Morasada was the eldest son of Emperor Reizei. The prince's mother was Fujiwara no Kaneko/Kaishi (藤原懐子), who was a daughter of sesshōFujiwara no Koretada. Morasada was also the brother of Emperor Sanjō.[5]
Emperor Kazan, who was fooled into abdicating, on his way to the temple where he will become a Buddhist monk – woodblock prin by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (1839–1892).
Prince Morasada was seventeen years of age at the time of the succession.[6]
October 6, 984 (Eikan 1, 27th day of the 8th month): In the 15th year of Emperor En'yu's reign (円融天皇十五年), he abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by a nephew. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Kazan is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).[7]
985 (Kanna 1, 4th month): Fujiwara no Tokiakira and his brother, Yasusuke, contended with Fujiwara no Sukitaka and Ōe-no Masahira in a sword fight in Kyoto. Masahira lost the fingers of his left hand. The two brothers fled; and after careful searching, Tokiakira was eventually located in Ōmi Province.[5]
He faced a tough political struggle from the Fujiwara family; and at the age of nineteen, he was manipulated into abandoning the throne by Fujiwara no Kaneie. Kaneie told him that Ichijo (Kaneie's maternal grandson) already held the Regalia, and that there was no purpose in Kazan continuing to rule. Under some pressure, Kazan acquiesced, and went to the Gangyō-ji temple. He was accompanied by Kaneie's second son, Michikane, who was also to enter religion. When they arrived, however, Michikane said he would like to see his parents one final time while he was still a layman. Michikane never came back.
986 (Kanna 2, 6th month): Kazan abdicated, and took up residence at Gangyō-ji where he became a Buddhist monk; and his new priestly name was Nyūkaku.[8]
August 23, 986 (Kanna 2, 16th day of the 7th month): Iyasada-shinnō was appointed as heir and crown prince at age 11.[9] This followed the convention that two imperial lineages took the throne in turn, although Emperor Ichijō was in fact Iyasada's junior. He thus gained the nicknameSakasa-no moke-no kimi (the imperial heir in reverse). When Emperor Kanzan abandoned the world for holy orders, one grandson of Kaneie ascended to the throne as Emperor Ichijō (the 66th sovereign); and in due course, another grandson would follow on the throne as Emperor Sanjō (the 67th sovereign).[10]
Nyūkaku went on various pilgrimages and 're-founded' the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, which was established in the early 8th century by a monk to the name of Tokudo Shonin. This pilgrimage involves travelling to 33 locations across the eight provinces of the Western Japan.
Some scholars[who?] doubt that Kazan, in his unstable mental condition at the time was involved with the founding of the pilgrimage, thereby leaving all of the credit to Shonin.
It is suggested by many scholars[who?] that the mental health of Kazan, particularly in later life, was not stable; and therefore, living as a monk may have caused deteriorating behavior.
Decorative emblems (kiri) of the Hosokawa clan are found at Ryōan-ji. Kazan is amongst six other emperors entombed near what had been the residence of Hosokawa Katsumoto before the Ōnin War.
Daijō-tennō Kazan died at the age of 41 on the 8th day of the 2nd month of the fifth year of Kankō (1008).[11]
The actual site of Kazan's grave is known.[1] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShinto shrine (misasagi) at Kyoto.
He is buried amongst the "Seven Imperial Tombs" at Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto.[13] The mound which commemorates the Hosokawa Emperor Kazan is today named Kinugasa-yama. The emperor's burial place would have been quite humble in the period after Kazan died. These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th century restoration of imperial sepulchers (misasagi) which were ordered by Emperor Meiji.[14]
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.
In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kazan's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
^Titsingh, p. 148; Varley, p. 192; Brown, p. 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 Jomei's reign.
^Titsingh, p. 148; Brown, pp. 300; 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.
