This 16th-century sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Yōzei, and go- (後), translates as later, and thus, he could be called the "Later Emperor Yōzei". The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the second one, and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Yōzei, the second", or as "Yōzei II".
Genealogy
Before Go-Yōzei's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Katahito (周仁) or Kazuhito (和仁).[4]
Eleventh son: Imperial Prince Priest Dōkō (道晃法親王; 1612–1679)
Tenth daughter: Princess Kūkain (空花院宮; 1613)
Consort: Daughter of Chūtō Tokohiro (d.1680)
Twelfth son: Imperial Prince Priest Dōshū (道周法親王; 1613–1634)
Thirteenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Ji'in (慈胤法親王; 1617–1699)
Events of Go-Yōzei's life
Prince Katahito became emperor when his grandfather abdicated. The succession (senso) was considered to have been received by the new monarch; and shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Yōzei is said to have acceded (sokui).[8] The events during his lifetime shed some light on his reign. The years of Go-Yōzei's reign correspond with the start of the Tokugawa shogunate under the leadership of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada.
December 31, 1571: The birth of an Imperial prince who will become known by the posthumous name of Go-Yōzei-tennō.[9]
November 5, 1586: Prince Katahito was given the title Crown Prince and heir.[10]
December 17, 1586 (Tenshō 14, on the 7th day of the 11th month): Ogimachi gave over the reins of government to his grandson, who would become Emperor Go-Yōzei. There had been no such Imperial transition since Emperor Go-Hanazono abdicated in 1464 (Kanshō5). The dearth of abdications is attributable to the disturbed state of the country and because there was neither any dwelling for an ex-emperor nor excess funds in the treasury to support him.[11]
1586 (Tenshō 14, in the 12th month) (1586): The kampaku, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was nominated to be Daijō-daijin (Chancellor of the Realm).[10]
1588 (Tenshō 16, 7th month): Emperor Go-Yōzei and his father visit Toyotomi Hideyoshi's mansion in Kyoto. This was the first time that an emperor appeared in public since 1521.[12]
1590 (Tenshō 18, 7th month): Hideyoshi led an army to the Kantō where he lay siege to Odawara Castle. When the fortress fell, Hōjō Ujimasa died and his brother, Hōjō Ujinao submitted to Hideyoshi's power, thus ending a period of serial internal warfare which had continued uninterrupted since the Ōnin War (1467–1477).[13]
January 23, 1605 (Keichō 10, 15th day of the 12th month): A new volcanic island, Hachijōko-jima, arose from the sea at the side of Hachijō Island (八丈島 Hachijō-jima) in the Izu Islands (伊豆諸島, Izu-shotō) which stretch south and east from the Izu Peninsula.[15]
1610 (Keichō 15): Reconstruction of the Daibutsu hall in Kyōto is begun.
May 20, 1610 (Keichō 15, the 27th day of the 3rd month): Toyotomi Hideyori came to Kyoto to visit the former-Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu; and the same day, the emperor announces his intention to resign in favor of his son Masahito.[17]
May 9, 1611 (Keichō 16): Go-Yōzei abdicates; and his son Prince Masahito receives the succession (the senso); and shortly thereafter, Go-Mizunoo formally accedes to the throne (the sokui).[18]
Legacy
Go-Yōzei's reign corresponds to the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the beginning of the Edo Bakufu. He was the sovereign who confirmed the legitimacy of their accession to power; and this period allowed the Imperial Family to recover a small portion of its diminished powers.[citation needed]
This Emperor gave Toyotomi Hideyoshi the rank of Taikō, originally a title given to the father of the emperor's chief advisor (Kampaku), or a retired Kampaku, which was essential to increase his status and effectively stabilize his power.[citation needed]
When Tokugawa Ieyasu was given the title of Sei-i Taishōgun, the future of any anticipated Tokugawa shogunate was by no means assured, nor was his relationship to the emperor at all settled. He gradually began to interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Court. The right to grant ranks of court nobility and change the era became a concern of the bakufu. However, the Imperial Court's poverty during the Warring States Era seemed likely to become a thing of the past, as the bakufu provided steadily for its financial needs.[citation needed]
Go-Yōzei did abdicate in favor of his third son; but he wanted to be succeeded by his younger brother, Imperial Prince Hachijō-no-miya Toshihito (八条宮智仁親王) (first of the Hachijō-no-miya line, later called Katsura-no-miya), who built the Katsura Imperial Villa.[citation needed]
After abdication, Go-Yōzei lived for six years in the Sentō Imperial Palace; and thereafter, it became the usual place to which abdicated emperors would retire.[7] The name of this palace and its gardens was Sentō-goshō; and emperors who had abdicated were sometimes called Sentō-goshō.
The kami of Emperor Go-Yōzei is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial mausoleum (misasagi) called Fukakusa no kita no misasagi (深草北陵) in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.[19]
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. Even during those years in which the court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted.[citation needed]
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-Yōzei's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
^Titsingh, p. 402. 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 Emperor Go-Murakami – see Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 44.
^Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 112; Titsingh, p. 409.
^Titsingh, p. 409; Hirai, Kiyoshi. (1950). "A Short History of the Retired Emperor's Palace in the Edo Era", Architectural Institute of Japan: The Japanese Construction Society Academic Dissertation Report Collection (日本建築学会論文報告集), No.61(19590325), pp. 143–150.
