Emperor Go-Fushimi (後伏見天皇, Go-Fushimi-tennō, 5 April 1288 – 17 May 1336) was the 93rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1298 to 1301.[1]
This 13th-century sovereign was named after his father, Emperor Fushimi and go- (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Fushimi". The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the "second one"; and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Fushimi, the second", or as "Fushimi II".
Tanehito-shinnō was named Crown Prince or heir in 1289.
30 August 1298 (Einin 6, 22nd day of the 7th month): In the 11th year of Fushimi-tennō's reign (伏見天皇十一年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his son.[3]
17 November 1298 (Einin 6, 13th day of the 10th month): Emperor Go-Fushimi acceded to the throne (sokui) and the nengō was changed to Shōan to mark the beginning of a new emperor's reign.[4]
1 November 1299 (Shōan 1, 8th day of the 10th month): Chinese Chan master Yishan Yining arrived in Kamakura as a last Mongol envoy.
2 March 1301 (Shōan 3, 21st day of the 1st month): Abdicates due to rally of the Daikakuji Line
11 September 1308 (Tokuji 3, 26th day of the 8th month): Younger brother becomes Emperor Hanazono, retired emperor
17 May 1336 (Engen 1, 6th day of the 4th month): Died
Fushimi acted as cloistered emperor for a period, but after a while, from 1313 to 1318, Go-Fushimi acted in that function.
During Hanazono's reign, negotiations between the Kamakura shogunate and the two lines resulted in an agreement to alternate the throne between the two lines every 10 years (the Bumpō Agreement). This agreement did not last long, as it was broken by Emperor Go-Daigo.
Go-Fushimi was the author of a famous plea to the god of the Kamo Shrine for help in gaining the throne for his son. This plea was ultimately successful, but it was not until thirty-three years after his abdication that Go-Fushimi's son, Emperor Kōgon became emperor. Kōgon was the first of the northern court emperors backed by the Ashikaga shogunate.
Emperor Go-Fushimi is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial tomb called Fukakusa no kita no misasagi (深草北陵) in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.[5]
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 Fo-Fushimi's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
^Titsingh, p. 274; Varley, p. 44; n.b., 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.
