Emperor Reizei

Infobox_Monarch
name = Emperor Reizei
title =63rd Emperor of Japan


caption =
reign =The 25th day of 5th month of Kōhō 4 (967) - The 13th day of 8th month of Anna 2 (969)
coronation =The 11th day of 10th month of Kōhō 4 (967)
predecessor =Emperor Murakami
successor =Emperor En'yū
suc-type =
heir =
consort =
issue =
royal house =
royal anthem =
father =Emperor Murakami
mother =Fujiwara no "Anshi"
date of birth =The 24th day of 5th month of Tenryaku 4 (950)
place of birth =Heian Kyō (Kyōto)
date of death =The 24th day of 10th month of Kankō 8 (1011)
place of death =Heian Kyō (Kyōto)
place of burial=Sakuramoto no "Misasagi" (Kyōto)|

Emperor Reizei (冷泉天皇 "Reizei-tennō") (12 June, 950 - 21 November, 1011) was the 63rd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 967 through 969. [Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). "Annales des empereurs du japon," pp. 142-143; Brown, Delmer "et al." (1979). "Gukanshō," pp. 298-300; Varely, H. Paul. (1980). "Jinnō Shōtōki," pp. 190-191.]

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his "imina") was Norihira"-shinnō" (憲平親王). [Titsingh, p. 142; Varely, p. 190; Brown, p. 264. [Up until the time of 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.] ]

Norihira"-shinnō" was the second son of Emperor Murakami. His mother, Empress Yasuko, was a daughter of minister of the right Fujiwara no Morosuke. [Varley, p. 190.] Soon after his birth he was appointed as crown prince. This decision was supposedly made under the influence of Morosuke and his brother Fujiwara no Saneyori who had seized power in the court.

From ancient times, there have been four noble clans, the "Gempeitōkitsu" (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

Questions about mental illness made Norihira"-shinnō"'s succession somewhat problematic.

In 967 his father Murakami died and Reizei ascended to the throne at the age of eighteen.

* "Kōhō 4", on the 25th day of the 5th month (967): In the 16th year of Emperor Murakami's reign (村上天皇16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’’). [Titsingh, p. 142; Brown, p. 298; Varley, p. 44. [A distinct act of "senso" is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have "senso" and "sokui" in the same year until the reign of Go-Murakami.] ]

* "Anna 2" 969: Reizei abdicated; and he took the honorific title of Reizei-in Jōkō. His reign lasted for just two years; and he lived another 44 years in retirement.Brown, p. 298.]

* "Kankō 8", 24th day of the 10th month (1011): "Daijō-tennō" Reizei-in Jōkō died at age 62. [Titsingh, p. 155; Brown, p. 306; Varley, p. 190.]

"Kugyō"

"Kugyō" (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 "Daijō-kan" included:
* "Kampaku", Ōno-no-miya Fujiwara no Saneyori (藤原実頼), 900-970. [see above] ]
* "Daijō-daijin", Fujiwara Saneyori. [see above] ]
* "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. [see above] ]
* "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

The years of Reizei's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or "nengō". [Titsingh, p. 142.]
* "Kōhō" (964-968)
* "Anna" (968-970)

Consorts and Children

Empress: Imperial Princess Masako (昌子内親王) (950-999), daughter of Emperor Suzaku

Nyōgo: Fujiwara no "Fushi"/Yoshiko (藤原怤子) (?-?), daughter of Fujiwara no Morosuke (藤原師輔);later, "Naishi-no-Kami" (尚侍) 982-989

Nyōgo: Fujiwara no "Kaishi"/Chikako (藤原懐子) (945-975), daughter of Fujiwara no Koretada (藤原伊尹)
*Imperial Princess "Sōshi" (宗子内親王) (964-986)
*Imperial Princess "Sonshi" (尊子内親王) (966-985), 15th Saiin in Kamo Shrine 968-975; later, married to Emperor En'yū in 980
*Imperial Prince Morosada (師貞親王) (968-1008) (Emperor Kazan)

Nyōgo: Fujiwara no "Chōshi"/Tōko (藤原超子) (?-982), daughter of Fujiwara no Kaneie (藤原兼家)
*Imperial Princess Mitsuko (光子内親王) (973-975)
*Imperial Prince Okisada (居貞親王) (976-1017) (Emperor Sanjō)
*Imperial Prince Tametaka (為尊親王) (977-1002)
*Imperial Prince Atsumichi (敦道親王) (981-1007)

References

* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [Jien, c. 1220] , "Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219)." Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652] , "Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth." Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [http://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)] ]
* Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359] , "Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley)." New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4

ee also

* Emperor Go-Reizei