, posthumously honored as , was the 119th

emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

, according to the traditional

order of succession An order, line 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 The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

(''Kunaichō'')
光格天皇 (119)
/ref> Kōkaku reigned from 1779 until his

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

in 1817 in favor of his son,

Emperor Ninkō Ayahito (16 March 1800 – 21 February 1846), posthumously honored as Emperor Ninkō, was the 120th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 仁孝天皇 (120)/ref> Ninkō's rei ...

. After his

, he ruled as also known as a until his death in 1840. The next emperor to abdicate was

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

, 202 years later. Major events in Kōkaku's life included an ongoing famine that affected Japan early into his rule. The response he gave during the time was welcomed by the people, and helped to undermine the shōgun's authority. The Kansei Reforms came afterwards as a way for the shōgun to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in the mid-18th century but was met with partial success. A member of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

, Kōkaku is the founder of the dynastic imperial branch which currently sits on the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

. Kōkaku had one spouse during his lifetime, and six

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

s who gave birth to 16 children. Only one son, Prince Ayahito, survived into adulthood and eventually became the next emperor. Genealogically, Kōkaku is the lineal ancestor of all the succeeding emperors up to the current emperor,

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

Events of Kōkaku's life

Early life

Before Kōkaku'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 (''

imina in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

'') was . He was the sixth son of Sukehito, Prince Kan'in, the second Prince Kan'in of the

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 Empero ...

imperial collateral branch. As a younger son of a cadet branch, the Kan'in house, it was originally expected that Morohito would go into the priesthood at the Shugoin Temple. The situation changed in 1779 in the form of a problem as Emperor Go-Momozono was dying without an heir to the throne. In order to avoid a dynastic interregnum, the now-retired empress Go-Sakuramachi and the emperor's chief adviser encouraged Go-Momozono to hastily adopt Prince Morohito. The adopted prince was the Emperor's second cousin once removed in the biological male line. Go-Momozono died on 16 December 1779, and a year later Morohito acceded to the throne at age nine.

Reign

During his reign, Kōkaku attempted to re-assert some of the Imperial authority over the

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

(or bakufu). He undertook this by first implementing a relief program during the Great Tenmei famine, which not only highlighted the ineffectiveness of the bakufu in looking after its subjects, but also focused the subjects' attention back to the Imperial household. He also took an active interest in foreign affairs; keeping himself informed about the border dispute with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

to the north, as well as keeping himself abreast of knowledge regarding foreign currency, both Chinese and European. The new era name of ''Tenmei'' ("Dawn") was created to mark the enthronement of new Emperor. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in ''An'ei'' 11, on the 2nd day of the 4th month. In his first year of reign, Kōkaku was instrumental in reviving old ceremonies involving the old Imperial Court, as well as those performed at the Iwashimizu and Kamono shrines. An analysis of silver currency in China and Japan ''"Sin sen sen pou (Sin tchuan phou)"'' was presented to the Emperor in 1782 by Kutsuki Masatsuna (1750–1802), also known as Kutsuki Oki-no kami Minamoto-no Masatsuna, hereditary ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

s'' of Oki and Ōmi with holdings in Tanba and

Fukuchiyama file:Fukuchiyama City Hall.jpg, Fukuchiyama City Hall file:福知山駅プラットフォームより View toward northeast from platform of Fukuchiyama station 2011.1.10 - panoramio.jpg, Fukuchiyama city center is a Cities of Japan, city in north ...

.Titsingh, p. 420. Masatsuna published ''Seiyō senpu'' (''Notes on Western Coinage'') five years later, with plates showing European and colonial currency. Countrywide currency reforms later came after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

when a new system was adopted around the

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Th ...

. In 1786, former Empress Go-Sakuramachi engaged Go-Momozono's only child ( Princess Yoshiko) to the new emperor. Yoshiko formally became Empress consort to Emperor Kōkaku at age 15. The Emperor and his court were forced to flee from a fire that consumed the city of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

in 1788, the Imperial Palace was destroyed as a result. No other re-construction was permitted until a new palace was completed. The Dutch '' VOC'' ''

Opperhoofd is a Dutch word (plural ) that literally translates to "upper-head", meaning "supreme headman". The Danish cognate , which is a calque derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch or Low German word, is also treated here. The standard Ge ...

'' in

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

noted in his official record book that "people are considering it to be a great and extraordinary heavenly portent." The new era name of Kansei (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-minded Government") was created in 1789 to mark a number of calamities including the devastating fire at the Imperial Palace. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in Tenmei 9, on the 25th day of the 1st month. During the same year, the emperor came into dispute with the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

about his intention to give the title of Abdicated Emperor ('' Daijō Tennō'', 太上天皇) to his father, Prince Sukehito. This dispute was later called the "''Songo'' incident" (the "respectful title incident"), and was resolved when the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

gave his father the honorary title of "Retired Emperor". Two more eras would follow during Kōkaku's reign, on 5 February 1801 a new era name (Kyōwa) was created because of the belief that the 58th year of every cycle of the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...

brings great changes. Three years later the new era name of Bunka (meaning "Culture" or "Civilization") was created to mark the start of a new 60-year cycle of the Heavenly Stem and

Earthly Branch The Earthly Branches (also called the Terrestrial Branches or the 12-cycle) are a system of twelve ordered symbols used throughout East Asia. They are indigenous to China, and are themselves Chinese characters, corresponding to words with no co ...

system of the

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

which was on New Year's Day. During this year, Daigaku-no-kami Hayashi Jussai (1768–1841) explained the shogunate foreign policy to Emperor Kōkaku in Kyoto. The rest of Kōkaku's reign was quiet aside from two 6.6m earthquakes which struck

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

in the years 1810 and 1812.NOAA/Japan "Significant Earthquake Database"
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) The effects on the population from these earthquakes (if any) is unknown.

Kansei Reforms

The were a series of reactionary policy changes and edicts which were intended to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in mid-18th-century Tokugawa

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Kansei was a after '' Tenmei'' and before '' Kyōwa''. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1789 : The new era name of '' Kansei'' (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad- ...

refers to the ''

nengō The or , 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 "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

'' (or

Japanese era name The or , 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 "", meaning "origin, basis"), followed b ...

) that spanned the years from 1789 through 1801 (after "''

Tenmei is a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', literally "years name") for the years between the An'ei Era and before the Kansei Era, from April 1781 through January 1789. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1781 : The new era name of Ten ...

''" and before "'' Kyōwa''"); with the reforms occurring during the Kansei period but between the years 1787–1793. In the end, the shogunate's interventions were only partly successful. Intervening factors like famine, floods and other disasters exacerbated some of the conditions which the ''shōgun'' intended to ameliorate. Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759–1829) was named the ''shōgun''s chief councilor (''

rōjū The , usually translated as ''Elder (administrative title), Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a wh ...

'') in the summer of 1787; and early in the next year, he became the regent for the 11th ''shōgun'',

Tokugawa Ienari Tokugawa Ienari (, 18 November 1773 – 22 March 1841) was the eleventh and longest-serving ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan who held office from 1787 to 1837.Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991) ''Early Modern Japan'', p. 21./ref> ...

. As the chief administrative decision-maker in the bakufu hierarchy, he was in a position to effect radical change; and his initial actions represented an aggressive break with the recent past. Sadanobu's efforts were focused on strengthening the government by reversing many of the policies and practices which had become commonplace under the regime of the previous ''shōgun'',

Tokugawa Ieharu Tokugawa Ieharu 徳川家治 (20 June 1737 – 17 September 1786) was the tenth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1760 to 1786. His childhood name was Takechiyo (竹千代). Ieharu died in 1786 and given the ...

. Sadanobu increased the bakufu's rice reserves and required daimyos to do the same.Hane, M. (2018). ''Premodern Japan: A historical survey''. Routledge. He reduced expenditures in cities, set aside reserves for future famines, and encouraged peasants in cities to go back to the countryside. He tried to institute policies that promoted morality and frugality, such as prohibiting extravagant activities in the countryside and curbing unlicensed prostitution in the cities. Sadanobu also cancelled some debts owed by daimyos to the merchants. These reform policies could be interpreted as a reactionary response to the excesses of his rōjū predecessor, Tanuma Okitsugu (1719–1788). The result was that the Tanuma-initiated, liberalizing reforms within the ''bakufu'' and the relaxation of ''

sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all ...

'' (Japan's "closed-door" policy of strict control of foreign merchants) were reversed or blocked. Education policy was changed through the Kansei Edict (寛政異学の禁 ''kansei igaku no kin'') of 1790 which enforced teaching of the

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) i ...

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi ( zh, c=朱熹; ; October 18, 1130April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese philosopher, historian, politician, poet, and calligrapher of the Southern Song dynasty. As a leading figure in the development of Neo-Confuci ...

as the official Confucian philosophy of Japan. The decree banned certain publications and enjoined strict observance of Neo-Confucian doctrine, especially with regard to the curriculum of the official Hayashi school. A dispute had arose on the powers of the Emperor which saw the Bakufu and the Throne being at odds to each other. Sadanobu himself suspected strong sentiment against Edo from Kyoto. The Kansei reform movement was related to three others during the Edo period: the Kyōhō reforms (1722–1730), the Tenpō reforms (1841–1843) and the

Keiō reforms The were an array of new policies introduced in 1864 to 1867 by the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The reforms were created in reaction to the rising violence on the part of Satsuma domain as well as other domains. The initial steps taken during th ...

(1864–1867).

Abdication and death

In 1817, Kōkaku abdicated in favor of his son,

. In the two centuries before Kōkaku's reign most Emperors died young or were forced to abdicate. Kōkaku was the first Japanese monarch to remain on the throne past the age of 40 since the abdication of Emperor Ōgimachi in 1586. Until the

Emperor Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

in 2019, he was the last emperor to rule as a Jōkō (上皇), an emperor who abdicated in favor of a successor. Kōkaku travelled in procession to Sento Imperial Palace, a palace of an abdicated emperor. The Sento Palace at that time was called Sakura Machi Palace. It had been built by the Tokugawa shogunate for former-

Emperor Go-Mizunoo , posthumously honored as , was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and he was the first emperor to reign entirely d ...

. After Kōkaku's death in 1840, he was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum, , which is at Sennyū-ji in

Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto is one of the eleven Wards of Kyoto, wards in the Municipalities of Japan, city of Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. History It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Shimogyō-ku. During the years ...

. Also enshrined in '' Tsuki no wa no misasagi'', at Sennyū-ji are this emperor's immediate Imperial predecessors since

– Meishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Reigen, Higashiyama, Nakamikado, Sakuramachi, Momozono, Go-Sakuramachi and Go-Momozono. This mausoleum complex also includes ''misasagi'' for Kōkaku's immediate successors – Ninkō and Kōmei.

Empress Dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother; ) is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a monarch, especially in regards to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese monarchs in the Chines ...

Yoshikō is also entombed at this Imperial mausoleum complex.Ponsonby-Fane, pp. 333–334.

Eras and Kugyō

The following years of Kōkaku'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 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 rule, a t ...

or ''

''. * ''

An'ei was a after '' Meiwa'' and before ''Tenmei.'' This period spanned the years November 1772 through March 1781. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 1772 : The era name was changed to ''An'ei'' (meaning "peaceful eternity") to mark ...

'' (1772–1781) * ''

'' (1781–1789) * ''

'' (1789–1801) * '' Kyōwa'' (1801–1804) * '' Bunka'' (1804–1818) 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 Kōkaku'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'', Kujō Naozane, 1779–1785 * '' Kampaku'', Kujō Naozane, 1785–1787 * ''Kampaku'', Takatsukasa Sukehira, 1787–1791 * ''Kampaku'', Ichijō Teruyoshi, 1791–1795 * ''Kampaku'', Takatsukasa Masahiro, 1795–1814 * ''Kampaku'', Ichijō Tadayoshi, 1814–1823

Genealogy

Spouse

Yoshiko was the only child of former emperor Go-Momozono. She formally became Empress consort (''chūgū'') to Emperor Kōkaku at age 15 after she was engaged to the new emperor by former empress Go-Sakuramachi. The couple had two sons but both died before reaching adulthood. Yoshiko eventually functioned as an official mother to the heir who would become

.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1859). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 333. In 1816, Emperor Ninkō granted Empress Yoshiko the title of

after Emperor Kōkaku abdicated.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 334. She later became a

Buddhist nun Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

after her husband died, and changed her name to in 1841.

Concubines

Issue

Emperor Kōkaku fathered a total of 16 children (8 sons and 8 daughters) but only one of them survived into adulthood. The sole surviving child (Prince Ayahito) later became

when Kōkaku abdicated the throne.

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
* Screech, Timon. (2006)
''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822''.
London:

RoutledgeCurzon Routledge ( ) is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, a ...

.
OCLC 65177072
* Screech, Timon. (2000)
''Shogun's Painted Culture: Fear and Creativity in the Japanese States, 1760–1829''.
London: Reaktion. IBN 9781861890641
OCLC 42699671
* 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
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns''.
New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842

External links

* National Archives of Japan
''Sakuramachiden Gyokozu'', scroll depicting Emperor Kōkaku in formal procession, 1817 (''Bunka 14'').
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokaku Emperors of Japan 1771 births 1840 deaths Japanese emperors who abdicated

People of Edo-period Japan The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. In contrast, a ...

1780s in Japan 1790s in Japan 1800s in Japan 1810s in Japan 18th-century Japanese monarchs 19th-century Japanese monarchs