Emperor Go-Nijō

94th emperor of Japan

Fujiwara no Kinshi

(m. 1303)

IssueSee below

Posthumous name
Tsuigō: Emperor Go-Nijō (後二条院 or 後二条天皇)

HouseYamatoFatherEmperor Go-UdaMotherHorikawa (Minamoto) MotokoReligionState ShintoSignature

Emperor Go-Nijō (後二条天皇, Go-Nijō-tennō, 9 March 1285 – 10 September 1308) was the 94th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from 1301 to his death in 1308.^[1]

This 14th-century sovereign was named after the 12th-century Emperor Nijō, and go- (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Nijō", or, in some older sources, may be identified as "Nijō, the second" or as "Nijo II".

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Kuniharu-shinnō (邦治親王).^[2]

Go-Nijō was the eldest son of the 91st emperor Emperor Go-Uda. He belonged to the Daikakuji-tō branch of the Imperial Family.

Emperess: Fujiwara no Kinshi (藤原忻子) later Chōrakumon-in (長楽門院), Tokudaiji Kintaka's daughter

Naishi: Fujiwara Tamako (藤原頊子) later Banshūmon-in (万秋門院; 1268 - 1338), Ichijō Sanetsune’s daughter

Lady-in-waiting: Fujiwara Muneko (藤原宗子) also Chunagon'no-tenji (中納言典侍), Itsutsuji Munechika’s daughter

First Son: Imperial Prince Kuniyoshi (邦良親王; 1300 - 1326）
Second Son: Imperial Prince Hanamachi-no-miya-Kunimi (花町宮邦省親王; 1302-1375)

Naishi: Koto Naishi, Taira Munetoshi’s daughter

First Daughter: Imperial Princess Benshi (㛹子内親王; 1302 - 1362）later Jyuseimon'in/jyujoumon'in (壽成門院/寿成門院)

Court Lady: Dainagon-no-tsubone (fujiwara), Sanjo Kinyasu’s daughter

Third Son: Imperial Prince Priest Yujo (祐助法親王; 1302 - 1359）
Fourth Son: Imperial Prince Priest Shoson (聖尊法親王; 1303 - 1370）
Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Eiko (栄子内親王)
Fifth Daughter

Court Lady: Lady Mikushige (fujiwara), Sanjo Kinchika

Fifth Son: Imperial Prince Sonsai (尊済法親王; 1304 - 1329)

Court Lady: Taira Nobusuke’s daughter

Fourth Daughter: Imperial Princess Choshi (瑒子内親王)

Court Lady: Shindainagon-no-Tsubone

Second daughter: Imperial Princess Minshi (珉子内親王)

Events of Go-Nijō's life

Kuniharu-shinnō was made an imperial prince by Imperial proclamation in 1286.

In 1296, he became crown prince (heir) to the Jimyōin-tō Emperor Go-Fushimi, his second cousin.

2 March 1301 (Shōan 3, 21st day of the 1st month): In the 5th year of Go-Fushimi-tennō's reign (後伏見天皇五年), the emperor was forced to abdicate; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his cousin. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Nijō is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).^[3]

Go-Nijō's father, the Emperor Go-Uda reigned as cloistered emperor during his reign.

The succession dispute between the Daikakuji and Jimyōin branches of the Imperial Family continued during his reign. His grandfather, the retired Emperor Emperor Kameyama was said to have acted through the Bakufu to ensure Go-Nijō's enthronement.

On 10 September 1308, Go-Nijō died of illness.

Go-Nijō is buried at Kitashirakawa no misasagi (北白河陵) in Sakyō-ku, Kyoto.^[4]

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

Kampaku, Nijō Kanemoto, 1300–1305
Kampaku, Kujō Moronori, 1305–1308
Sadaijin
Udaijin
Nadaijin
Dainagon

Eras of Go-Nijō's reign

The years of Go-Nijō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.^[5]

Shōan (1299–1302)
Kengen (1302–1303)
Kagen (1303–1306
Tokuji (1306–1308)

Notes

^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 275–278; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. p. 239.
^ Titsingh, p. 275; Varley, p. 239.
^ Titsingh, p. 275; Varley, p. 44; n.b., 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.
^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 422.
^ Titsingh, p. 275.

References

Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842