Emperor of Japan
Emperor Reizei
(
冷泉天皇
,
Reizei-
tenn?
, June 12, 950 ? November 21, 1011)
was the 63rd
emperor of Japan
,
[1]
according to the traditional
order of succession
.
[2]
Reizei's reign spanned the years from 967 through 969, ending with his abdication and retirement.
[3]
Biography
[
edit
]
Before his ascension to the
Chrysanthemum Throne
, his personal name (his
imina
) was Norihira
-shinn?
(憲平親王).
[4]
Norihira
-shinn?
was the second son of
Emperor Murakami
. His mother, Empress Yasuko, was a daughter of minister of the right
Fujiwara no Morosuke
.
[5]
Soon after his birth he was appointed as crown prince, displacing the Emperor's first-born son with the daughter of Fujiwara no Motokata. This decision was supposedly made under the influence of Morosuke and his brother
Fujiwara no Saneyori
who had seized power in the court. Motokata soon died, in despair at having lost the prospect of being grandfather to the next emperor. The malevolent influence of Motokata's vengeful spirit
(
怨?
,
onry?
)
was blamed for Norihira
-shinn?'
s mental illness, which resulted in Saneyori acting as
regent
for the duration of his short reign.
[6]
From ancient times, there have been four noble clans, the
Gempeit?kitsu
(源平藤橘). One of these clans, the
Minamoto clan
(源氏) are also known as
Genji
, and of these, the
Reizei Genji
(冷泉源氏) are descended from 63rd emperor Reizei.
Events of Reizei's reign
[
edit
]
Questions about mental illness made Norihira
-shinn?'
s succession somewhat problematic.
In 967 his father Murakami died and Reizei ascended to the throne at the age of eighteen.
- July 5, 967
(
K?h?
4, 25th day of the 5th month
): In the 16th year of Emperor Murakami's reign (村上天皇十六年), he died; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his second son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Reizei is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).
[7]
- 969
(
Anna
2
): Reizei abdicated; and he took the honorific title of Reizei-in J?k?. His reign lasted for just two years; and he lived another 44 years in retirement.
[8]
The tomb of Emperor Reizei, Kyoto (front view)
- November 21, 1011
(
Kank?
8, 24th day of the 10th month
):
Daij?-tenn?
Reizei-in J?k? died at age 62.
[9]
The actual site of Reizei's
grave
is known.
[1]
This emperor is traditionally venerated at a
memorial
Shinto shrine
(
misasagi
) at Kyoto.
The
Imperial Household Agency
designates this location as Reizei's
mausoleum
. It is formally named
Sakuramoto no misasagi
[10]
Kugy?
[
edit
]
Kugy?
(
公卿
)
is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-
Meiji
eras.
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 Go-Toba's reign, this apex of the
Daij?-kan
included:
- Kampaku
, ?no-no-miya
Fujiwara no Saneyori
(藤原??), 900?970.
[8]
- Daij?-daijin
, Fujiwara Saneyori.
[8]
- Sadaijin
, Minamoto no Takaakira (源高明) (relegated in 969 by Anna Incident)
- Sadaijin
, Fujiwara Morotada (藤原師尹)
- Udaijin
, Fujiwara Morotada (藤原師尹), 920?969.
[8]
- Naidaijin
(not appointed)
- Dainagon
, Fujiwara no Arihira (藤原在衡)
- Dainagon
, Minamoto no Kaneakira (源兼明)
- Dainagon
, Fujiwara no Koretada (藤原伊尹)
Eras of Reizei's reign
[
edit
]
The years of Reizei's reign are more specifically identified by more than one
Japanese era name
(
年?
,
neng?
)
:
[11]
Consorts and children
[
edit
]
Empress
(Ch?g?):
Imperial Princess Masako
(昌子?親王) later Kanon'in taig? (?音院太后),
Emperor Suzaku
’s daughter
- Adopted Son: Imperial Prince Nagahira (永平親王; 965?988)
Consort (
Ny?go
): Fujiwara no
Kaishi
/Chikako (藤原?子, 945?975),
Fujiwara no Koretada
’s daughter
- First Daughter: Imperial Princess
S?shi
(宗子?親王; 964?986)
- Second Daughter: Imperial Princess
Sonshi
(尊子?親王; 966?985), 15th
Saiin
in
Kamo Shrine
968?975; later, married to
Emperor En'y?
in 980
- First Son: Imperial Prince Morosada (師貞親王) later
Emperor Kazan
Consort (
Ny?go
): Fujiwara no
Ch?shi
/T?ko (藤原超子; d.982),
Fujiwara no Kaneie
’s daughter
- Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Mitsuko (光子?親王; 973?975)
- Second Son: Imperial Prince Okisada (居貞親王) later
Emperor Sanj?
- Third son: Imperial Prince Tametaka (?尊親王; 977?1002)
- Fourth Son: Imperial Prince Atsumichi (敦道親王; 981?1007)
Consort (
Ny?go
): Fujiwara no
Fushi
/Yoshiko (藤原?子),
Fujiwara no Morosuke
’s daughter
Ancestry
[
edit
]
| Ancestors of Emperor Reizei
[12]
|
|---|
|
Notes
[
edit
]
Japanese Imperial kamon
? a stylized
chrysanthemum
blossom
- ^
a
b
Imperial Household Agency
(
Kunaich?
):
冷泉天皇 (63)
- ^
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959).
The Imperial House of Japan,
p. 71.
- ^
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834).
Annales des empereurs du japon,
pp. 142?143
; Brown, Delmer
et al.
(1979).
Gukansh?,
pp. 298?300; Varely, H. Paul. (1980).
Jinn? Sh?t?ki,
pp. 190?191.
- ^
Titsingh, p. 142; Varely, p. 190; Brown, p. 264; prior to
Emperor Jomei
, the personal names of the emperors (their
imina
) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
- ^
Varley, p. 190.
- ^
Usami, Hirokuni (2004).
Social crises and religious change in pre-medieval Japan
(PhD thesis).
SOAS University of London
. p. 377.
doi
:
10.25501/SOAS.00029220
.
- ^
Titsingh,
p. 142
; Brown, p. 298; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of
senso
is unrecognized prior to
Emperor Tenji
; and all sovereigns except
Jit?
,
Y?zei
,
Go-Toba
, and
Fushimi
have
senso
and
sokui
in the same year until the reign of
Emperor Go-Murakami
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Brown, p. 298.
- ^
Titsingh,
p. 155
; Brown, p. 306; Varley, p. 190.
- ^
Ponsonby-Fane, p. 420.
- ^
Titsingh,
p. 142.
- ^
"Genealogy"
.
Reichsarchiv
(in Japanese). 30 April 2010
. Retrieved
17 February
2018
.
References
[
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]
See also
[
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]