Emperor Go-Horikawa

Go-Horikawa
Emperor of Japan
Reign 1221–1232
Predecessor Chūkyō
Successor Shijō
Born March 22, 1212
Died August 31, 1234 (aged 22)
Burial Kannon-ji no Misasagi (Kyoto)
Spouse Fujiwara no Ariko, Fujiwara no Chōshi, Fujiwara no Shunshi

Emperor Go-Horikawa (後堀河天皇 Go-Horikawa-tennō) (March 22, 1212 – August 31, 1234) was the 86th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years from 1221 through 1232.[1]

This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 10th-century Emperor Horikawa and go- (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Horikawa". The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the "second one;" and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Horikawa, the second," or as "Horikawa II."

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)[2] was Yutahito-shinnō (茂仁親王),[3] also known as Motsihito-shinnō.[4]

Events of Go-Horikawa's life

In 1221, because of the Jōkyū Incident, an unsuccessful attempt by Emperor Go-Toba to seize real power, the Kamakura shogunate completely excluded those of the imperial family descended from Emperor Go-Toba from the Chrysanthemum throne, thus forcing Emperor Chūkyō to abdicate. After the Genpei War, he, as the grandson of the late Emperor Takakura, who was also a nephew of the then-exiled Retired Emperor Go-Toba, and Chūkyō's first cousin, was enthroned as Go-Horikawa. He ruled from July 29, 1221 to October 26 (?), 1232.

As Go-Horikawa was only ten-years-old at this time, his father Imperial Prince Morisada acted as cloistered emperor under the name Go-Takakura-in.[11]

In 1232, he began his own cloistered rule, abdicating to his 1-year-old son, Emperor Shijō. However, he had a weak constitution, and his cloistered rule lasted just under two years before he died.

Emperor Go-Horikawa's Imperial tomb (misasagi) is at Sennyū-ji in the Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashiyama no misasagi (後月輪東山陵).[12]

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

Eras of Go-Horikawa's reign

The years of Go-Horikawa's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[4]

See also

Notes

Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom
  1. ↑ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 238–241; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 344–345; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 226–227.
  2. ↑ Brown, pp. 264; n.b., up until the time of Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their iminia) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
  3. ↑ Brown, p. 344; Varley, p. 226.
  4. 1 2 Titsingh, p. 238.
  5. ↑ Titsingh, p. 240.
  6. ↑ A History of Japan to 1334, George Sansom, p406
  7. ↑ The Emergence of Japanese Kingship, p5
  8. ↑ Varley, p. 44; n.b., 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 Emperor Go-Murakami.
  9. ↑ Brown, p. 344; Titsingh, p. 238.
  10. ↑ Titsingh, p. 95; Brown, p. 344; Varley, p. 44.
  11. ↑ Titsingh, p. 238; Brown, pp. 344–345; Varley, p. 226.
  12. ↑ Sennyū-ji: images of front of Imperial mausoleum enclosure
  13. 1 2 3 4 Brown, p. 345.

References

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Emperor Chūkyō		 Emperor of Japan:
Go-Horikawa
1221–1232 		Succeeded by
Emperor Shijō
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