Emperor Reigen


Satohito, posthumously honored as Emperor Reigen was the 112th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigen's reign spanned the years from 1663 through 1687.

Genealogy

Before Reigen's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Satohito; and his pre-accession title was Ate-no-miya.
Reigen was the 16th son of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. His mother was the daughter of Minister of the Center Sonomotooto, Lady-in-Waiting Kuniko.
Reigen's Imperial family lived with him in the Dairi of the Heian Palace. This family included at least 13 sons and 14 daughters:
  • Empress: Takatsukasa Fusako later Shin-jyōsaimon’in, Takatsukasa Norihira’s daughter.
  • *Third daughter: Imperial Princess Masako married Nijo Tsunahira
  • Lady-in-waiting: Bōjō Fusako, Bōjō Toshihiro’s daughter
  • *Second daughter: Imperial Princess Ken'shi married Konoe Iehiro
  • Lady-in-waiting: Chunagon-Naishi
  • *First son: Imperial Prince Priest Saishin
  • Lady-in-waiting: Matsuki Muneko later Keihōmon’in, Mutsuki Muneatsu’s daughter
  • *Fourth son: Imperial Prince Asahito, also known as Tomohito, later Emperor Higashiyama
  • *Fifth daughter: Imperial Princess Tomiko married Imperial Prince Fushimi-no-miya Kuninaga
  • *Sixth daughter: Princess Eisyū
  • *Seventh son: Imperial Prince Kyōgoku-no-miya Ayahito – Seventh Katsura-no-miya
  • *Seventh daughter: Princess Ume
  • *Eighth daughter: Imperial Princess Katsuko
  • *Eighth son: Prince Kiyo
  • Handmaid: Atago Fukuko, Atago Michitomi’s daughter
  • *Second son: Imperial Prince Priest Kanryū
  • *Fourth daughter: Princess Tsuna
  • Handmaid: Gojō Yōko, Gojō Tametsune’s daughter
  • *Third son: Prince San
  • *Fifth son: Imperial Prince Priest Gyōen
  • *Sixth son: Prince Tairei'in
  • Handmaid: Higashikuze Hiroko, Higashikuze Michikado’s daughter
  • *Eleventh son: Prince Toku
  • *Twelfth son: Prince Riki
  • Court lady: Onaikouji-no-Tsubone, Nishinotōin Tokinaga‘s Daughter
  • *First daughter: Princess Chikōin
  • Court lady:　Gojō Tsuneko, Gojō Tametsune’s daughter
  • *Ninth son: Prince Saku
  • *Tenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Syō'ou
  • *Ninth daughter: Princess Bunki
  • *Tenth daughter: Princess Gensyū
  • Court lady: Tōshikibu-no-Tsubone, Reizei Sadaatsu‘s Daughter
  • *Thirteenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Sonsyō
  • *Eleventh daughter: Princess Bun'ō
  • Court lady: Irie Itsuko, Irie Sukenao’s daughter
  • *Fourteenth son: Prince Kachi
  • *Twelfth daughter: Princess Tome
  • Court lady: Chūjō-no-Tsubone, Kurahashi Yasusada‘s Daughter
  • *Fifteenth son: Prince Mine
  • Court lady:　Matsumuro Atsuko,　Matsumuro Shigeatsu’s daughter
  • *Sixteenth son: Imperial Prince Arisugawa-no-miya Yorihito – Fifth Arisugawa-no-miya
  • *Thirteenth daughter: Imperial Princess Yoshiko, betrothed to shōgun Tokugawa Ietsugu
  • *Eighteenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Gyōkyō
  • Court lady: Shōshō-no-Tsubone, Minami Suketada’s daughter
  • *Fourteenth daughter: Princess Yae
  • Court lady:Matsumuro Nakako, Matsumuro Shigenaka’s daughter
  • *Seventeenth son: Imperial Prince Priest Son'in
His posthumous name was created during the Meiji Era by combining the kanji from the names of two previous Emperors, Emperor Kōrei and Emperor Kōgen.

Events of Reigen's life

  • 9 July 1654: The birth of an Imperial prince who will become known by the posthumous name of Reigen-tennō.
  • 1654: Prince Satohito, who is also known as Ate-no-miya, is named as heir before the death of his eldest brother, Emperor Go-Kōmyō; however, the young prince is considered too young to become emperor. It is decided that until the young heir grows older, his elder brother will accede to the throne as Emperor Go-Sai.
  • 5 March 1663 : Emperor Go-Sai abdicated; and Prince Satohito received the succession. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Reigen formally acceded and his reign began.
  • 1665 : Courts of inquisition were established in all the villages of Japan. These courts were charged with discovering and eliminating any vestiges of Christianity in each community.
  • 1666 : Hokke shu Buddhist religious practices are preserved for those who believe that their spiritual and moral purity may be tainted by close association with others.
Image:Nara pan.jpg|thumb|right|260px|View across the roof of Tōdai-ji becomes a panoramic vista as seen from the elevated walkway of Nigatsu-dō.
Emperor Reigen's memory is honored and preserved at his designated Imperial mausoleum, Tsuki no wa no misasagi at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. His immediate Imperial predecessors since Emperor Go-Mizunoo – Meishō, Go-Kōmyō and Go-Sai are also enshrined along with his immediate Imperial successors, including Higashiyama, Nakamikado, Sakuramachi, Momozono, Go-Sakuramachi and Go-Momozono.

Kugyō

Kugyō 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 Reigen's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
The years of Reigen's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.