was the 107th

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.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 ...

in 1611, corresponding to the transition between the

Azuchi–Momoyama period The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600. After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobu ...

and 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 character ...

. This 16th-century sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Yōzei, and , translates as ''later'', and thus, he could be called the "Later Emperor Yōzei". The Japanese word ''go'' has also been translated to mean ''the second one'', and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Yōzei, the second", or as "Yōzei II".

Genealogy

Before Go-Yōzei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name ('' imina'') was or . He was the eldest son of , also known as Prince Sanehito and posthumously named Yōkwōin ''daijō-tennō'', who was the eldest son of

Emperor Ōgimachi was the 106th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from November 17, 1557, to his abdication on December 17, 1586, corresponding to the transition between the Sengoku period and the Azuchi–Momoyama per ...

. His mother was a lady-in-waiting. Go-Yōzei's Imperial family lived with him in the Dairi of the Heian Palace. The family included at least 35 children. Consort and issue(s): *Empress ( ''Nyōgo''): Fujiwara (Konoe) Sakiko (藤原近衛前子)(1575 –11 August 1630), later Chukamonin (中和門院), daughter of Konoe Sakihisa (近衛前久) **First Daughter: Princess Shōkō (聖興女王; 1590–1594) **Second Daughter: Princess Ryūtōin (龍登院宮; 1592–1600) **Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Seishi (清子内親王; 1593–1674), married Takatsukasa Nobuhisa **Fourth Daughter: Princess Bunkō (文高女王; 1595–1644) **Third Son: Imperial Prince Kotohito (政仁親王, 29 June 1596 – 11 September 1680), later Emperor Go-Mizunoo **Fifth Daughter: Princess Son'ei (尊英女王; 1598–1611) **Fourth Son: Konoe Nobuhiro (近衛信尋, 24 June 1599– 15 November 1649) **Seventh Son: Imperial Prince Takamatsu-no-miya Yoshihito (29 April 1603 – 14 July 1638; 高松宮好仁親王) **Ninth Son:

Ichijō Akiyoshi , son of Emperor Go-Yōzei and adopted son of regent Uchimoto, was a '' kugyō'' (court noble) of the Edo period (1603–1868) of Japan. He held the regent positions of kampaku in 1629 and from 1647 to 1651, and sesshō from 1629 to 1635 and i ...

(一条昭良, 12 June 1605 – 11 March 1672) **Sixth Daughter: Imperial Princess Teishi (貞子内親王; 1606–1675) married Nijō Yasumichi **Tenth Son: Imperial Prince Morochika (庶愛親王) later Imperial Prince Priest Sonkaku (1608–1661; 尊覚法親王) **Twelfth Daughter: Princess Son'ren (尊蓮女王; 1614–1627) *Consort ('' Hi''): Kiyohara (Furuichi) Taneko (清原古市胤子, 1583–1658), daughter of Furuichi Tanehide (古市胤栄) **Ninth Daughter: ''Princess Rei'un'in'' (冷雲院宮; 1611) **Eleventh Son: Imperial Prince Priest Dōkō (道晃法親王; 8 April 1612 – 5 August 1679) **Tenth Daughter: Princess Kūkain (空花院宮; 1613) *Consort ( ''Hi''): Daughter of Chūtō Tokohiro (中東時広, d. 1680) **Twelfth Son: Imperial Prince Priest Dōshū (道周法親王; 1613–1634) **Thirteenth Son: Imperial Prince Priest Ji'in (慈胤法親王; 1617–1699) *Lady-in-waiting ('' Naishi-no-Suke''): Fujiwara (Nakayama) Chikako (藤原中山親子; 1576–1608), daughter of Namayama Oyatsuna (中山親綱) **First Son: Imperial Prince Katahito (1588–1648; 良仁親王), later Imperial Prince Priest Kakushin **Second Son: Imperial Prince Priest Shōkai (承快法親王; 1591–1609) *Lady-in-waiting ('' Naishi-no-Suke''): Fujiwara (Hino) Teruko (藤原日野輝子, 1581–1607), daughter of Hino Terusuke (日野輝資) **Fifth Son: Imperial Prince Toshiatsu (1602–1651; 毎敦親王) later Imperial Prince Priest Sonsei (尊性法親王) *Lady-in-waiting ('' Naishi-no-Suke''): Fujiwara (Jimyōin) Motoko (藤原持明院基子; d. 1644), daughter of Jimyōin Motonori (持明院基孝) **Sixth Son: Imperial Prince Tsuneyoshi (常嘉親王), later Imperial Prince Priest Gyōnen (尭然法親王; 1602–1661) *Lady-in-waiting ( ''Naishi-no-Suke''): Minamoto (Niwata) Tomoko (源庭田具子; d. 1626), daughter of Niwata Shigetomo (庭田重具) **Eight Son: Imperial Prince Priest Ryōjun(良純法親王; 1603–1669) *Lady-in-waiting ('' Naishi-no-Suke''): Fujwara (Hamuro) Nobuko (藤原葉室宣子; d. 1679), daughter of Hamuro Yorinobu (葉室頼宣) **Eleventh Daughter: Princess Sonsei (尊清女王; 1613–1669) *Handmaid ('' Naishi-no-Jō''): Taira (Nishinotōin) Tokiko (平西洞院時子, d. 1661), daughter of Nishinotōin Tokiyoshi (西洞院時慶) **Seventh Daughter: Princess Eishū (永崇女王; 1609–1690) **Eighth Daughter: Princess Kō'un'in (高雲院宮; 1610–1612)

Events of Go-Yōzei's life

Prince Katahito became emperor when his grandfather abdicated. The succession (''senso'') was considered to have been received by the new monarch; and shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Yōzei is said to have acceded (''sokui''). A distinct act of ''senso'' was 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, 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. The events during his lifetime shed some light on his reign. The years of Go-Yōzei's reign correspond with the start of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

under the leadership of

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 fel ...

and

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

. On 31 December 1571, the Imperial prince who became known by the posthumous name of Go-Yōzei''-tennō'' was born. On 5 November 1586, Prince Katahito was given the title

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 wife ...

and heir and within a month ('' Tenshō 14, on the 7th day of the 11th month''), Ogimachi gave the reins of government to his grandson, who would become Emperor Go-Yōzei. There had been no such Imperial transition since Emperor Go-Hanazono abdicated in 1464 (''Kanshō'' 5). The dearth of abdications is attributable to the disturbed state of the country and because there was neither any dwelling for an ex-emperor nor excess funds in the treasury to support him. In 1586 (''Tenshō 14, in the 12th month''), a marriage with Lady Asahi, the youngest sister of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and '' daimyō'' ( feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the C ...

, and

, was arranged and the '' kampaku'', Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was nominated to be ''Daijō-daijin'' (Chancellor of the Realm). In 1588 (''Tenshō 16, 7th month''), Emperor Go-Yōzei and his father visit Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mansion in Kyoto. This was the first time that an emperor appeared in public since 1521. Hideyoshi led an army to the Kantō where he lay siege to Odawara Castle in 1588 (''Tenshō 18, 7th month''). When the fortress fell, Hōjō Ujimasa died and his brother, Hōjō Ujinao submitted to Hideyoshi's power, thus ending a period of serial internal warfare which had continued uninterrupted since the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. '' Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bu ...

(1467–1477). The ''Keichō'' expedition to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

was en route to invade China in 1592 (''

Keichō was a after '' Bunroku'' and before '' Genna''. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1596 : The era name was changed to ''Keichō'' to mark the passing of various natural disaste ...

1'').

, the ''Taikō'' died in his Fushimi Castle at the age of 63 on 18 September 1598 (''Keichō 3, on the 18th day of the 8th month''). The

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara ( Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

took place in 1600. On 21 October (''Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month''), the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful '' daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this cl ...

and its allies decisively vanquished all opposition. Two years later (''Keichō 8''), the Kyōto Daibutsu was destroyed by fire.

became ''

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 ...

'' on 24 March 1603 (''Keichō 8''), which effectively began what was later known as the Edo ''bakufu''. Toyotomi Hideyori was elevated to Naidaijin in the Imperial court. In 1605 (''Keichō 10, 15th day of the 12th month''), a new volcanic island, Hachijōko-jima, arose from the sea at the side of Hachijō Island (八丈島 Hachijō-jima) in the Izu Islands (伊豆諸島, Izu-shotō) which stretch south and east from the

Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The peninsu ...

. In 1606 (''Keichō 11''), construction began on Edo Castle and on Sunpu Castle the following year (''Keichō 12''). 1609 (''Keichō 14'') saw the Invasion of Ryukyu by

Shimazu Shimazu is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Esther Shimazu (born 1957), American/Hawaiian sculptor * Saeko Shimazu (born 1959), Japanese voice actress * Shimazu clan, ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han * Shimazu Hisami ...

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' of Satsuma. During the following year (''Keichō 15''), reconstruction of the Daibutsu hall in Kyōto began and Toyotomi Hideyori came to Kyoto to visit the former-Shogun

. On 20 May 1610 (''Keichō 15, the 27th day of the 3rd month''), the emperor announces his intention to resign in favor of his son Masahito. Go-Yōzei abdicated on 9 May 1611 and his son Prince Masahito received the succession (the ''senso''). Shortly thereafter,

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 ...

formally ascended to the throne (the ''sokui'').

Legacy

Go-Yōzei's reign corresponds to the rule of

and the beginning of the Edo ''Bakufu''. He was the sovereign who confirmed the legitimacy of their accession to power; and this period allowed the Imperial Family to recover a small portion of its diminished powers. This Emperor gave

the rank of ''Taikō'', originally a title given to the father of the emperor's chief advisor ('' Kampaku''), or a retired ''Kampaku'', which was essential to increase his status and effectively stabilize his power. When

was given the title of '' Sei-i Taishōgun'', the future of any anticipated

was by no means assured, nor was his relationship to the emperor at all settled. He gradually began to interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Court. The right to grant ranks of court nobility and change the era became a concern of the ''bakufu''. However, the Imperial Court's poverty during the Warring States Era seemed likely to become a thing of the past, as the ''bakufu'' provided steadily for its financial needs. Go-Yōzei did abdicate in favor of his third son; but he wanted to be succeeded by his younger brother, Imperial Prince Hachijō-no-miya Toshihito (八条宮智仁親王) (first of the Hachijō-no-miya line, later called Katsura-no-miya), who built the Katsura Imperial Villa. Go-Yōzei loved literature and art. He published the ''Kobun Kokyo'' and part of '' Nihon Shoki'' with movable type dedicated to the emperor by

. After abdication, Go-Yōzei lived for six years in the Sentō Imperial Palace; and thereafter, it became the usual place to which abdicated emperors would retire. The name of this palace and its gardens was ''Sentō-goshō''; and emperors who had abdicated were sometimes called ''Sentō-goshō''. Go-Yōzei died on 25 September 1617. The ''

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 ...

'' of Emperor Go-Yōzei is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial mausoleum (''misasagi'') called ''Fukakusa no kita no misasagi'' (深草北陵) in

Fushimi-ku, Kyoto is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Famous places in Fushimi include the Fushimi Inari Shrine, with thousands of torii lining the paths up and down a mountain; Fushimi Castle, originally built by Toyotomi ...

Kugyō

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. During Go-Yōzei'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 '' Kampaku'',

, (!585–1591), ''Kampaku'',

Toyotomi Hidetsugu was a daimyō during the Sengoku period of Japan. He was the nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier and ruler of Japan from 1590 to 1598. Despite being Hideyoshi's closest adult, male relative, Hidetsugu was accused of atrociti ...

(1591–1595), ''Kampaku'', Kujō Kanetaka, (1600–1604), ''Kampaku'', Konoe Nobutada (1605–1606), ''Kampaku'', Takatsukasa Nobufusa, (1606–1608), ''Kampaku'', Kujō Yukiie (1608–1612), '' Sadaijin'', '' Udaijin'', Konoe Nobuhiro,'' Naidaijin'', Toyotomi Hideyori (1603–?), and '' Dainagon''

Eras of Go-Yōzei's reign

The years of Go-Yōzei's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or '' nengō'': '' Tenshō'' (1573–1592), '' Bunroku'' (1592–1596), and ''

'' (1596–1615).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Go-Yozei Go-Yozei 1571 births 1617 deaths People of Azuchi–Momoyama-period Japan People of Edo-period Japan 1580s in Japan 1590s in Japan 1600s in Japan 1610s in Japan 16th-century Japanese monarchs 17th-century Japanese monarchs