Before the emperor's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his name (imina)[4] was Tokiyasu Shinnō (時康親王)[5]orKomatsu-tei.[6] He would later be identified sometimes as "the Emperor of Komatsu".[7] This resulted in the later Emperor Go-Komatsu adopting this name (go- meaning "later", so "Later Emperor Komatsu" or "Emperor Komatsu II").
Tokiyasu Shinnō was the third son of Emperor Ninmyō. His mother was Fujiwara no Sawako.[8]
Kōkō had four Imperial consorts and 41 Imperial sons and daughters.[7]
The first kampakuFujiwara no Mototsune was influential in the process by which Kōkō became an emperor. At the time Emperor Yōzei was deposed, Prince Tokiyasu was already Governor of Hitachi and Chief Minister of Ceremonies (Jibu-kyō, 治部卿)[9]
According to Kitabatake Chikafusa's 14th-century account, Mototsune resolved the problem of succession by simply going to visit Tokiyasu-shinnō, where the kampaku addressed the prince as a sovereign and assigned imperial guards. The prince signaled his acceptance by going into the imperial palanquin, which then conducted him to the emperor's residence within the palace. Curiously, he was still wearing the robes of a prince when he decided to take this ride into an entirely unanticipated future.[10]
February 4, 884 (Gangyō 8, 4th day of the 1st month): In the 8th year of Emperor Yōzei's reign (陽成天皇八年), the emperor was deposed; and scholars then construed that the succession (senso) was received by the third son of former Emperor Ninmyō, who was then age 55.[11]
March 23, 884 (Gangyō 8, 23rd day of the 2nd month): Emperor Kōkō is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[12]
885 (Gangyō 9): The era name was changed accordingly in 885.[10]
During his reign, Kōkō revived many ancient court rituals and ceremonies, and one example is the imperial hawking excursion to Serikawa, which had been initiated in 796 by Emperor Kanmu. This ritual event was revived by Kōkō after a lapse of 50 years.[10]
January 11, 886 (Ninna 2, 14th day of the 12th month): Kōkō traveled to Seri-gawa to hunt with falcons. He very much enjoyed this kind of hunting, and he often took time for this kind of activity.[13]
September 17, 887 (Ninna 3, 26th day of the 8th month ) 仁和三年八月二十六日 -->: Kōkō died at the age of 57.[14]
The actual site of Kōkō's grave is known.[1] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShintoshrine (misasagi) at Kyoto.
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.[16]
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 Kōkō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
^Brown, pp. 264; prior to 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 Jōmei's reign.
^Brown, p. 289; 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 Emperor Go-Murakami.
