Emperor Reigen

(July 9, 1654 - September 24, 1732) was the 112th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigen reigned from March 5, 1663 until May 2, 1687. His personal name (his "iminia") was Satohito (識仁) and his pre-accession title was "Ate-no-miya" (高貴宮).Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du japon", p. 414.]

Genealogy

Reigen was the 16th son of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. His mother was the daughter of Minister of the Center Sonomotooto (内大臣園基音), Lady in Waiting Kuniko (新広義門院国子).

*Empress: Takatsukasa Fusako (鷹司房子) (Empress Dowager Shin-jyōsai, 新上西門院)
**Third daughter: Imperial Princess Masako (栄子内親王)
*Lady-in-waiting: Bōjō Fusako (坊城房子)
**Second daughter: Princess Ken'shi (憲子内親王)
*Lady-in-waiting: Daughter of Ogura Saneoki (小倉実起女)
**First son: Prince Saishin (済深法親王) (Buddhist priest)
*Lady-in-waiting: Matsuki Muneko (松木宗子)　 (Empress Dowager Keihō, 敬法門院)
**Fourth son: Imperial Prince Asahito (朝仁親王) (Emperor Higashiyama)
**Fifth daughter: Princess Tomiko (福子内親王)
**Sixth daughter: Princess Eisyū (永秀女王)
**7th son: Imperial Prince Kyōgoku-no-miya Ayahito (京極宮文仁親王) - Sixth Kyōgoku-no-miya
**7th daughter: Ume-no-miya (梅宮)
**8th daughter: Princess Katsuko (勝子内親王)
**8th son: Sei-no-miya (清宮)
*??: Atago Fukuko? (愛宕福子)
**Second son: Prince Kanryū (寛隆法親王) (Buddhist priest)
**Fourth daughter: Tsuna-no-miya (綱宮)
*??: Gojyō Yōko (五条庸子)
**Third son: San-no-miya (三宮)
**Fifth son: Prince Gyōen (尭延法親王) (Buddhist priest)
**Sixth son: Tairei'in-no-miya (台嶺院宮)
*??: Higashikuze Hiroko (東久世博子)
**11th son: Toku-no-miya (徳宮)
**12th son: Riki-no-miya (力宮)
*??: Daughter of ?? Sada'atsu (今城定淳女)
**13th son: Prince Sonsyō (尊賞法親王) (Buddhist priest)
**11th daughter: Princess Bun'ō (文応女王)
*Consort: Daughter of Nishi-no-tōin Tokinaga (西洞院時良女)
**First daughter: Chikōin-miya (知光院宮)
*Consort:　Gojyō Tsuneko (五条経子)
**9th son: Saku-no-miya (作宮)
**10th son: Prince Syō'ou (性応法親王) (Buddhist priest)
**9th daughter: Princess Bunki (文喜女王)
**10th daughter: Princess Gensyū? (元秀女王)
*Consort: Irie Itsuko (入江伊津子)
**14th son: Kachi-no-miya (嘉智宮)
**12th daughter: Tome-no-miya (留宮)
*Consort: Daughter of Kurahashi Yasusada (倉橋泰貞女)
**15th son: Mine-no-miya (峯宮)
*Consort:　Matsumuro Atsuko (松室敦子)
**16th son: Imperial Prince Arisugawa-no-miya Yorihito (有栖川宮職仁親王) - Fifth Arisugawa-no-miya
**13th daughter: Princess Yoshiko (吉子内親王)
**18th son: Prince Gyōkyō (尭恭法親王) (Buddhist priest)
*Consort:　Matsumuro Nakako (松室仲子)
**17th son: Prince Son'in (尊胤法親王) (Buddhist priest)
*Consort: Daughter of Hata ??tada (秦相忠女)
**14th son: Yae-no-miya (八重宮)

His posthumous name was created during the Meiji Era by combining the "kanji" from the names of two previous Emperors, Emperor Kōrei (孝霊) and Emperor Kōgen (孝元).

Events of Reigen's life

*1654 - Becomes heir upon the death of his eldest brother, Emperor Go-Kōmyō
*1663 - Accedes to the throne upon the abdication of his elder brother, Emperor Go-Sai
*"Kanbun 6", in the 4th month (1666): Hokke shu buddhist religious practices are preserved for those who believe that their spiritual and moral purity is tainted by association with others. [see above] ]
* "Kanbun 7" (1667): The "Nigouats do" temple at Nara is built. [see above] ]
* "Kanbun 8" (1668): A great fire broke out in Edo -- a conflagration lasting 45 days. The disastrous fire was attributed to arson. [see above] ]
* "Enpō 1" (1673): There was a great fire in Miyako. [see above] ]
* "Enpō 2", on the 4th day of the 4th month (1674): The Chinese Buddhist teacher Ingen dies in the Obaku Zen temple, Mampukuji at Uji. [see above] ]
* "Enpō 8", on the 8th day of the 3rd month (1680): Shogun Ietsuna dies.< [see above] ]
*1687 - Begins to rule as a cloistered emperor, abdicating in favor of Imperial Prince Asahito (Emperor Higashiyama)
*1713 - Enters a monastery under the name Sojō (素浄)
*1732 - Dies

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

Eras of Reigen's reign

The years of Reigen's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or "nengō". [see above] ]
* "Kanbun" (1661-1673)
* "Enpō" (1673-1681)
* "Tenna" (1681-1684)
* "Jōkyō" (1684-1688)

References

* Screech, Timon. (2006). "Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822." London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-700-71720-X
* Titsingh, Isaac. (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)]