Emperor Kōmei
Emperor Kōmei 孝明天皇 | |||||
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Shōguns | |||||
Born | Osahito, Prince Hiro (煕宮統仁親王) 22 July 1831 Kyoto, Japan | ||||
Died | 30 January 1867 Kyoto Imperial Palace, Kyoto, Japan | (aged 35)||||
Burial | Nochi no tsuki no wa no misasagi (後月輪東山陵), Kyoto | ||||
Spouse | Asako Kujō | ||||
Issue | |||||
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House | Imperial House of Japan | ||||
Father | Emperor Ninkō | ||||
Mother | Fujiwara no Tsuneko | ||||
Religion | Shinto | ||||
Signature |
Osahito
During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of
Early life
Before Kōmei's accession to the
Reign
Prince Osahito was enthroned as Emperor on 10 March 1846 upon the death of his father. The succession was considered to have been received by the new monarch; and shortly thereafter, Emperor Kōmei is said to have acceded the throne. Both the Emperor and his sister were against the marriage, even though he realized the gains to be had from such familial connections with the true ruler of Japan. Emperor Kōmei did not care much for anything foreign, and he opposed opening Japan to Western powers, even as the shogun continued to accept foreign demands.
Consultation with the shogunate
On 22 January 1858,
The pilgrimage of the 14th shogun Tokugawa Iemochi to Kyoto in 1863 was a defining moment not only in 19th century relations between the military bakufu and the Imperial Court, but also in what history would come to call the Meiji Restoration. The reception by Emperor Kōmei of the shogun in the Kyoto palace can be seen as a moment at which the political realm was thoroughly redefined, becoming a transitional imperial realm. This impression was enforced by the ensuing pilgrimage by Emperor Kōmei to the Kamo shrine, with the shogun in tow. This public demonstration showed that a new order had now emerged in the realm.[13]
After reluctantly accepting the Harris Treaty, Japan quickly signed similar treaties, called the Ansei Treaties (also known as the Ansei Five-Power Treaties, with Russia, France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands).[14] The treaties stipulated that the citizens of those foreign nations would be allowed to reside and trade at will in the cities of Edo, Nagasaki, Niigata, Kobe and Yokohama. Those five cities were to be opened to foreign trade with the four Western nations in the treaties. In addition, the treaties stipulated that a system of extraterritoriality would provide for the subjugation of foreign residents to the laws of their own consular courts instead of the Japanese legal system.[15]
The "Order to Expel Barbarians"
Emperor Kōmei was infuriated with nearly every development during his reign as Emperor, and during his lifetime he never saw any foreigners nor did he know much about them. Unequal trade treaties with the Western powers, such as the Treaty of Kanagawa and the Harris Treaty were signed without Imperial sanction and in spite of the Emperor's refusal to approve them. He twice expressed his will to resign from his position in protest. During his reign he started to gain more power as the Tokugawa shogunate declined, though this was limited to consultation and other forms of deference according to protocol. Emperor Kōmei generally agreed with anti-Western sentiments, and, breaking with centuries of imperial tradition, began to take an active role in matters of state. As opportunities arose, he fulminated against the treaties and attempted to interfere in the shogunal succession. His efforts culminated in 1863 with his "Order to expel barbarians". Although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan: the most famous incident was the killing of British trader Charles Lennox Richardson, for which the Tokugawa government paid an indemnity of 100,000 pound sterling.[16] Other incidents included the bombardments of Shimonoseki and Kagoshima, and the destruction of Japanese warships, coastal guns, and assorted military infrastructure throughout the country. These incidents showed that Japan could not match the military might of the Western powers at the time, and that military confrontation could not prove to be a diplomatic solution.[17]
Illness and death
In January 1867 the Emperor was diagnosed with
After Kōmei's death in 1867, his kami was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum,
Emperor Kōmei was the last Emperor to be given a posthumous name chosen after his death. Beginning with the reign of his son, Emperor Meiji, posthumous names were chosen in advance, being the same as their reign names.[citation needed]
Kugyō
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 Kōmei's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
- Kampaku, Takatsukasa Masamichi, 1823–1856
- Kampaku, Kujō Hisatada, 1856–1862
- Kampaku, Konoe Tadahiro, 1862–1863
- Kampaku, Takatsukasa Sukehiro, 1863
- Kampaku, Nijō Nariyuki, 1863–1866
- Sadaijin
- Udaijin
- Naidaijin
- Dainagon
Eras of Kōmei's reign
Emperor Kōmei was the last Japanese Emperor who had more than one
- Kōka (1844–1848)
- Kaei (1848–1854)
- Ansei (1854–1860)
- Man'en (1860–1861)
- Bunkyū(1861–1864)
- Genji(1864–1865)
- Keiō (1865–1868)
Genealogy
The family included six children, four daughters and two sons; but the future Emperor Meiji was the only one to survive to adulthood.[23] Kōmei's principal consort was Asako Kujō (九条夙子).[24] After Kōmei's death in 1867, Asako was given the title Empress Dowager Eishō (英照皇太后) by Emperor Meiji.[25]
Spouse
Position | Name | Birth | Death | Father | Issue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nyōgo | Asako Kujō (九条夙子) later Empress Dowager Eishō (英照皇太后) |
1835 | 1897 | Kujō Hisatada | • First Daughter: Imperial Princess Yoriko • Second daughter: Princess Fuki • Adopted Son: Imperial Prince Mutsuhito (later Emperor Meiji) |
Concubines
Name | Birth | Death | Father | Issue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bojo Nobuko (坊城伸子) | 1830 | 1850 | Unknown | • First Son: Myōkōgein |
Nakayama Yoshiko (中山慶子) | 1836 | 1907 | Nakayama Tadayasu | • Second Son: Imperial Prince Mutsuhito (later Emperor Meiji) |
Horikawa Kiko (堀河紀子) | 1837 | 1910 | Unknown | • Third Daughter: Princess Suma • Fourth Daughter: Princess Rie |
Imaki Shigeko (今城重子) | 1828 | 1901 | Unknown | None |
Imaki Naoko (今城尚子) | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | None |
Issue
Status | Name | Birth | Death | Mother | Marriage | Issue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Son | Prince Myōkōgein (妙香華院) | 1849 | 1850 | Bojo Nobuko | — | — |
First Daughter | Imperial Princess Yoriko (順子内親王) | 1850 | 1852 | Kujō Asako |
— | — |
Second Son | Imperial Prince Mutsuhito (睦仁親王) (later Emperor Meiji) |
1852 | 1912 | Nakayama Yoshiko (Birth) Asako Kujō (Adopted) |
Masako Ichijō | • Emperor Taishō • Princess Masako Takeda • Fusako Kitashirakawa • Nobuko Asaka • Toshiko Higashikuni • among others... |
Second Daughter | Princess Fuki (富貴宮) | 1858 | 1859 | Kujō Asako | — | — |
Third Daughter | Princess Suma (寿万宮) | 1859 | 1861 | Horikawa Kiko | — | — |
Fourth Daughter | Princess Rie (理宮) | 1861 | 1862 | Horikawa Kiko | — | — |
Notes
References
- OCLC 46731178.
- Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867. Münster: LIT Verlag.
- Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge:
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- __________. (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital, 794–1869. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 36644
See also
- Emperor of Japan
- List of Emperors of Japan
- Imperial cult
- Heian Shrine
- Tsuki no wa no misasagi
References
- ^ Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō): 孝明天皇 (121)
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. pp. 123–135.
- ^ Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit, p. 186.
- ^ "Japan:Memoirs of a Secret Empire". PBS. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 10.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 123. 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 – see Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, p. 44.
- ^ Cullen (2003).
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric et al. (2005). Japan encyclopedia, p. 502.
- ^ Cullen, L.M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds, p. 178.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1956). Kyoto: the Old Capital, 794–1869, p. 324.
- ^ Cullen, pp. 173-185.
- ^ Cullen, p. 184.
- ^ Jansen (2002).
- ^ Auslin, p.1
- ^ Jansen, pp. 314–315
- ^ Keene (2002)
- ^ Keene 2002, pp. 94–96.
- ^ Jansen, Marius. Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration Footnote, p. 282. Janen Marius. The Making of Modern Japan p. 324.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 423.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 335.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 17.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 125.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Imperial House, p. 334.
- ^ Keene, Donald. (2002). Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912, p. 531;