Emperor Suzaku

was the 61st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Suzaku's reign spanned the years from 930 through 946.

Biography

Before he ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Hiroakira-shinnō. He was also known as .

Hiroakira-shinnō was the 11th son of Emperor Daigo and Empress Consort Onshi, a daughter of the regent and great minister of the council of state, Fujiwara no Mototsune.

Suzaku had two Empresses or consorts and one Imperial daughter.

Events of Suzaku's life

Suzaku's older brother died unexpectedly young, as did his brother's son. These untimely deaths opened the way for Suzaku to accede to the throne.

16 October 930 (Enchō 8, 22nd day of the 9th month): In the 33rd year of the reign of Daigo-tennō (醍醐天皇三十三年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (the senso) was received by his eleventh son, Hiroakira-shinnō
14 December 930 (Enchō 8, 22nd day of the 11th month): Emperor Suzaku, who was only eight years old, acceded to the throne (the sokui).
5 August 931 (Jōhei 1, 19th day of the 7th month): The former-Emperor Uda (867–931) died at the age of 65.
6 September 932 (Jōhei 2, 4th day of the 8th month): The udaijin (Minister of the Right) Fujiwara no Sadakata died at the age of 65.
14 March 933 (Jōhei 3, 16th day of the 2nd month): The dainagon (Counselor) Fujiwara no Nakahira is named udaijin. Nakahira is the brother of sesshō (regent) Fujiwara no Tadahira.
933 (Jōhei 3, 12th month): Ten of the chief dignitaries of the empire went falcon-hunting together in Owari Province. Each of them was magnificent in his formal hunting attire.
940 (Tengyō 3): During his reign, Taira no Masakado raised a great insurrection in the Kantō region and declared himself the "New Emperor" (新皇). Still, his forces were defeated by Fujiwara no Hidesato and Taira no Sadamori, and he was decapitated. The emperor was succeeded by his younger brother, who would become Emperor Murakami.
952 (Tenryaku 6): Suzaku took ordination as a Buddhist monk at Ninna-ji.
6 September 952 (Tenryaku 6, 15th day of the 8th month): Suzaku died at the age of 30. in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto near the Buddhist temple, Daigo-ji.

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.

This elite group generally included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background had brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Suzaku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

Sesshō, Fujiwara no Tadahira, 880–949.
Sadaijin, Fujiwara no Nakahira.
Enchō (923–931)
Jōhei (931–938)
Tengyō (938–947)

Ancestry

Notes

References

Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ; OCLC 251325323
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (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