Konoe Motohiro

, Tajimaru (多治丸) in his childhood, was a "kugyō" or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1690 to 1703.

Early life and family

He was a son of regent Konoe Hisatsugu and a concubine of his. Motohiro was not considered as a legitimate member at first, but his father Hisatsugu and his wife, Princess Shoshi, a daughter of Emperor Go-Mizunoo had no child and Hisatsu died in Motohiro's childhood. Thus by an imperial order from Go-Mizunoo, Motohiro was reinstalled in the Konoe lineage, and grown up under the imperial protection.

1654 he performed genpuku and entered adulthood and therefore courtier life. 1664 he got married with Princess Joshi, another daughter of Emperor Go-Mizunoo as his consort. With her he had a son Iehiro and a daughter Teruko who was a consort of Tokugawa Ienobu, the 6th shogun of Tokugawa shogunate.

Political career

After his entrance to the court, he served three emperors: Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Emperor Reigen and Emperor Higashiyama. Go-Mizunoo was his protector since his childhood so his early career was prospective along with his noble lineage. But Emperor Reigen who didn't come along with Tokugawa shogunate considered Motohiro as sympathetic to the Shogunate, hence his career in Reigen's court was not as splendid as before. In fact, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the shogun at that time was not warm to Ienobu at all, one of candidates of his successor, hence also Motohiro as the father-in-law of Ienobu.

In Higashiyama's court, Motohiro however got the power again. He served as kampaku, the most powerful courtier from 1690 to 1703. After he quited, he has his supporters including his own son succeed the kampaku position respectively, and kept his influence. In 1704 Tokugawa shogunate designated Ienobu, Motohiro's son-in-law as the successor of Tsunayoshi, hence the future shogun. His relation to the shogunate was therefore strengthened. Motohiro visited twice Edo, and even welcome to give political opinions, however it made the terms between ex-Emperor Reigen and him worse. Emperor Reigen even cursed him at Shimogamo Shrine, and accused him as "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 the Shogunate politics, and publicly objected the Shogunate at some of their pressure to the imperial court.

1722 he became a monk and named Yuzan (悠山). He died in this year and was buried at Daitoku-ji.

He wrote a diary from 1655 until his death, titled ater 『基熈公記』 ("Diary of Lord Motohiro").

References

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