Emperor Toba

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Emperor Toba (鳥羽天皇 Toba-tennō) (February 24, 1103 – July 20, 1156) was the 74th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1107 through 1123.

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Munehito-shinnō (宗仁親王).

He was the son of Emperor Horikawa. His mother was Empress Dowager Fujiwara ?? (藤原苡子)

Toba had three Empresses and 14 Imperial sons and daughters.

1119-1164 Imperial Prince Akihito (顕仁親王), later Emperor Sutoku,
1122-1133 Imperial Princess ?? (禧子内親王) - Western Palace
1124-1129 Imperial Prince Michihito (通仁親王)
1125-1143 Imperial Prince Kimihito (君仁親王)
1126-1189 Imperial Princess ?? (統子内親王) - Empress Dowager ?? (上西門院)
1127-1192 Imperial Prince Masahito (雅仁親王) - later Emperor Go-Shirakawa
1129-1169 Imperial Prince ?? (本仁親王), later became a priest under the name ?? (覚性法親王)
1132-1168 Prince Michie (道恵法親王) - Buddhist Priest
1134-1181 Prince ?? (覚快法親王) - Buddhist Priest
1135-1148 Imperial Princess ?? (叡子内親王)
1137-1211 Imperial Princess ?? (暲子内親王)
1139-1155 Imperial Prince Narihito (体仁親王), later Emperor Konoe
1141-1176 Imperial Princess ?? ((女朱)子内親王), empress (chūgū to Emperor Nijō)
1145-1208 Imperial Princess ?? (頌子内親王)
11??-1161 Imperial Princess ?? (幵子内親王) - Yoshida saigō (Imperial Princess serving at Ise Shrine)
11??-1195 阿夜御前
?? (真誉)
Takamatsunomiya (高松宮) (apparently no connection with Arisugawa-no-miya, which was originally named Takamatsu-no-miya)
Prince ?? (最忠法親王) - Buddhist Priest
Imperial Prince ?? (道果親王)

Empresses and consorts

1101-1145 Second Empress (chūgū): Fujiwara Tamako (藤原璋子), Empress Dowager ?? (待賢門院), eldest daughter of Fujiwara Kinzane (藤原公実)
1095-1155 Empress (kōgō) Fujiwara Yasuko? (藤原泰子), Kōyō-in (高陽院), eldest daughter of Fujiwara no Tadazane
1117-1160 Empress (kōgō) Fujiwara Tokuko (藤原得子), Empress Dowager Yoshitomi (美福門院), daughter of Fujiwara no Nagami (藤原長実); mother of Emperor Konoe.

Events of Toba's life

When his mother died, his grandfather, former-Emperor Shirakawa, took him under his care and raised him.

Kajō 1, on the 19th day of the 7th month (1107): In the 21st year of Emperor Horikawa-tennō's reign (堀河天皇21年), the emperor died at the age of 29; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his only son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Toba is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

During the initial years of Toba's reign, the actual power was held by his grandfather, the "retired" Emperor Shirakawa, in a process known as cloistered rule.

Ten'ei, in the 6th month (1110): The Miidera-ji burned down. This was the second time the temple was destroyed by fire, the first time being in 1081.

Hōan 4, on the 28th day of the 1st month (1123): In the 17th year of Emperor Toba's reign (鳥羽天皇17年), Toba was forced to abdicate by his father, retired-Emperor Shirakawa. Toba gave up the throne in favor of his son Akihito, who would become Emperor Sutoku. Toba was only 21 years old when he renounced his title; and he had already reigned for 16 years: two in the nengō Tennin, three in Ten'ei, five in the nengō Eikyū, two in Gen'ei, and four in the nengō Hōan. At this time, Toba took the title Daijō-tennō. The succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by a his son.
Hōan 4, in the 2nd month (1123): Emperor Sutoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

In 1129, after the death of former-Emperor Shirakawa, Toba himself began to rule as cloistered emperor. He continued to hold power through the reigns of three emperors, Emperor Sutoku, Emperor Konoe, and Emperor Go-Shirakawa.

Chōshō 3 (1134): The former-Emperor Toba made a pilgrimage to the Kumano Shrines. He was accompanied by sadaijin Hanazono no Arahito and udaijin Naka-no-in Munetada. The excursion was enjoyed by all, and great quantities of sake were consumed.

In 1142, he became a monk, entering Tōdai-ji.

Hōgen 1, on the 2nd day of the 7th month (1156): The former-Emperor Toba died at the age of 54.

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.

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 Toba's reign, this apex of the ''Daijō-kan included:

Sesshō, Fujiwara Tadazane, 1078-1162.
Kampaku, Fujiwara Tadazane.
Kampaku, Fujiwara Tadamichi, 1097-1164.
Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara Tadazane.
Sadaijin, Fujiwara Tadamichi.
Sadaijin, Hanazono no Arahito.
Udaijin, Naka-no-in Munetada.
Nadaijin
Dainagon

Eras of Toba's reign

The years of Toba's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

Kajō (1106-1108)
Tennin (1108-1110)
Ten'ei (1110-1113)
Eikyū (1113-1118)
Gen'ei (1118-1120)
Hōan (1120-1124)

References

Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [Jien, c. 1220], Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Bruce T. Tsuchida, eds. (1975). The Tale of the Heike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. ISBN 086008-128-1
Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. ...Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)
Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4