Emperor Fushimi (伏見天皇, Fushimi-tennō, 10 May 1265 – 8 October 1317) was the 92nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1287 through 1298.[1]
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Hirohito-shinnō (熈仁親王).[2]
Although the Roman-alphabet spelling of the name of this 13th-century emperor is the same as the personal name of the 20th century Emperor Shōwa, the kanji are different:
Emperor Fushimi, formerly Prince Hirohito (熈仁)
Emperor Shōwa, also known as Emperor Hirohito (裕仁)
Hirohito-shinnō was named Crown Prince and heir to his first cousin, the Daikakuji-tō Emperor Go-Uda. Political maneuvering by Fushimi's father, the Jimyōin-tō Emperor Go-Fukakusa, was a crucial factor in this choice.
In the year 1287 (Kōan 10, 10th month), in the 13th year of Go-Uda-tennō's reign (後宇多天皇十三年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his cousin. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Fushimi is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[3]
After this, there was a short period of time in which the two lines alternated power. Two years later, the retired Emperor Go-Fukakusa ended his reign as Cloistered Emperor, and Fushimi took direct control.
In 1289, by making his own son (the future Emperor Go-Fushimi) Crown Prince, he increased the antagonism of the Daikakuji line. In 1290, the family of Asawara Tameyori made an assassination attempt on the Emperor.
During his reign, efforts were made by the noble families to defeat the government, but the power of the Bakufu increased. In 1298, Fushimi abdicated and began his reign as cloistered emperor. Three years later, in 1301, the Daikakuji Line rallied and forced Emperor Go-Fushimi to abdicate.
In 1308, his co-operation with the Bakufu succeeding, his fourth son's enthronement as Emperor Hanazono took place, and he again became cloistered Emperor.
During Fushimi's reign, the alternating plan for the Daikakuji and Jimyōin lines had not yet come into being, and the two lines fought each other for the throne.
1313 (Shōwa 2, 10th month): Retired Emperor Fushimi shaved his head and became a Buddhist monk; and the power to administer the court of reigning Emperor Hanazono shifted to his adopted son, former-Emperor Go-Fushimi.[4]
In 1317, former-Emperor Fushimi died; but his son, Emperor Hanazono, did not participate in formal mourning rites for him. This was unprecedented; but this was rationalized with the explanation that Hanozono had become the adopted "son" of his older brother, former-Emperor Go-Fushimi.[5] Fushimi is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial tomb called Fukakusa no kita no misasagi (深草北陵) in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.[6]
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.
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 Fushimi's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
^Titsingh, p. 269; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Emperor Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
