, posthumously honored as was the 112th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigen's reign spanned the years from 1663 through 1687.

Genealogy

Before Reigen's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was ; and his pre-accession title was .

Reigen was the 16th son of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. His mother was the daughter of Minister of the Center Sonomotooto (内大臣園基音), Lady-in-Waiting Kuniko (新広義門院国子).

left|thumb|Coronation ceremony of Emperor Reigen.

Reigen's Imperial family lived with him in the Dairi of the Heian Palace. This family included at least 13 sons and 14 daughters: later Emperor Higashiyama

  • Fifth daughter: Imperial Princess Tomiko (福子内親王; 1676–1707) married Imperial Prince Fushimi-no-miya Kuninaga
  • Sixth daughter: Princess Eisyū (永秀女王; 1678–1725)
  • Seventh son: Imperial Prince Kyōgoku-no-miya Ayahito (1680–1711; 京極宮文仁親王) – Seventh Kyōgoku-no-miya
  • Seventh daughter: Princess Ume (1681–1683; 梅宮)
  • Eighth daughter: Imperial Princess Katsuko (1686–1716; 勝子内親王)
  • Eighth son: Prince Kiyo (1688–1693; 清宮)
  • Handmaid: Atago Fukuko (1656–1681; 愛宕福子), Atago Michitomi’s daughter
  • Second son: Imperial Prince Priest Kanryū (1672–1707; 寛隆法親王)
  • Fourth daughter: Princess Tsuna (1675–1677; 綱宮)
  • Handmaid: Gojō Yōko (1660–1683; 五条庸子), Gojō Tametsune’s daughter
  • Third son: Prince San (1675–1677; 三宮)
  • Fifth son: Imperial Prince Priest Gyōen (1676–1718; 尭延法親王)
  • Sixth son: Prince Tairei'in (1679; 台嶺院宮)
  • Handmaid: Higashikuze Hiroko (1672–1752; 東久世博子), Higashikuze Michikado’s daughter
  • Eleventh son: Prince Toku (1692–1693; 徳宮)
  • Twelfth son: Prince Riki (1697; 力宮)
  • Court lady: Onaikouji-no-Tsubone (?–1674; 多奈井小路局), Nishinotōin Tokinaga‘s Daughter
  • First daughter: Princess Chikōin (1669; 知光院宮)
  • Court lady:　Gojō Tsuneko (1673–?; 五条経子), Gojō Tametsune’s daughter
  • Ninth son: Prince Saku (1689–1692; 作宮)
  • Tenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Syō'ou (1690–1712; 性応法親王)
  • Ninth daughter: Princess Bunki (1693–1702; 文喜女王)
  • Tenth daughter: Princess Gensyū (1696–1752; 元秀女王)
  • Court lady: Tōshikibu-no-Tsubone (d.1746; 藤式部局), Reizei Sadaatsu‘s Daughter
  • Thirteenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Sonsyō (1699–1746; 尊賞法親王)
  • Eleventh daughter: Princess Bun'ō (1702–1754; 文応女王)
  • Court lady: Irie Itsuko (?–1763; 入江伊津子), Irie Sukenao’s daughter
  • Fourteenth son: Prince Kachi (1709–1713; 嘉智宮)
  • Twelfth daughter: Princess Tome (1711–1712; 留宮)
  • Court lady: Chūjō-no-Tsubone (1691–1753; 中将局), Kurahashi Yasusada‘s Daughter
  • Fifteenth son: Prince Mine (1710–1713; 峯宮)
  • Court lady:　Matsumuro Atsuko (?–1746; 松室敦子),　Matsumuro Shigeatsu’s daughter
  • Sixteenth son: Imperial Prince Arisugawa-no-miya Yorihito (1713–1769; 有栖川宮職仁親王) – Fifth Arisugawa-no-miya
  • Thirteenth daughter: Imperial Princess Yoshiko (吉子内親王, 1714–1758), betrothed to shōgun Tokugawa Ietsugu
  • Eighteenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Gyōkyō (1717–1764; 尭恭法親王)
  • Court lady: Shōshō-no-Tsubone (1702–1728; 少将局), Minami Suketada’s daughter
  • Fourteenth daughter: Princess Yae (1721–1723; 八重宮)
  • Court lady:Matsumuro Nakako (1707–1751; 松室仲子), Matsumuro Shigenaka’s daughter
  • Seventeenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Son'in (1715–1740; 尊胤法親王)

His posthumous name was created during the Meiji Era by combining the kanji from the names of two previous Emperors, Emperor Kōrei (孝霊) and Emperor Kōgen (孝元).

Events of Reigen's life

thumb|left|Coronation of emperor Reigen

  • 9 July 1654: The birth of an Imperial prince who will become known by the posthumous name of Reigen-tennō.
  • 1654: Prince Satohito, who is also known as Ate-no-miya, is named as heir before the death of his eldest brother, Emperor Go-Kōmyō; however, the young prince is considered too young to become emperor. It is decided that until the young heir grows older, his elder brother will accede to the throne as Emperor Go-Sai.
  • 5 March 1663 (Kanbun 3, 26th day of the 1st month)<!-- NengoCalc 寛文三年一月二十六日 -->: Emperor Go-Sai abdicated; and Prince Satohito received the succession (senso). Shortly thereafter, Emperor Reigen formally acceded (sokui) and his reign began.
  • 1666 (Kanbun 6, 4th month): Hokke shu Buddhist religious practices are preserved for those who believe that their spiritual and moral purity may be tainted by close association with others.
  • 1681 (Tenna 2): A great famine devastates Kyoto and the surrounding area.
  • 4 December 1696 Former Empress Meishō died.
  • 1713: Former-Emperor Reigen enters a monastery under the name Sojō (素浄)
  • 1715: Former-Emperor Reigen's 13th daughter, Princess Yoshiko (1714-1758) married seventh Tokugawa shōgun Ietsugu
  • 1716: The seventh Tokugawa shōgun Ietsugu died, he was aged 7
  • 24 September 1732 (Kyōhō 17, 24th day of the 9th month)<!--NengoCalc 享保十七年九月六日 -->: Reigen died;

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

  • Sesshō, Nijō Mitsuhira, 1663–1664
  • Sessho, Takatsukasa Fusasuke, 1664–1668
  • Kampaku, Takatsukasa Fusasuke, 1668–1682
  • Kampaku, Ichijō Kaneteru, 1682–1687
  • Sadaijin
  • Udaijin
  • Naidaijin
  • Dainagon

Eras of Reigen's reign

The years of Reigen's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

Notes

thumb|right|120px|[[Imperial Seal of Japan|Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom]]

References

  • Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867. Münster: LIT Verlag. ; OCLC 42041594
  • Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1956). Kyoto: The Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society.
  • __________. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
  • Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
  • Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ; OCLC 59145842

See also

  • Emperor of Japan
  • List of Emperors of Japan
  • Imperial cult