Seiwa was the fourth son ofEmperor Montoku. His mother was Empress Dowager Fujiwara no Akirakeiko (明子), also called the Somedono empress (染殿后). Seiwa's mother was the daughter ofFujiwara no Yoshifusa (藤原良房), who was regent and great minister of the council of state.[4]He was the younger half-brother of Imperial Prince Koretaka (惟喬親王; 844–897)
Before his ascension to theChrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (hisimina)[5] was Korehito (惟仁),[6] the first member of theImperial house to be personally named "-hito"仁. One meaning of the character 仁 is theConfucian concept ofren. Later it has been a tradition to name the personal name of all male members of the Imperial family this way.
He was also known as emperor asMizunoo-no-mikado[4] orMinoo-tei.[7]
Originally under the guardianship of his maternal grandfatherFujiwara no Yoshifusa, he displaced Imperial Prince Koretaka (惟喬親王) asCrown Prince. Upon the death of his father in 858, Emperor Montoku, he became Emperor at the age of 9, but the real power was held by his grandfather, Yoshifusa.
7 October 858 (Ten'an 2, 27th day of the 8th month): In the 8th year of Montoku-tennō's reign (文徳天皇8年), the emperor died;[6] and the succession (senso) was received by his son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Seiwa is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[8]
15 December 858 (Ten'an 2, 7th day of the 11th month): The emperor's official announcement of his enthronement at age 9 was accompanied by the appointment of his grandfather as regent (sesshō). This is the first time that this high honor has been accorded to a member of theFujiwara family, and it is also the first example in Japan of the accession of an heir who is too young to be emperor. The proclamation of the beginning of Seiwa's reign was made at theKotaijingu atIse Province and at all the tombs of the imperial family.[9]
859 (Jōgan 1, 1st month): All New Year's festivities were suspended because of the period of national mourning for the death of Emperor Montoku.[10]
859 (Jōgan 1): Construction began on theIwashimizu Shrine near Heian-kyō. This shrine honors Hachiman, the Shinto war god.[11]
869 (Jōgan 10): Yōzei was born, and he was named Seiwa's heir in the following year.[12]
876 (Jōgan 17, 11th month): In the 18th year of Seiwa-tennō's reign (清和天皇18年), the emperor ceded his throne to his five-year-old son, which meant that the young child received the succession (senso). Shortly thereafter, Emperor Yōzei formally acceded to the throne (sokui).[13]
878 (Gangyō 2): Seiwa became a Buddhist priest. His new priestly name was Soshin (素真).[11]
7 January 881 (Gangyō 4, 4th day of the 12th month): Former-Emperor Seiwa died at age 30.[14]
The actual site of Seiwa'sgrave is known.[1] The emperor is traditionally venerated at themisasagimemorialshrine in theUkyō-ku ward ofKyoto. TheImperial Household Agency designates this location as Seiwa'smausoleum. It is formally named the Minooyama no Misasagi (清和天皇陵) or Seiwa Tennō Ryō.[15][16] From the site of his tomb the Emperor Seiwa is sometimes referred to as the Emperor Mizunoo (水尾帝,Mizunoo-tei).[17] Thekami of Emperor Seiwa is venerated at theSeiwatennō-sha near the mausoleum.[18][19]
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.[20]
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 Seiwa's reign, this apex of theDaijō-kan included:
^Brown, pp. 264; prior toEmperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (theirimina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
^Brown, pp. 286; Varley, p. 44; 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.
