Emperor Ninkō Explained

Emperor Ninkō
Succession:Emperor of Japan
Reign:7 May 1817 – 21 February 1846
Coronation:31 October 1817
Cor-Type:Japan
Predecessor:Kōkaku
Successor:Kōmei
Reg-Type:Shōguns
Spouse:
  • Takatsukasa Tsunako
  • Takatsukasa Yasuko
Issue:
Issue-Link:
  1. Issue
Issue-Pipe:more...
Posthumous Name:Chinese-style shigō


Emperor Ninkō (Japanese: 仁孝天皇)

Royal House:Imperial House of Japan
Father:Emperor Kōkaku
Religion:Shinto
Birth Date:16 March 1800
Birth Place:Tokugawa Shogunate
Death Place:Kyoto, Tokugawa Shogunate
Burial Place:, Kyoto

, posthumously honored as, was the 120th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[1] [2] Ninkō's reign spanned the years from 1817 until his death in 1846, and saw further deterioration of the power of the ruling Shōgun.[3] Disasters, which included famine, combined with corruption and increasing Western interference, helped to erode public trust in the bakufu government. Emperor Ninkō revived certain court rituals and practices upon the wishes of his father. However, it is unknown what role, if any, the Emperor had in the turmoil which occurred during his reign.

His family included fifteen children from various concubines, but only three of them lived to adulthood. His fourth son, Imperial Prince Osahito became the next Emperor upon Ninkō's death in 1846. While political power at the time still resided with the Shōgun, the beginnings of the Bakumatsu (end of military government) were at hand.

Events of Ninkō's life

Early life

Before Ninkō's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was .[4] He was born on 16 March 1800 and was the fourth son of Emperor Kōkaku. He was the only child of sixteen others to survive into adulthood. Ayahito was named as crown prince in 1809, having been adopted by his father's chief wife, also known as . His birth mother was one of his father's concubines named .

Reign

Prince Ayahito was enthroned as Emperor on 31 October 1817, after his father retired from the throne. Following his father the Retired Emperor's wishes, he attempted to revive certain court rituals and practices. These included, among other things, restoring the title tennō, which identified the Emperor. Among Ninkō's innovations was the establishment of the Gakushūsho (the predecessor of the Gakushūin) for the Court Nobility just outside the Imperial Palace. One major event during his reign was the Tenpō famine which lasted from 1833 to 1837. The famine was most severe in northern Honshū and was caused by flooding and cold weather.[5] Ninkō's reign also saw some deterioration of the Shōgun's power. The Tenpō famine and other concurring natural disasters hit hard, and shook the faith of the people in the ruling Shōgun. In 1837, Ōshio Heihachirō led a revolt in Osaka against corrupt officials who refused to help feed the impoverished residents of the city. That same year also had an incident take place where an American merchant vessel was driven away by coastal artillery. While order was eventually restored, long term resentment resonated with the commoners against the ruling government. It is unclear though what role, if any, the Emperor played during this period of unrest.

Emperor Ninkō died on 21 February 1846 and was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum,, which is at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. Also enshrined in Tsuki no wa no misasagi, at Sennyū-ji are this Emperor's immediate Imperial predecessors since Emperor Go-MizunooMeishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Reigen, Higashiyama, Nakamikado, Sakuramachi, Momozono, Go-Sakuramachi, Go-Momozono and Kōkaku. The shrine complex also encompasses the misasagi of Ninkō's immediate successor – Kōmei.[6] Empress Dowager Yoshikō is also entombed at this Imperial mausoleum complex.[7]

Eras and Kugyō

The years of Ninkō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[3] While 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.

The following eras occurred during Ninkō's reign:

During Ninkō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

Genealogy

Emperor Ninkō's family included 7 sons and 8 daughters from various concubines, but only the future Emperor Komei (Komei-tennō), Princess Sumiko (Sumiko-naishinnō) and Princess Chikako (Chikako-naishinnō) survived beyond childhood.[8]

Spouse

PositionName Birth Death Father Issue
Kōgō
later
1798 1823 First Son: Imperial Prince Yasuhito (b. 1820)
First daughter: Princess Jihishin’in (b. 1823)
Nyōgo
later
1811 1847 Takatsukasa Masahiro Fourth Daughter: Princess Maninshu’in (b. 1829)

Concubines

Name Birth Death Father Issue

later
1803 1856 Ogimachi Sanemitsu Second Son: Prince Yo (b. 1825)
Fourth Son: Imperial Prince Osahito (later Emperor Komei) (b. 1831)
Sixth Son: Imperial Prince Katsura-no-Miya Misahito (b. 1833)
Seventh Daughter: Princess Kyo (b. 1837)
1806 1861 Kanroji Kuninaga Second Daughter: Princess Nori (b. 1823)
Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Katsura-no-Miya Sumiko (b. 1829)
Third Son: San-no-miya (b. 1830)
Fifth Daughter: Princess So (b. 1832)
Sixth Daughter: Princess Tsune (b. 1836)

later
1826 1865 Hashimoto Sanehisa Seventh Prince: Prince Tane (b. 1844)Eighth Daughter: Imperial Princess Kazu-no-miya Chikako (b. 1846)
1795 1875 Nakayama Naruchika None
1809 1875 Imaki Sadanori Fifth son: Prince Jōjakkō-in (b. 1832)

Issue

Status Name Birth Death Mother Marriage Issue
01 First Son 1820 1821 Takatsukasa Tsunako
01 First Daughter
(Stillbirth)
1823 1823 Takatsukasa Tsunako
02 Second Son 1825 1826 Ogimachi Naoko
02 Second Daughter 1825 1826 Kanroji Kiyoko
03 Third Daughter 1829 1881 Kanroji Kiyoko
04 Fourth Daughter 1829 1831 Takatsukasa Yasuko
03 Third Son 1830 1831 Kanroji Kiyoko
04 Fourth Son
(Emperor Komei)
1831 1867 Ogimachi Naoko Mutsuhito
05 Fifth son
(Stillbirth)
1832 1832 Imaki Haruko
05 Fifth Daughter 1832 1833 Kanroji Kiyoko
06 Sixth Son 1833 1836 Ogimachi Naoko
06 Sixth Daughter
(Stillbirth)
1836 1836 Kanroji Kiyoko
07 Seventh Daughter 1837 1838 Ogimachi Naoko
07 Seventh Son 1844 1845 Hashimoto Tsuneko
08 Eighth Daughter 1846 1877 Hashimoto Tsuneko Tokugawa Iesato

Ancestry

[9]

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. [Imperial Household Agency]
  2. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 122–123.
  3. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 421.
  4. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 10; Titsingh, p. 421.
  5. Book: Bolitho, Harold . Jansen. Marius . The Nineteenth Century: Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 5 . Cambridge University Press . 1989 . 118 . Chapter 2: The Tempō Crisis . 0-521-22356-3.
  6. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 423.
  7. Ponsonby-Fane, pp. 333–334.
  8. Ponsonby-Fane, p. 123.
  9. Web site: Genealogy. Reichsarchiv. 30 April 2010 . 19 January 2018. ja.