Emperor Nijō

Nijō
Emperor of Japan
Nijō, Tenshi Sekkan Miei
Reign	1158–1165
Born	July 31, 1143
Died	September 5, 1165 (aged 22)
Buried	Kōryū-ji no Misasagi (Kyoto)
Predecessor	Go-Shirakawa
Successor	Rokujō
Consort	Fujiwara no Ikushi

Emperor Nijō (二条天皇 Nijō-tennō) (July 31, 1143 – September 5, 1165) was the 78th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spaned the years from 1158 through 1165.^[1]

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)^[2] was Morihito-shinnō (守仁親王).^[3]

He was the eldest son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa. He was the father of Emperor Rokujō.

• Fujiwara Masuko (1140–1201): wife of Emperor Nijo (and earlier, she had also been the wife of Emperor Konoe). Later, she was called Grand Empress Dowager Omiya.^[4]

Events of Nijō's life

Nijō was proclaimed as heir to Emperor Go-Shirakawa.

• Hōgen 1, 2nd day of the 7th month (1156): Cloistered Emperor Toba-in died at age 54.^[5]
• Hōgen 1, 10th-29th days of the 7th month (1156): The Hōgen Rebellion,^[6] also known as the Hōgen Insurrection or the Hōgen War.
• Hōgen 4, on the 11th day of the 8th month (1158): In the 3rd year of Go-Sirakawa-tennō's reign (後白河天皇25年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his eldest son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Nijō is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).^[7]

After Nijō was formally enthroned, the management of all affairs continued to rest entirely in the hands of the retired emperor, Go-Shirakawa.^[8]

• Heiji 1, 9th-26th day of the 12th month (1159): The Heiji Rebellion,^[6] also known as the Heiji Insurrection or the Heiji War.

• Chōkan 2, on the 26th day of the 8th month (1164):The former-Emperor Sutoku died at the age of 46.^[9]

• Eiman 1 (1165): The infant son of Emperor Nijō was named heir apparent (and this Crown Prince will soon become Emperor Rokujō.^[6]
• Eiman 1, on the 25th day of the 6th month (1165): In the 7th year of Nijō-tennō's reign (桓武天皇7年), the emperor fell so very ill that he abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Rokujō is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).^[10]
• Eiman 1, 27th-28th day of the 7th month (1165): The former- Emperor Nijō died at age 22.^[11]

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.

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 Nijō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

• Kampaku, Konoe Motozane, 1143–1166.^[12]
• Sadaijin, Konoe Motozane.^[12]
• Udaijin
• Nadaijin
• Dainagon

Eras of Nijō's reign

The years of Nijō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.^[13]

• Hōgen (1156–1159)
• Heiji (1159–1160)
• Eiryaku (1160–1161)
• Ōhō (1161–1163)
• Chōkan (1163–1165)
• Eiman (1165–1166)

See also

• Emperor of Japan
• List of Emperors of Japan
• Imperial cult
• Emperor Go-Nijō

Notes

Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom

1. ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp.191-194; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp.327-329; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 208-212.
2. ^ Brown, pp. 264; n.b., up until the time of Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their imina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
3. ^ Titsingh, p. 191; Brown, p. 327; Varley, p. 209.
4. ^ Kitagawa, Hiroshi. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p. 298
5. ^ Brown, p. 321; Kitagawa, H. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p.783.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Kitagawa, p. 783.
7. ^ Titsingh, p. 191; Brown, p. 327; Varley, p. 44, 209; n.b., a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns exceptJitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
8. ^ Titsingh, p. 191.
9. ^ Brown, p. 328.
10. ^ Titsingh, p. 194; Brown, p. 329; Varley, p. 44.
11. ^ Brown, p. 328; Kitagawa, p.783.
12. ^ ^{a b} Brown, p. 327.
13. ^ Titsingh, pp. 190-194; Brown, p. 328.

References

• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. 10-ISBN 0-520-03460-0; 13-ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0; OCLC 251325323
• Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Burce T. Tsuchida, ed. (1975). The Tale of the Heike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. ISBN 0-86008-128-1 OCLC 164803926
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai 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). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. 10-ISBN 0-231-04940-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842

Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor Go-Shirakawa	Emperor of Japan: Nijō 1158–1165	Succeeded by Emperor Rokujō

Persondata
Name	Nijo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 31, 1143
Place of birth
Date of death	September 5, 1165
Place of death