| Emperor Kōkaku 光格天皇 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Emperor of Japan | |||||
| Reign | 16 December 1779 – 7 May 1817 | ||||
| Enthronement | 29 December 1780 | ||||
| Predecessor | Go-Momozono | ||||
| Successor | Ninkō | ||||
| Shōguns | See list
| ||||
| Born | Morohito (師仁) (1771-09-23)23 September 1771 Kyoto,Tokugawa shogunate | ||||
| Died | 11 December 1840(1840-12-11) (aged 69) Kyoto, Tokugawa shogunate | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue among others... | Emperor Ninkō | ||||
| |||||
| House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||
| Father | Sukehito, Prince Kan'in | ||||
| Mother | Ōe Iwashiro Go-Sakuramachi (adoptive) | ||||
| Religion | Shinto | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Morohito (師仁; 23 September 1771 – 11 December 1840), posthumously honored asEmperor Kōkaku (光格天皇,Kōkaku-tennō), was the 119themperor of Japan, according to the traditionalorder of succession.[1][2]Kōkaku reigned from 1779 until hisabdication in 1817 in favor of his son,Emperor Ninkō. After hisabdication, he ruled asDaijō Tennō (太上天皇;Abdicated Emperor) also known as aJōkō (上皇) until his death in 1840. The next emperor to abdicate wasAkihito,202 years later.
Major events in Kōkaku's life included an ongoing famine that affected Japan early into his rule. The response he gave during the time was welcomed by the people, and helped to undermine the shōgun's authority. The Kansei Reforms came afterwards as a way for the shōgun to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in the mid-18th century but was met with partial success.
A member of acadet branch of theImperial Family, Kōkaku is the founder of the dynastic imperial branch which currently sits on thethrone. Kōkaku had one spouse during his lifetime, and sixconcubines who gave birth to 16 children. Only one son, Prince Ayahito, survived into adulthood and eventually became the next emperor. Genealogically, Kōkaku is the lineal ancestor of all the succeeding emperors up to the current emperor,Naruhito.
Before Kōkaku's accession to theChrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Morohito (師仁). He was the sixth son ofSukehito, Prince Kan'in, the second Prince Kan'in of theKan'in-no-miya imperial collateral branch. As a younger son of a cadet branch, theKan'in house, it was originally expected that Morohito would go into the priesthood at the Shugoin Temple. The situation changed in 1779 in the form of a problem as EmperorGo-Momozono was dying without an heir to the throne. In order to avoid a dynastic interregnum, thenow-retiredempress Go-Sakuramachi and the emperor'schief adviser encouraged Go-Momozono to hastily adopt Prince Morohito. The adopted prince was the Emperor's second cousin once removed in the biological male line. Go-Momozono died on 16 December 1779, and a year later Morohito acceded to the throne at age nine.
During his reign, Kōkaku attempted to re-assert some of the Imperial authority over theShōgun (or bakufu). He undertook this by first implementing a relief program during theGreat Tenmei famine, which not only highlighted the ineffectiveness of the bakufu in looking after its subjects, but also focused the subjects' attention back to the Imperial household. He also took an active interest in foreign affairs; keeping himself informed about the border dispute withRussia to the north, as well as keeping himself abreast of knowledge regarding foreign currency, both Chinese and European. The new era name ofTenmei ("Dawn") was created to mark the enthronement of new Emperor. The previous era ended and the new one commenced inAn'ei 11, on the 2nd day of the 4th month. In his first year of reign, Kōkaku was instrumental in reviving old ceremonies involving the old Imperial Court, as well as those performed at the Iwashimizu and Kamono shrines.
An analysis ofsilver currency in China and Japan"Sin sen sen pou (Sin tchuan phou)" was presented to the Emperor in 1782 byKutsuki Masatsuna (1750–1802), also known as Kutsuki Oki-no kami Minamoto-no Masatsuna, hereditarydaimyōs ofOki andŌmi with holdings inTanba andFukuchiyama.[3] Masatsuna publishedSeiyō senpu (Notes on Western Coinage) five years later, with plates showing European and colonial currency.[4] Countrywide currency reforms later came after theMeiji Restoration when a new system was adopted around theJapanese yen. In 1786, former Empress Go-Sakuramachi engaged Go-Momozono's only child (Princess Yoshiko) to the new emperor. Yoshiko formally became Empress consort to Emperor Kōkaku at age 15.
The Emperor and his court were forced to flee from a fire that consumed the city ofKyoto in 1788, the Imperial Palace was destroyed as a result. No other re-construction was permitted until a new palace was completed. The DutchVOCOpperhoofd inDejima noted in his official record book that "people are considering it to be a great and extraordinary heavenly portent."[5] The new era name of Kansei (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-minded Government") was created in 1789 to mark a number of calamities including the devastating fire at the Imperial Palace. The previous era ended and a new one commenced in Tenmei 9, on the 25th day of the 1st month. During the same year, the emperor came into dispute with theTokugawa shogunate about his intention to give the title of Abdicated Emperor (Daijō Tennō, 太上天皇) to his father, Prince Sukehito. This dispute was later called the "Songo incident" (the "respectful title incident"), and was resolved when theBakufu gave his father the honorary title of "Retired Emperor".[6]
Two more eras would follow during Kōkaku's reign, on 5 February 1801 a new era name (Kyōwa) was created because of the belief that the 58th year of every cycle of theChinese zodiac brings great changes. Three years later the new era name ofBunka (meaning "Culture" or "Civilization") was created to mark the start of a new 60-year cycle of theHeavenly Stem andEarthly Branch system of theChinese calendar which was on New Year's Day. During this year,Daigaku-no-kamiHayashi Jussai (1768–1841) explained the shogunate foreign policy to Emperor Kōkaku in Kyoto.[7] The rest of Kōkaku's reign was quiet aside from two6.6m earthquakes which struckHonshū in the years 1810 and 1812.[8] The effects on the population from these earthquakes (if any) is unknown.
TheKansei Reforms (寛政の改革,Kansei no kaikaku) were a series of reactionary policy changes and edicts which were intended to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in mid-18th-centuryTokugawaJapan.Kansei refers to thenengō (orJapanese era name) that spanned the years from 1789 through 1801 (after "Tenmei" and before "Kyōwa"); with the reforms occurring during the Kansei period but between the years 1787–1793.[9] In the end, the shogunate's interventions were only partly successful. Intervening factors like famine, floods and other disasters exacerbated some of the conditions which theshōgun intended to ameliorate.
Matsudaira Sadanobu (1759–1829) was named theshōgun's chief councilor (rōjū) in the summer of 1787; and early in the next year, he became the regent for the 11thshōgun,Tokugawa Ienari.[10] As the chief administrative decision-maker in the bakufu hierarchy, he was in a position to effect radical change; and his initial actions represented an aggressive break with the recent past. Sadanobu's efforts were focused on strengthening the government by reversing many of the policies and practices which had become commonplace under the regime of the previousshōgun,Tokugawa Ieharu. Sadanobu increased the bakufu's rice reserves and required daimyos to do the same.[11] He reduced expenditures in cities, set aside reserves for future famines, and encouraged peasants in cities to go back to the countryside.[11] He tried to institute policies that promoted morality and frugality, such as prohibiting extravagant activities in the countryside and curbing unlicensed prostitution in the cities.[11] Sadanobu also cancelled some debts owed by daimyos to the merchants.[11]
These reform policies could be interpreted as a reactionary response to the excesses of his rōjū predecessor,Tanuma Okitsugu (1719–1788).[12] The result was that the Tanuma-initiated, liberalizing reforms within thebakufu and the relaxation ofsakoku (Japan's "closed-door" policy of strict control of foreign merchants) were reversed or blocked.[13] Education policy was changed through the Kansei Edict (寛政異学の禁kansei igaku no kin) of 1790 which enforced teaching of theNeo-Confucianism ofZhu Xi as the officialConfucian philosophy of Japan.[14] The decree banned certain publications and enjoined strict observance of Neo-Confucian doctrine, especially with regard to the curriculum of the official Hayashi school.[15] A dispute had arose on the powers of the Emperor which saw the Bakufu and the Throne being at odds to each other. Sadanobu himself suspected strong sentiment against Edo from Kyoto.[16]
The Kansei reform movement was related to three others during the Edo period: theKyōhō reforms (1722–1730), theTenpō reforms (1841–1843) and theKeiō reforms (1864–1867).[9]
In 1817, Kōkakuabdicated in favor of his son,Emperor Ninkō. In the two centuries before Kōkaku's reign most Emperors died young or were forced to abdicate. Kōkaku was the first Japanese monarch to remain on the throne past the age of 40 since the abdication ofEmperor Ōgimachi in 1586.[citation needed] Until theabdication ofEmperor Akihito in 2019, he was the last emperor to rule as aJōkō (上皇), an emperor who abdicated in favor of a successor. Kōkaku travelled in procession to Sento Imperial Palace, a palace of an abdicated emperor. The Sento Palace at that time was called Sakura Machi Palace. It had been built by the Tokugawa shogunate for former-Emperor Go-Mizunoo.[17]
After Kōkaku's death in 1840, he was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum,Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashiyama no misasagi (後月輪東山陵), which is atSennyū-ji inHigashiyama-ku, Kyoto. Also enshrined inTsuki no wa no misasagi, at Sennyū-ji are this emperor's immediate Imperial predecessors sinceEmperor Go-Mizunoo –Meishō,Go-Kōmyō,Go-Sai,Reigen,Higashiyama,Nakamikado,Sakuramachi,Momozono,Go-Sakuramachi andGo-Momozono. This mausoleum complex also includesmisasagi for Kōkaku's immediate successors –Ninkō andKōmei.[18]Empress DowagerYoshikō is also entombed at this Imperial mausoleum complex.[19]
The following years of Kōkaku's reign are more specifically identified by more than oneera name ornengō.[3]
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of theemperor 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 Kōkaku's reign, this apex of theDaijō-kan included:
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Position | Name | Birth | Death | Father | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chūgū | ImperialPrincess Yoshiko (欣子内親王) | 11 March 1779 | 11 August 1846 | Emperor Go-Momozono | • Third Son: Imperial Prince Masuhito • Seventh Son: Imperial Prince Toshihito |
Yoshiko was the only child of formeremperor Go-Momozono. She formally became Empress consort (chūgū) to Emperor Kōkaku at age 15 after she was engaged to the new emperor by former empressGo-Sakuramachi. The couple had two sons but both died before reaching adulthood. Yoshiko eventually functioned as an official mother to the heir who would becomeEmperor Ninkō.[20] In 1816, Emperor Ninkō granted Empress Yoshiko the title ofEmpress Dowager after Emperor Kōkaku abdicated.[21] She later became aBuddhist nun after her husband died, and changed her name to Shin-Seiwa-In (新清和院,Shin-seiwa-in) in 1841.[21]
| Name | Birth | Death | Father | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | • Daughter: Kaijin’in-miya |
| Hamuro Yoriko (葉室頼子) | 1773 | 1846 | Hamuro Yorihiro | • First Son: Imperial Prince Ayahito • First Daughter: Princess Noto • Second Son: Prince Toshi |
| Kajūji Tadako (勧修寺婧子) | 1780 | 1843 | Kajūji Tsunehaya | • Fourth Son: Imperial Prince Ayahito (laterEmperor Ninkō) • Second Daughter: Princess Tashi • Fourth Daughter: Princess Nori |
| Takano Masako (高野正子) | 1774 | 1846 | Takano Yasuka | • Sixth Son: Prince Ishi |
| Anekouji Toshiko (姉小路聡子) | 1794 | 1888 | Anekouji Kōsō | • Fifth Daughter: Princess Eijun • Eighth Daughter: Princess Seisho • Eighth Son: Prince Kana |
| Higashiboujo Kazuko (東坊城和子) | 1782 | 1811 | Higashiboujo Masunaga | • Fifth Son: Imperial Prince Katsura-no-miya Takehito • Third Daughter: Princess Reimyoshin'in |
| Tominokōji Akiko (富小路明子) | Unknown | 1828 | Tominokōji Sadanao | • Sixth Daughter: Princess Haru • Seventh Daughter: Imperial Princess Shinko • Ninth Daughter: Princess Katsu |
| Nagahashi-no-tsubone (Title) | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | • Daughter: Princess Juraku'in- |
Emperor Kōkaku fathered a total of 16 children (8 sons and 8 daughters) but only one of them survived into adulthood. The sole surviving child (Prince Ayahito) later becameEmperor Ninkō when Kōkaku abdicated the throne.
| Status | Name | Birth | Death | Mother | Marriage | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 Daughter | Princess Kaijin'in (開示院宮)(stillborn daughter) | 1789 | 1789 | Unknown | — | — |
| 01 First Son | Imperial Prince Ayahito (礼仁親王) | 1790 | 1791 | Hamuro Yoriko | — | — |
| 00 Daughter | Princess Juraku'in (受楽院宮)(stillborn daughter) | 1792 | 1792 | Nagahashi-no-tsubone | — | — |
| 01 First Daughter | Princess Noto (能布宮) | 1792 | 1793 | Hamuro Yoriko | — | — |
| 02 Second Son | Prince Toshi (俊宮) | 1793 | 1794 | Hamuro Yoriko | — | — |
| 03 Third Son | Imperial Prince Masuhito (温仁親王)(stillborn son) | 1800 | 1800 | Imperial Princess Yoshiko | — | — |
| 04 Fourth Son | Imperial Prince Ayahito (2nd) (恵仁親王), the futureEmperor Ninko | 1800 | 1846 | Kajūji Tadako | Fujiwara no Tsunako | Princess Sumiko Emperor Kōmei Princess Kazu |
| 02 Second Daughter | Princess Tashi (多祉宮)(stillborn daughter) | 1808 | 1808 | Kajūji Tadako | — | — |
| 05 Fifth Son | Imperial Prince Katsura-no-Miya Takehito (桂宮盛仁親王) | 1810 | 1811 | Higashiboujo Kazuko | — | — |
| 03 Third Daughter | Princess Reimyoshin'in (霊妙心院宮)(stillborn daughter) | 1811 | 1811 | Higashiboujo Kazuko | — | — |
| 06 Sixth Son | Prince Ishi (猗宮) | 1815 | 1819 | Takano Masako | — | — |
| 07 Seventh Son | Imperial Prince Toshihito (悦仁親王) | 1816 | 1821 | Imperial Princess Yoshiko | — | — |
| 04 Fourth Daughter | Princess Nori (娍宮) | 1817 | 1819 | Kajūji Tadako | — | — |
| 05 Fifth Daughter | Princess Eijun (永潤女王) | 1820 | 1830 | Anekouji Toshiko | — | — |
| 06 Sixth Daughter | Princess Haru (治宮) | 1822 | 1822 | Tominokōji Akiko | — | — |
| 07 Seventh Daughter | Imperial Princess Shinko (蓁子内親王) | 1824 | 1842 | Tominokōji Akiko | — | — |
| 08 Eighth Daughter | Princess Seisho (聖清女王) | 1826 | 1827 | Anekouji Toshiko | — | — |
| 09 Ninth Daughter | Princess Katsu (勝宮) | 1826 | 1827 | Tominokōji Akiko | — | — |
| 08 Eighth Son | Prince Kana (嘉糯宮) | 1833 | 1835 | Anekouji Toshiko | — | — |
| Ancestry of Emperor Kōkaku[22] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Emperor of Japan: Kōkaku 1780–1817 | Succeeded by |
| Legendary |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamato |
| ||||||||
| Nara |
| ||||||||
| Heian |
| ||||||||
| Kamakura |
| ||||||||
| Northern Court |
| ||||||||
| Muromachi |
| ||||||||
| Azuchi–Momoyama |
| ||||||||
| Edo |
| ||||||||
| Empire of Japan |
| ||||||||
| Japan |
Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are inCE / AD *Imperial Consort andRegentEmpress Jingū is not traditionally listed. | ||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
