Emperor Fushimi Explained

Emperor Fushimi
Succession:Emperor of Japan
Reign:27 November 1287 – 30 August 1298
Coronation:16 April 1288
Cor-Type:Japan
Predecessor:Go-Uda
Successor:Go-Fushimi
Posthumous Name:Tsuigō


Emperor Fushimi (Japanese: 伏見院 or Japanese: 伏見天皇)

Reg-Type:Shōgun
Regent:Prince Koreyasu
Prince Hisaaki
Spouse:Saionji Shōshi
Issue:Emperor Go-Fushimi
Emperor Hanazono
Issue-Link:
  1. Genealogy
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Royal House:Imperial House of Japan
Father:Emperor Go-Fukakusa
Mother:Tōin (Fujiwara)
Birth Date:10 May 1265
Death Place:Jimyōin (持明院), Heian-kyō
Burial Place:Fukakusa no kita no Misasagi (深草北陵) (Kyoto)

was the 92nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1287 through 1298.[1]

Name

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was .[2]

Although the Roman-alphabet spelling of the name of this 13th-century emperor is the same as the personal name of the 20th century Emperor Shōwa, the kanji are different:

Genealogy

He was the second son of Emperor Go-Fukakusa. They were from the Jimyōin-tō line.

His name comes from the palace of the Jimyōin-tō.

Biography

Hirohito-shinnō was named Crown Prince and heir to his first cousin, the Daikakuji-tō Emperor Go-Uda. Political maneuvering by Fushimi's father, the Jimyōin-tō Emperor Go-Fukakusa, was a crucial factor in this choice.

In the year 1287 (Kōan 10, 10th month), in the 13th year of Go-Uda-tennōs reign (後宇多天皇十三年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his cousin. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Fushimi is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[3]

After this, there was a short period of time in which the two lines alternated power. Two years later, the retired Emperor Go-Fukakusa ended his reign as Cloistered Emperor, and Fushimi took direct control.

In 1289, by making his own son (the future Emperor Go-Fushimi) Crown Prince, he increased the antagonism of the Daikakuji line. In 1290, the family of Asawara Tameyori made an assassination attempt on the Emperor.

During his reign, efforts were made by the noble families to defeat the government, but the power of the Bakufu increased. In 1298, Fushimi abdicated and began his reign as cloistered emperor. Three years later, in 1301, the Daikakuji Line rallied and forced Emperor Go-Fushimi to abdicate.

In 1308, his co-operation with the Bakufu succeeding, his fourth son's enthronement as Emperor Hanazono took place, and he again became cloistered Emperor.

During Fushimi's reign, the alternating plan for the Daikakuji and Jimyōin lines had not yet come into being, and the two lines fought each other for the throne.

In 1317, former-Emperor Fushimi died; but his son, Emperor Hanazono, did not participate in formal mourning rites for him. This was unprecedented; but this was rationalized with the explanation that Hanozono had become the adopted "son" of his older brother, former-Emperor Go-Fushimi.[5] Fushimi is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial tomb called Fukakusa no kita no misasagi (深草北陵) in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.[6]

Kugyō

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.

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

Eras of Fushimi's reign

The years of Fushimi's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[7]

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 269–274; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 237–238.
  2. Titsingh, p. 269; Varley, p. 237.
  3. Titsingh, p. 269; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Emperor Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
  4. Titsingh, p. 279.
  5. Varley, p. 241.
  6. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 422.
  7. Titsingh, p. 269.