(July 10, 1418 – January 18, 1471) was the 102nd

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.

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'')
後花園天皇 (102)
retrieved 2013-8-28. His reign spanned the years from 1428 through 1464. This 15th-century sovereign was named after the 14th-century Emperor Hanazono and ''go-'' (後) translates as "later", and thus, he could be called the "Later Emperor Hanazono", or in some older sources, may be identified as "Hanazono, the second" or as "Hanazono II".

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (''imina'') was simply .Titsingh, p. 331. He was the eldest son of Imperial Prince Fushimi-no-miya Sadafusa (伏見宮貞成親王) (1372–1456). His mother was Sachiko (幸子) (1390–1448), daughter of Niwata Tsuneari (庭田経有). His father was the 3rd of the Fushimi-no-miya line and grandson of the Northern Pretender Emperor Sukō, making Go-Hanazono the great-grandson of Sukō and 3rd cousin to his predecessor,

Emperor Shōkō was the 101st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')称光天皇 (101) retrieved 2013-8-28. His reign spanned the years from 1412 through 1428. Genealogy His personal name wa ...

. He was also the great-great-great grandson of

Emperor Go-Fushimi was the 93rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1298 to 1301. This 13th-century sovereign was named after his father, Emperor Fushimi and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as ...

. This is the second most remote relationship between an emperor and his successor after that between Emperor Go-Komatsu (both the sixth Northern Pretender and the 100th in the main line) and his predecessor in the official line, Emperor Go-Kameyama, who was his fourth cousin twice removed.

Issue

*Consort: Ōinomikado (Fujiwara) Nobuko (大炊御門（藤原）信子; 1411-1488) later Karakumon-in (嘉楽門院), Fujiwara Takanaga’s daughter **First daughter: Princess Kanshin (1434–1490; 観心女王) **First son: Imperial Prince Fusahito (成仁親王) later Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado *Lady-in-waiting: Hino (Fujiwara) Kyoko (日野（藤原）郷子), Hino Hidemitsu’s daughter **daughter: Princess Shinjoji (真乗寺宮; d.1482) *Lady-in-waiting: Sanjo (Fujiwara) Fuyuko (三条 (藤原）冬子; 1441–1489), Sanjo Sanekazu’s daughter *unknown **Daughter: Princess Shogon (d.1464)

Events of Go-Hanazono's life

Because the previous emperor,

had no son, retired Emperor Go-Komatsu needed to secure the Jimyōin inheritance against the Daikakuji line, before

died, he adopted a son out of the Fushimi-no-miya house, who became Emperor Go-Hanazono after Shōkō's death. * 1428 ('' Shōchō 1, 20th day of the 7th month''): In the 17th year of Shōkō''-tennō''s reign (称光天皇十七年), the emperor died at age 27; and the succession (''senso'') was received by his adopted son. * ''Shōchō 1'', on the 29th day of the 7th month (1428): Emperor Go-Hanazono is said to have acceded to the throne (''sokui''). The new emperor is age 10. * 1429 ('' Eikyō 1, 9th day of the 3rd month''): Minamoto-no Yoshinobu is honored in court; and thereafter, he is known as Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshinori. * 1433 (''Eikyō 5, 6th month''): The Emperor of China, at that time the Xuande Emperor, addressed a letter to Yoshinori in which he gave the Shōgun the title, "King of Japan." * 1441 ('' Kakitsu 1, 24th day of the 6th month''): Shōgun Yoshinori is murdered at age 48 by Akamatsu Mitsusuke; and shortly thereafter, his 8-year-old son, Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, is proclaimed as the new Shogun. * 1441 (''Kakitsu 1, 9th month''): The assassins of Yoshinori kill themselves. * 1442 (''Kakitsu 3, 21 day of the 7th month''): Shōgun Yoshikatsu died at the age of 10. He enjoyed riding horses; but he was gravely injured in a fall from a horse, and died as a result. He was shōgun for only three years. His 8-year-old brother, Yoshinari, was then named shogun. * 1443 (''Kakitsu 3, 23rd day of the 9th month'').: An armed group of rebels penetrated the palace defenses. A fire was started and one of the men sought to kill Go-Hanazono, but the emperor escaped. However, the intruders managed to steal the Three Sacred Treasures: the mirror, the sword and the jewel. Later, a guard found the mirror and a priest found the sword, but the location of the jewel was not known until the 8th month of the starting year of the '' Bun'an-era'' (1444). * 1451 (''Hōtoku 3, 7th month ''): A delegation from the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

arrives for the first time in

Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, m ...

(

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

).Titsingh, ; Satow, Ernest. (1882) "Notes on Loochoo" in , citing Arai Hakuseki * 1451 (''Hōtoku 3, 8th month ''): Shōgun Yoshinari sent a letter to the Emperor of China, at that time, the Jingtai Emperor. * 1453 ('' Kyōtoku 2, 6th month''): The name of Shōgun Minamoto-no Yoshinari was changed to Ashikaga Yoshimasa. * 1458 ('' Chōroku 2, 8th month''): The Sacred Jewel is retrieved from the former Southern Court. It is returned to Miyako to join the other Sacred Treasures. * 1464 ('' Kanshō 5, 7th month''): Go-Hanazono resigned his throne in favor of his son, who would be known as Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado. Until former- Emperor Go-Komatsu died in 1433, Emperor Go-Hanazono held the title of formal head of the '' Daïri'', the real power in the court was wielded by his uncle, who continued a practice known as cloistered rule. After this, Go-Hanazono enjoyed 30 years of direct imperial rule, until his abdication on August 21, 1464, when the conventional pattern of indirect government by cloistered emperors was again resumed. * January 18, 1471 ('' Bunmei 3, 12th month''): Former Emperor Go-Hanazono died at age 52.Titsingh, P. 356.

Kugyō

''Kugyō'' (公卿) 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 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 ...

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-Hanazono'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: * '' Sadaijin'' * '' Udaijin'' * '' Naidaijin'' * ''

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-Hanazono's reign

The years of Go-Hanozono's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name 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 ...

''. Go-Hanazono's reign is almost unique because of its eight successive eras; and only the turbulent years of

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

's reign included as many eras. * '' Shōchō'' (1428–1429) * '' Eikyō'' (1429–1441) * '' Kakitsu'' (1441–1444) * '' Bun'an'' (1444–1449) * '' Hōtoku'' (1449–1452) * '' Kyōtoku'' (1452–1455) * '' Kōshō'' (1455–1457) * '' Chōroku'' (1457–1460) * '' Kanshō'' (1460–1466)

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

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 ...

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691