Emperor Shijō

(March 17, 1231 – February 10, 1242) was the 87th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years 1232 through 1242. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du Japon," pp. 242245; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki." p. 227.]

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his "iminia")was nihongo| Mitsuhito"-shinnō" |秀仁親王, [Varley, p. 227.] also known as Tosihito"-shinnō". [Titsingh, pp. 241-242.]

He was the first son of Emperor Go-Horikawa. [Titsingh, p. 242; Varley, p. 227.]

He had no children, due to his youth at the time of his death.

Events of Shijō's life

He reigned from October 26, 1232 to February 10, 1242.

* "Jōei 1", in the 11th month ((貞永元年 1232): In the 11th year of Emperor Go-Horikawa's reign (後堀河天皇11年), he abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by a his oldest son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Shijō is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’). [Titsingh, p. 241-242; Varley, p. 44. [A distinct act of "senso" is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have "senso" and "sokui" in the same year until the reign of Go-Murakami.] ]

In 1242 he died of an accident.

The Emperor being very young, and the Retired Emperor Go-Horikawa dying just two years later, the actual governing was done by his maternal relatives Kujō Michiie and Saionji Kintsune.

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. 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 Shijō's reign, this apex of the "Daijō-kan included:
* "Sadaijin"
* "Udaijin"
* "Nadaijin"
* "Dainagon"

Eras of Shijō's reign

The years of Shijō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or "nengō". [Titsingh, p. 242.]
* "Jōei" (1232-1234)
* "Tenpuku" (1233-1234)
* "Bunryaku" (1234-1235)
* "Katei" (1235-1238)
* "Ryakunin" (1238-1239)
* "En'ō" (1239-1240)
* "Ninji" (1240-1243)

References

* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652] , "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)]
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359] , "Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley)." New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4