Before Tsuchimikado's accession to theChrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Tamehito-shinnō (為仁親王).[4] He was the firstborn son ofEmperor Go-Toba. His mother was Ariko (在子) (1171–1257), daughter ofMinamoto no Michichika (源通親).
Tsuchimikado's Imperial family lived with him in theDairi of theHeian Palace. His family included three sons by three different consorts:[2]
18 February 1198 (Kenkyū 9, 11th day of the 1st month): In the 15th year of Go-Toba-tennō's reign (後鳥羽天皇十五年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his eldest son.[6]
1198 (Kenkyū 9, 3rd month): Emperor Tsuchimikado is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[7]
1203: Yoritomo's successor as head of theKamakura shogunate,Minamoto no Yoriie, was assassinated; and former emperor Go-Toba was responsible for good relations with the shogunate when it was headed byMinamoto no Sanetomo from 1203 through 1219.[8]
1210: Go-Toba persuaded Tsuchimikado to abdicate in favor of his younger brother, who would become known asEmperor Juntoku.
Tsuchimikado's official Imperial tomb is in Kyoto. The emperor is venerated at amemorialShintoshrine (misasagi). Thismausoleum shrine is formally namedKanegahara no misasagi.[10]
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.
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 Tsuchimikado's reign, this apex of theDaijō-kan included:
^Ponsonby-Fane, p. 9; Titsingh,p. 221; Brown, p. 339; Varley, p. 220.
^abmother of Emperor Go-Saga – see Ponsonby-Fane, p. 20.
^Brown, p.339; Varley, p. 44; n.b., a distinct act ofsenso is unrecognized prior toEmperor Tenji; and all sovereigns exceptJitō,Yōzei,Go-Toba, andFushimi havesenso andsokui in the same year until the reign ofEmperor Go-Murakami.
