Empress Go-Sakuramachi (後桜町天皇
Go-Sakuramachi-tennō) (September 23, 1740 – December 24, 1813) was the
117th emperorThe of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, according to the traditional order of succession. She is the last and most recent woman to reign as Empress regnant, out of eight in the history of Japan. She was the eighth woman to ascend the
Chrysanthemum ThroneThe Chrysanthemum Throne is the English term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the raised thrones constructed in the Shishin-den for Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun on November 10, 1928...
. The years of her reign spanned the period from 1762 to 1771.
This 18th century sovereign was named after her father
Emperor SakuramachiEmperor Sakuramachi was the 115th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from April 13, 1735 to June 9, 1747. His personal name was Teruhito and his pre-accession title was Waka-no-miya .-Genealogy:He was the firstborn son of Emperor Nakamikado...
and
go- (後), translates literally as "later;" and thus, she could be called the "Later Sakuramachi".
Empress Go-Sakuramachi (後桜町天皇
Go-Sakuramachi-tennō) (September 23, 1740 – December 24, 1813) was the
117th emperorThe of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, according to the traditional order of succession. She is the last and most recent woman to reign as Empress regnant, out of eight in the history of Japan. She was the eighth woman to ascend the
Chrysanthemum ThroneThe Chrysanthemum Throne is the English term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the raised thrones constructed in the Shishin-den for Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun on November 10, 1928...
. The years of her reign spanned the period from 1762 to 1771.
This 18th century sovereign was named after her father
Emperor SakuramachiEmperor Sakuramachi was the 115th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from April 13, 1735 to June 9, 1747. His personal name was Teruhito and his pre-accession title was Waka-no-miya .-Genealogy:He was the firstborn son of Emperor Nakamikado...
and
go- (後), translates literally as "later;" and thus, she could be called the "Later Sakuramachi". The Japanese word "
go" has also been translated to mean the "second one;" and in some older sources, this empress might be identified as "Sakuramachi, the second" or as "Sakuramachi II".
Genealogy
Before her accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, her personal name was . Her initial pre-accession title was
Isa-no-miya (以茶宮) and later
Ake-no-miya (緋宮).
She was the second daughter of
Emperor SakuramachiEmperor Sakuramachi was the 115th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from April 13, 1735 to June 9, 1747. His personal name was Teruhito and his pre-accession title was Waka-no-miya .-Genealogy:He was the firstborn son of Emperor Nakamikado...
. Her mother was Nijō Ieko (二条 舎子). Her older sister died young, and her younger brother was
Emperor MomozonoEmperor Momozono was the 116th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ruled from June 9, 1747 until his death in 1762...
.
Events of Go-Sakuramachi's life
In 1762, she acceded to the throne by a special decree of Emperor Momozono, whose son Prince Hidehito (later
Emperor Go-MomozonoEmperor Go-Momozono was the 118th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from May 23, 1771 until his death on December 16, 1779. He was succeeded by his second cousin, Emperor Kōkaku...
) was only 5 years old.
By her enthronement, she became the first reigning empress in her own right in 119 years, since
Empress MeishōEmpress Meishō was the 109th Monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. She was the seventh woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne. The years of her reign spanned the period from December 22, 1629 to November 14, 1643.-Genealogy:She was the second daughter of Emperor...
.
In the ninth year of her reign, 1770, she abdicated in favor of Emperor Go-Momozono. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.
Empress Gemmeiwas the 43rd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This sovereign is sometimes identified as Empress Genmyō. She was the fifth woman to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne...
, who was followed on the throne by her daughter,
Empress GenshōEmpress Genshō was the 44th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. She was the sixth woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne...
, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
However, Go-Momozono's reign did not last long, ending in 1779 when Go-Momozono died without leaving a son. When her nephew was dying, the then-retired (Daijo Tenno) Go-Sakuramachi consulted with the senior courtiers and imperial guards, planning to accept Prince Fushimi-no-miya as an adopted son, but they eventually decided on Prince Morohito (師仁), sixth son of Prince Kan'in-no-miya Sukehito (閑院宮典仁), who was supported by the emperor's chief advisor (Kampaku). Prince Morohito, hastily adopted by Go-Momozono at deathbed, became
Emperor KōkakuEmperor Kōkaku was the 119th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession...
.
After the throne had switched to that branch of the imperial line, Go-Sakuramachi, in her role as Retired Emperor, came to be referred to as the Guardian of the Young Lord (Emperor Kōkaku). In this role, in 1789, during a scandal involving an honorary title, she admonished the Emperor.
She died in 1813, at the age of 73.
The empress left behind a book called
Kinchū-nenjū no koto (禁中年中の事, roughly "Matters of Years in the Imperial Court"), consisting of poems, imperial letters, imperial chronicles, and so forth, excelling in literary merit.
Go-Sakuramachi is enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum (
misasagi),
Tsukinowa no misasagi, at
Sennyū-ji, formerly written as , is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. For centuries, Sennyū-ji was a mortuary temple for aristocrats and the imperial house. Located here are the official tombs of Emperor Shijō and many of the emperors who came after him....
in
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto' is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 1929 when it was split off from Shimogyō-ku. During the years 1931 to 1976 it also covered the area of present-day Yamashina-ku, which was an independent town until its merger into the city in 1931...
. Also enshrined in this location are this empress's immediate Imperial predecessors since
Emperor Go-MizunooEmperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ruled from 1611 to 1629....
--
MeishōEmpress Meishō was the 109th Monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. She was the seventh woman to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne. The years of her reign spanned the period from December 22, 1629 to November 14, 1643.-Genealogy:She was the second daughter of Emperor...
,
Go-KōmyōEmperor Go-Kōmyō was the 110th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from November 14 1643 to October 30 1654...
,
Go-SaiEmperor Go-Sai , also called Emperor Go-Saiin was the 111th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from January 5 1655 to March 5, 1663...
,
Reigenwas the 112th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigen reigned from March 5, 1663 until May 2, 1687...
,
HigashiyamaEmperor Higashiyama was the 113th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ruled from May 6, 1687 to July 27, 1709...
,
NakamikadoEmperor Nakamikado was the 114th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from July 27, 1709 to April 13, 1735. His personal name was Yasuhito and his pre-accession title was Masu-no-miya .-Events of Nakamikado's life:In 1708, Nakamikado became Crown Prince...
,
SakuramachiEmperor Sakuramachi was the 115th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from April 13, 1735 to June 9, 1747. His personal name was Teruhito and his pre-accession title was Waka-no-miya .-Genealogy:He was the firstborn son of Emperor Nakamikado...
and
MomozonoEmperor Momozono was the 116th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ruled from June 9, 1747 until his death in 1762...
, along with her immediate successor,
Go-MomozonoEmperor Go-Momozono was the 118th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from May 23, 1771 until his death on December 16, 1779. He was succeeded by his second cousin, Emperor Kōkaku...
.
Kugyō
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the
Emperor of JapanThe of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
in pre-
MeijiThe , or Meiji era denotes the period in Japanese history during the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor . During this time, Japan began its modernization and rose to world power status...
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 Go-Sakuramachi's reign, this apex of the
Daijō-kan included:
SadaijinSadaijin , most commonly translated as "Minister of the Left", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the Sadaijin in the context of a central...
UdaijinUdaijin , most commonly translated as the "Minister of the Right", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the Udaijin in the context of a central...
Nadaijin
Dainagon, often translated as "Great Councillor," was a government post of the Japanese ritsuryo governmental system, which was in place for much of the classical and feudal periods...
Eras of Go-Sakuramachi's reign
The years of Go-Sakuramachi's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō
.
Hōrekiwas a after Kan'en and before Meiwa. The period spanned the years from 1751 through 1764. The reigning emperor and emperess were and .-Change of era:...
(1751-1764)
Meiwawas a after Hōreki and before An'ei. This period spanned the years from 1764 through 1772. The reigning empress and emperor were and .-Change of era:...
(1764-1772)
See also
- Japanese empresses
In Japan, empress may refer to either or .- Empresses regnant :There were eight female imperial reigns in Japan's early history between 593 and 770, and two more in the early modern period...
- Emperor of Japan
The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
- List of Emperors of Japan
- Imperial cult
An Imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor, or a dynasty of emperors , are worshiped as messiahs, demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship," not in the modern pejorative sense...
- Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines
was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto.a major imperial shrine. This system classified shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into...
External links