Emperor Ichijō
Emperor Ichijō (一条天皇 Ichijō-tennō) (980-1011) was the 66th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ruled from 986 to 1011.[1]
Genealogy
Before he ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Kanehito-shinnō.[2]
Kanehito-shinnō was the first son of Emperor En'yū by a lady Fujiwara no Senshi, a daughter of Fujiwara no Kaneie. Since there are no documented siblings, it is supposed that he was an only child.
Ichijō had 5 Empresses or Imperial consorts and 5 Imperial sons and daughters.[3]
Events of Ichijō's life
His reign coincided with the culmination of Heian period culture and the apex of the power of the Fujiwara clan.
In 984, he was appointed as crown prince under Emperor Kazan. It was rumored contemporarily that his maternal grandfather Kaneie plotted to have Kazan retire from the throne.
Ichijō ascended the throne at the age of seven.
- Kanna 2, on the 22nd day of the 6th month (986): In the 2nd year of Emperor Kazan's reign (花山天皇2年), he abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by a cousin, the son of his father's younger brother.[4]
- Kanna 2, on the 23rd day of the 6th month (986): Emperor Ichijō is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[5]
A son of Emperor Reizei, who was older than Ichijō, was appointed crown prince. Kaneie became the regent (Sesshō) and effectively ruled the state. After Kaneie died in 990, his first son and Ichijō's uncle Fujiwara no Michitaka was appointed regent.
- Shōryaku 2, on the 12th day of the 2nd month (991): The former-Emperor En'yū died at the age of 33.[6]
- Kankō 5, on the 8th day of the 2nd month (1008): The former-Emperor Kazan died at the age of 41.[7]
- Kankō 8, on the 13th day of the 6th month (1011): In the 25th year of Emperor Ichijō's reign (一条天皇25年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his cousin. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Sanjō is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[8]
- Kankō 8, on the 22nd day of the 6th month (1011): Emperor Ichijō died at the age of 32.[7]
Ichijō had two empress consorts. First was Teishi, a daughter of Fujiwara no Michitaka, second was Shoshi, a daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, a younger brother of Michitaka. Most people thought it impossible to have two empress consorts, but Michinaga claimed that the empress held two separate titles, Chūgū and Kōgō, which were different in principle and could therefore given to two different women.
The courts of both empresses were known as centers of culture. Sei Shōnagon, author of The Pillow Book, was a lady in waiting to Teishi. Murasaki Shikibu was a lady in waiting to Shoshi. There were other famous poets in the courts of the empresses.
Ichijō loved literature and music. For this reason, high ranked courtiers felt the necessity for their daughter to hold cultural salons with many skillful lady poets. Particularly he was fond of the flute. Ichijō was known for his temperate character and beloved by his subjects.
During Ichijō's reign, Imperial visits were first made to the following four shrines: Kasuga, Ōhara-no, Matsu-no O, and Kitano; and in the years which followed, Emperos traditionally made yearly Imperial visits to these shrines and to three others: Kamo, Iwashimizu and Hirano.[9]
Ichijō is buried amongst the "Seven Imperial Tombs" at Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto. The mound which commemorates the Emperor Ichijō is today named Kinugasa-yama. The emperor's burial place would have been quite humble in the period after Ichijo died.
These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th century restoration of imperial sepulchers (misasagi) which were ordered by Emperor Meiji.[10]
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 have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career.
During Kazan's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
- Sesshō, Fujiwara no Kaneie, 929-990.[[#wp-_note-b302+|[11]]]
- Sesshō, Fujiwara no Michitaka, 953-995.[12]
- Kampaku, Fujiwara no Kaneie.[[#wp-_note-b302+|[11]]]
- Kampaku, Fujiwara no Michikane, 961-995.[[#wp-_note-b302+|[11]]]
- Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara no Kaneie.[[#wp-_note-b302+|[11]]]
- Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara no Yoritada, 924-989.[13]
- Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara no Tametisu, 942-992.[13]
- Sadaijin, Fujiwara no Michinaga, 966-1027.[13]
- Udaijin, Fujiwara no Michikane.[12]
- Nadaijin, Fujiwara no Michitaka.[12]
- Nadaijin, Fujiwara no Korechika, 973-1010.[13]
- Nadaijin, Kan'in Kinsue, 956-1029.[6]
- Dainagon
Eras of Ichijō's reign
The years of Ichijō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[14]
- Eien (987-988)
- Eiso (988-990)
- Shōryaku (990-995)
- Chōtoku (995-999)
- Chōhō (999-1004)
- Kankō (1004-1012)
References
- ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, pp. 150-154; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 302-307; Varley, Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 192-195.
- ^ Varley, p. 192; 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.]
- ^ Brown, p. 307.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 149; 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.]
- ^ Brown, p. 302; Varley, p. 44.
- ^ a b Brown, p. 305.
- ^ a b Brown, p. 306
- ^ Titsingh, p. 154; Brown, p. 307; Varley, p. 44.
- ^ Brown, p. 307 n22.
- ^ Moscher, Gouverneur. (1978). Kyoto: A Contemplative Guide, pp. 277-278.
- ^ [a] [b] [c] [d] Brown, p. 302-303.
- ^ a b c Brown, p. 303.
- ^ a b c d Brown, p. 304.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 150.
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [ Jien, 1221], 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.--Two copies of this rare book have now been made available online: (1) from the library of the University of Michigan, digitized January 30, 2007; and (2) from the library of Stanford University, digitized June 23, 2006. Click here to read the original text 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
See also
| Preceded by Emperor Kazan |
Emperor of
Japan: Ichijō 986–1011 |
Succeeded by Emperor Sanjō |
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