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Emperor Kokaku

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Emperor Kōkaku (光格天皇 Kōkaku Tennō) (September 23, 1771December 11, 1840) was the 119th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from December 16, 1779 until May 7, 1817. His name was originally Morohito (師仁), but later was changed to Tomohito (兼仁). His title was Sachi-no-miya (祐宮).

Genealogy

He was the sixth son of Prince Kan'in-no-miya Sukehito (閑院宮典仁), grandson of Emperor Higashiyama. On the day before his enthronement, the dying Go-Momozono, his second cousin, formally adopted him as his son.

Life

It was originally expected that he, as a younger son of an imperial collateral branch the Kan'in house, would go into the priesthood at the Shuugoin Temple. However, in 1779, the sonless and dying emperor Go-Momozono hurriedly adopted him on his deathbed, even though he was not a shinnō (imperial prince).

Genealogically seen, he is the founder of the dynastical imperial branch currently on the throne. Kokaku is the lineal ancestor of all the succeeding emperors of Japan, up to present monarch, Akihito.

During Kōkaku's reign, the Imperial Court regained authority through proposing a relief program to the Bakufu at the time of the Great Tenmei Famine (1782-1788) and receiving information about negotiations with Russia over disputes in the north, and so on. The Bakufu gave his father the honorary title of Retired Emperor (Daijō Tennō, 太上天皇)

He was very talented, and had a zeal for scholarship, reviving festivals at the Iwashimizu and Kamono shrines, and working hard at reviving ceremonies surrounding the Imperial Court. In 1817, he abdicated in favor of his son, Emperor Ninkō. Because his reign followed an era in which most emperors died young or were forced to abdicate, Kōkaku was the first Japanese monarch to remain on the throne past the age of 40 since the abdication of Emperor Ōgimachi in 1586.

See also

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