was the 114th

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the 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 position is derived from "the ...

, 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. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')
中御門天皇 (114)
/ref>Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 118. Nakamikado's birth name was Yoshihito before he became enthroned as Emperor in 1709, a reign that would last until 1735 with his

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

and retirement.Titsingh, Issac. (1834)
''Annales des empereurs du japon'', pp. 416–417.
/ref> As Emperor, Nakamikado had an increasingly warmed relationship with the shogunate in part due to his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

's efforts. Relations warmed up to the point of family marriage talks but these fell through due to the sudden death of the potential

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 Kamak ...

groom. Events that surrounded the Emperor included at least 2 major earthquakes, the largest Ryukyuan diplomatic mission of the Edo period, the

Kyōhō Reforms The were an array of economic and cultural policies introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate between 1722–1730 during the Edo period to improve its political and social status. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa ''shōgun'' of Ja ...

, and the

Kyōhō famine The Kyōhō famine (享保の大飢饉, Kyōhō no daikikin), was a famine on the Japanese island of Kyushu during the reign of Emperor Nakamikado in the Edo period. It is estimated that 12,172-169,000 people died from starvation. The famine, name ...

. It is unclear what role if any the Emperor had in these concurrent events as the role of "Emperor" was a

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

at the time. Nakamikado's family included at least 14 children mothered by his wife, and 5 concubines. Nakamikado abdicated the throne in 1735 in favor of his first son, and died two years later.

Events of Nakamikado's life

Early life

Before Nakamikado's ascension 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 (''

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 . Yasuhito was born on January 14, 1702, and was the fifth 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 ...

, while his birth mother was a lady-in-waiting named Kushige Yoshiko. Due to tradition he was brought up as if he were the son of the Empress consort ( Arisugawa no Yukiko). Yasuhito'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 ...

. The early years of Yasuhito's life were marked with disasters and incidents that included two major earthquakes, and a revenge plot involving leaderless

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

to avenge their fallen master. The two major earthquakes that took place were in 1703, and then again in 1707. The first of these is the

1703 Genroku earthquake The occurred at 02:00 local time on December 31 (17:00 December 30 UTC). The epicenter was near Edo, the forerunner of present-day Tokyo, in the southern part of the Kantō region, Japan. An estimated 2,300 people were killed by the shaking and ...

, which caused parts of the shōgun's castle to collapse in Edo. The city was consumed by a large fire that swept through the city on the following day.Hammer, Joshua. (2006)
''Yokohama Burning'', p. 63.
/ref>Titsingh
p. 415.
/ref> In response, the era's name was changed to

Hōei was a after Genroku and before Shōtoku''.'' This period spanned the years from March 1704 through April 1711. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1704 : In reaction to the Great Genroku earthquake in Genroku 16, the era name ...

(meaning "Prosperous Eternity") the following year in hopes of better fortune. The second earthquake (

1707 Hōei earthquake The struck south-central Japan at 14:00 local time on 28 October. It was the largest earthquake in Japanese history until it was surpassed by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. It caused moderate to severe damage throughout southwestern Honshu, Shi ...

), dealt serious damage and suffering to the city of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. Mt. Fuji also erupted that same year causing ash to fall on

Izu Izu may refer to: Places *Izu Province, a part of modern-day Shizuoka prefecture in Japan **Izu, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka prefecture **Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo **Izu Islands, located off the Izu Peninsula People with the surname

*, Japane ...

, Kai,

Sagami Sagami may refer to: * Sagami, an 11th-century ''waka'' poet *Sagami Province, an old province in Japan *Sagami River, a river in Kanagawa and Yamanashi *Sagami Bay, a bay south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū *Sagami Line, a railway roughly along ...

, and Musashi. In 1708, Yasuhito became Crown Prince and was given the pre-accession title of ''Masu-no-miya'' (長宮). On a particular note,

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 ...

appointed a commission to repair and restore Imperial mausoleums shortly before his death on February 19, 1709.

Reign

Prince Yoshihito acceded to the throne on July 27, 1709, as Emperor when his father abdicated in his favor. While he held the political title of ''Emperor'', it was

in name only ''In Name Only'' is a 1939 romantic film starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, and Kay Francis, directed by John Cromwell. It was based on the 1935 novel ''Memory of Love'' by Bessie Breuer. The fictional town where it is set, Bridgefield, Co ...

as the shoguns of the Tokugawa family controlled Japan. Due to his young age at the time, Imperial powers were exercised in his name by his now retired father

. On January 16, 1710, Higashiyama died, and the imperial powers were now exercised in Nakamikado's name by his also retired grandfather

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 ...

.Titsingh
p. 416
Meyer, p. 46. Events that took place during this transitional time included a Ryukyuan diplomatic mission, which lasted from July 7, 1710, to March 22, 1711. This particular mission was led by King Shō Eki of the

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in t ...

, and was received by the shogunate. While this mission did not concern the young prince, this was the largest delegation in 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 characte ...

at 168 people involved. Nakamikado was formally enthroned as Emperor in 1711, and the era's name was changed from

to Shōtoku. His reign would corresponded to the period from the sixth to the eighth ''shōgun''. During this period, relations 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 ...

were fairly good in part due to former

's warmed relationship with predecessors. Relations warmed to the point of marriage talks between Imperial Princess Yaso-no-miya Yoshiko (八十宮吉子内親王), daughter of Retired Emperor Reigen and the seventh shōgun,

Tokugawa Ietsugu Tokugawa Ietsugu; 徳川家継 (August 8, 1709 – June 19, 1716) was the seventh ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1713 until his death in 1716. He was the son of Tokugawa Ienobu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Tsun ...

. These plans later became moot with the sudden death of Ietsugu at the age of six in Edo. On April 20, 1715, celebrations were held throughout the empire regarding the 100th anniversary of the death of the founding shōgun

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

(posthumously known as Gongen-sama). After Ietsugu's death in 1716,

Tokugawa Yoshimune was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lineage Yoshimu ...

became the next shogun. He implemented the ''Kyōhō'' reforms the following year which eventually resulted in partial success. While the Emperor had no say in these reforms, Yoshimune had the Imperial mausolea repaired in 1718.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). ''Kyoto: the Old Capital, 794–1869,'' p. 320. The next several years of Nakamikado's reign saw the implementation of the shogun's reforms, by 1730 the shogunate officially recognized the Dojima Rice Market in Osaka; and government supervisors (''nengyoji'') are appointed to monitor the market and to collect taxes. The transactions relating to rice exchanges developed into securities exchanges, used primarily for transactions in public securities. This development of improved agriculture production caused the price of rice to fall in mid-''Kyohō''. Intervening factors like famine, floods and other disasters though exacerbated some of the conditions which the shōgun intended to ameliorate. On August 3, 1730, a great fire broke out in Muromachi, 3,790 houses were burnt, and over 30,000 looms in Nishi-jin were destroyed. The

started in 1732 and lasted into 1733, due to swarms of locust that devastated crops in agricultural communities around the inland sea.

Daijō Tennō

Emperor Nakamikado abdicated on April 13, 1735, in favor of his son Teruhito, who became

Emperor Sakuramachi was the 115th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桜町天皇 (115)/ref>Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 119. Sakuramachi's birth name ...

. Nakamikado took on the title of

Daijō Tennō is a title for an Emperor of Japan who abdicates the Chrysanthemum Throne in favour of a successor. As defined in the Taihō Code, although retired, a ''Daijō Tennō'' could still exert power. The first such example is the Empress Jitō in ...

(Retired Emperor), and the era's name was changed to '' Genbun'' (meaning "Original civility") to mark the occasion. Even though he was retired, Nakamikado continued to exercise Imperial powers in the same way his predecessors had done.Titsingh
p. 417.
/ref> While the Emperor had no say, a major milestone occurred in Japanese monetary history when the shogunate published an edict in 1736 regarding

coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Neologism, coinage of a new word * '' COINage'', numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Protologism ''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary ...

. This edict declared that henceforth, authorized coinage in the empire would be those copper coins which were marked on the obverse with the character 文 ('' Genbun'', also pronounced ''bun'' in Japanese).Titsingh
p. 418.
/ref> The practice of placing the name of the era on coinage continues to present day with . Nakamikado died in 1737 due to unknown causes, his ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' is enshrined in an Imperial mausoleum (''misasagi''), ''

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 th ...

,'' 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 ...

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 in this location are his immediate Imperial predecessors since

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 ...

– Meishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Reigen, and Higashiyama. Nakamikado's immediate Imperial successors, including Sakuramachi, Momozono, Go-Sakuramachi and Go-Momozono, are enshrined here as well.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 423.

Eras and Kugyō

The years of Nakamikado'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 of ...

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 ...

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

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. The following eras occurred during Nakamikado's reign: * ''

'' (1704–1711) * '' Shōtoku'' (1711–1716) * '' Kyōhō'' (1716–1736) During Nakamikado'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 J ...

included: * '' Kampaku'',

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 ...

* '' Sadaijin'' * ''

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 administ ...

'' * ''

Naidaijin The , literally meaning "Inner Minister", was an ancient office in the Japanese Imperial Court. Its role, rank and authority varied throughout the pre- Meiji period of Japanese history, but in general remained as a significant post under the Tai ...

'' * ''

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 ...

Genealogy

Nakamikado's family included at least 14 children who were born from his wife and 5 concubines:

Spouse

Concubines

Issue

Ancestry

Notes

References

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OCLC 4376900
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Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

.
OCLC 489633115
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OCLC 39537893
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Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

.
OCLC 314513300
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''Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867.''
Münster: LIT Verlag.
OCLC 42041594
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956). ''Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869.'' Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. * __________. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan.'' Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* Screech, Timon. (2006)
''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822.''
London: RoutledgeCurzon.
OCLC 65177072
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). '' Nihon Ōdai Ichiran''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
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New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842