- Emperor Horikawa
Emperor Horikawa (堀河天皇 "Horikawa-tennō") (
August 8 ,1079 –August 9 ,1107 ) was the 73rd emperor ofJapan , according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1087 through 1107. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du Japon," pp. 171-178; Brown, Delmer "et al." (1979). "Gukanshō," pp. 317-320; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki." p. 202.]Genealogy
Before his ascension to the
Chrysanthemum Throne , his personal name (his "imina") [Brown, pp. 264. [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.] ] was Taruhito"-shinnō" (善仁親王). [Varley, p. 202.] . He was also known as Yoshihito"-tennō". [Titsingh, p. 172; Brown, p. 317.]Horikawa was the son of
Emperor Shirakawa . His mother was Fujiwara no Kenshi (藤原賢子), adopted daughter of Fujiwara Morozane (藤原師実).
* 1099-1162 Imperial Princess ?? (悰子内親王)
* 1103-1156 Imperial Prince Munehito (宗仁親王) (Emperor Toba ) - note: raised by his father,Emperor Shirakawa after Munehito's mother's death
* 1103-1159 Kangyō (寛暁) - High Priest
* 1105-1162 Prince ?? (最雲法親王) - Buddhist Priest; head priest ofTendai sect
* Imperial Princess Kishi (喜子内親王)
* Imperial Princess ?? (懐子内親王)Empresses and consorts
* 1060-1114 Empress ("chūgū"): Imperial Princess ?? (篤子内親王) - fourth daughter of Emperor Go-Sanjō, and hence his aunt
* 1076-1103 Empress ("kōgō"): Fujiwara ?? (藤原苡子)
* ????-1126Lady-in-waiting :Minamoto ?? (源仁子) - Daughter of Prince ?? (康資王)
* ????-1129 Lady-in-waiting: Fujiwara ?? (藤原宗子), daughter of Fujiwara (藤原隆宗) - later wife of Fujiwara ?? (藤原家保)
* Daughter of Fujiwara ?? (藤原時経)Events of Horikawa's life
He became
Crown Prince and became emperor on the same day that his father abdicated. His reign was overshadowed by thecloistered rule of former emperorEmperor Shirakawa .* "
Ōtoku 3", on the 26th day of the 11rd month (1086): In the 14th year of Emperor Shirakawa"-tennō"'s reign (白河天皇14年), the emperor died; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his second son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Horikawa is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’). [Titsingh, p. 172; Brown, p. 317; 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.] ]His father's "
kampaku ", Fujiwara Morozane became "sesshō" (regent ), but Shirakawa held actual power as cloistered Emperor. Horikawa filled his reign with scholarship, "tanka", and music.When his empress consort ("kōgō") died, his son, Imperial Prince Munehito, who had become
Crown Prince (and later becameEmperor Toba ) was taken to be raised by Horikawa's father, the retiredEmperor Shirakawa .* "
Chōji 2", in the 6th month (1105): A red-colored snow fell over a large area in Japan. [Titsingh, p. 177.]
* "Kajō 2", on the 19th day of the 7th month (1107): Horikawa died at the age of 29. [Brown, p. 319; Titsingh, p. 178.]Horikawa died at age 29 in "Kajō" 2, on the 19th day of the 7th month 1107. He had reigned 20 years -- seven years in the "nengō" "Kanji", two years in "Kahō", one year in the "nengō" "Eichō", two years in "Jōtoku", five years in the "nengō" "Kōwa", two years in "Chōji", and two years in the "nengō" "Kajō."Titsingh, p. 178.]
Horikawa is buried amongst the "Seven Imperial Tombs" at
Ryoan-ji inKyoto . The mound which commemorates the Emperor Horikawa today named "Kinugasa-yama." The emperor's burial place would have been quite humble in the period after Horikawa died. These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th century restoration of imperial sepulchers ("misasagi") which were ordered byEmperor Meiji . [Moscher, G. (1978). "Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide," pp. 277-278.]Emperor Horikawa was succeeded by his son, Munehito, who would take the name Emperor Toba. [see above] ]
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 Horikawa's reign, this apex of the "
Daijō-kan included:
* "Sesshō ", Fujiwara Morozane, 1043-1101.Brown, p. 318.]
* "Kampaku ", Fujiwara Moromichi, 1062-1099. [see above] ]
* "Kampaku ", Fujiwara Tadazane. [see above] ]
* "Daijō-daijin ", Fujiwara Morozane. [see above] ]
* "Sadaijin "
* "Udaijin ", Fujiwara Tadazane. [see above] ]
* "Nadaijin ", Fujiwara Moromichi. [see above] ]
* "Dainagon "Eras of Horikawa's reign
The years of Horikawa's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or "
nengō ". [Titsingh, p. 171-178; Brown, p. 319.]
* "Ōtoku " (1084-1087)
* "Kanji" (1087-1094)
* "Kahō " (1094-1096)
* "Eichō " (1096-1097)
* "Jōtoku " (1097-1099)
* "Kōwa" (1099-1104)
* "Chōji " (1104-1106)
* "Kajō " (1106-1108)References
* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [
Jien , c. 1220] , "Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219)." Berkeley:University of California Press . ISBN 0-520-03460-0
* 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 0-231-04940-4ee also
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Emperor Go-Horikawa
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