Emperor Kokaku of Japan
| Kōkaku | |
|---|---|
| Emperor of Japan | |
Kōkaku
|
|
| Reign | 1780–1817 |
| Predecessor | Go-Momozono |
| Successor | Ninkō |
| Born | 23 September 1771 |
| Died | 11 December 1840 (aged 69) |
| Burial | Nochi no tsuki no wa no misasagi (Kyoto) |
| Father | Prince Kan'in-no-miya Sukehito-shinnō |
| Religion | Shinto |
Emperor Kōkaku (光格天皇 Kōkaku-tennō?, September 23, 1771 – December 11, 1840) was the 119th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
Kōkaku's reign spanned the years from 1780 through 1817. As of 2016, Kōkaku remains the most recent emperor of Japan to have abdicated from the throne.
He reigned from December 16, 1779, until May 7, 1817.
As a younger son of an imperial collateral branch the Kan'in house, it was originally expected that he (then called Tomohito-shinnō) would go into the priesthood at the Shugoin Temple. However, in 1779, the sonless and dying emperor Go-Momozono hurriedly adopted him on his deathbed.
Kōkaku was very talented and had a zeal for scholarship, reviving festivals at the Iwashimizu and Kamono shrines, and working hard at reviving ceremonies surrounding the Imperial Court. The Bakufu gave his father the honorary title of Retired Emperor (Daijō Tennō, 太上天皇). Genealogically, Kōkaku is the founder of the dynastic imperial branch currently on the throne. Kōkaku is the lineal ancestor of all the succeeding emperors of Japan up to present monarch, Akihito.
During Kōkaku's reign, the Imperial Court attempted to re-assert some of its authority by proposing a relief program to the Bakufu at the time of the Great Tenmei famine (1782–1788) and receiving information about negotiations with Russia over disputes in the north.
In addition, he attempted to re-assert some of the Imperial authority over the Shōgun (or bakufu). He undertook this by first implementing a relief program during the Great Tenmei Famine, which not only undermined the effectiveness of the bakufu to look after their subjects, but also focused the subjects' attention back to the Imperial household.
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