's Sakyō ward. Its formal name is . It is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and is one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which have been designate ...

, and accused him of being a "bad subject who privatizes and bends laws and justice" (私曲邪佞の悪臣) in his cursing prayer. However Motohiro was not always a supporter of Shogunate politics, and publicly objected to the Shogunate over some of their pressure on the imperial court. In 1722 he became a monk and was named Yuzan (悠山). He died in this year and was buried at

Daitoku-ji is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" ('' sangō'') by which it is known is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex today covers more ...

. He wrote a diary from 1655 until his death, later titled ''Diary of Lord Motohiro'' (基熈公記).

References

* 1648 births 1722 deaths Fujiwara clan Konoe family {{japan-noble-stub