Empress Go-Sakuramachi
Empress Go-Sakuramachi was the 117th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This 18th-century sovereign was named after her father Emperor Sakuramachi, the word go- before her name translates in this context as "later" or "second one", her reign spanned the years from 1762 through to her abdication in 1771. The only significant event during her reign was an unsuccessful outside plot, that intended to displace the shogunate with restored Imperial powers. Go-Sakuramachi, her emperor brother Momozono were the last lineal descendants of Emperor Nakamikado, she had one nephew who became Emperor Go-Momozono upon her abdication in 1771. Her nephew's reign did not last long, as he died eight years after a serious illness with no heir to the throne. A possible succession crisis was averted when Momozono hastily adopted an heir on his deathbed upon the insistence of his aunt. In her years Go-Sakuramachi became a "guardian" to the adopted heir until her death in 1813. In the history of Japan, Go-Sakuramachi was the last of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant.
Before Go-Sakuramachi's accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, her personal name was Toshiko. Toshiko was born into the Imperial family on September 23, 1740 she was the second daughter of Emperor Sakuramachi, her mother was Nijō Ieko. Toshiko had an older daughter who died at a young age, a brother named Toohito who became Emperor Momozono upon the death of their father in 1747; the empress and her emperor brother were the last lineal descendants of Emperor Nakamikado. Toshiko's Imperial family lived with her in the dairi of the Heian Palace, her initial pre-accession title was Isa-no-miya and Ake-no-miya. On September 15, 1762 Princess Toshiko acceded to the throne as Empress Go-Sakuramachi when her brother Emperor Momozono abdicated in her favor. Momozono's son, Prince Hidehito was only 5 years old at this time. Hidehito's empress aunt was expected to occupy the throne until her nephew would be able to take on the burden of responsibility. While she held the political title of Empress, it was in name only as the shoguns of the Tokugawa family controlled Japan.
There was only one major incident during Go-Sakuramachi's reign in 1766, which involved unsuccessful plans to displace the shogunate with restored Imperial powers. While the attempt was thwarted, additional challenges to the shōgun's authority would come a decade or so under the reign of Emperor Kōkaku. Other events in Go-Sakuramachi's life included the founding of a merchant association handling Korean ginseng in the Kanda district of Edo; the year 1770 saw a great comet with a long tail light up the night skies throughout the summer and autumn. During the same year two major disasters unfolded which included a typhoon that flattened the newly built Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the start of a 15 year consecutive drought. Go-Sakuramachi abdicated on January 9, 1771 in favor of her nephew Imina, her reign came to an end. Go-Sakuramachi became a Daijō-tennō upon her abdication, but her nephew's reign as emperor did not last long. Emperor Go-Momozono became deathly ill in 1779, having no heir to the throne this created a potential succession crisis.
Go-Sakuramachi consulted with the senior courtiers and imperial guards, planned to accept Prince Fushimi-no-miya as an adopted son. For one reason or another the choice went instead to Prince Morohito, a member of the Kanin branch of the Imperial family. Morohito was the sixth son of Prince Kan'in-no-miya Sukehito, was supported by the emperor's chief advisor. Go-Momozono hastily adopted Prince Morohito. After the throne had switched to that branch of the imperial line, Go-Sakuramachi came to be referred to as the Guardian of the Young Lord; the largest event that took place before her death occurred in 1789, when she admonished Kōkaku for his role in a scandal involving his father's honorary title. The former empress Go-Sakuramachi died on December 24, 1813 at the age of 73. Go-Sakuramachi's kami is enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum, Tsuki no wa no misasagi, at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. Enshrined in this location are this empress's immediate Imperial predecessors since Emperor Go-Mizunoo – Meishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Higashiyama, Nakamikado and Momozono, along with her four immediate successors – Go-Momozono, Kōkaku, Ninkō, Kōmei.
In the history of Japan, Go-Sakuramachi was the last of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. She is credited with creating a book called Matters of Years in the Imperial Court, which consists of poems Imperial letters and Imperial chronicles. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline. For this reason conservative scholars have argued that these reigns were temporary, that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century; the sole exception to this conventional argument occurred when Empress Genmei was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō. The other five women to rule as empress with male heirs include: Suiko, Kōgyoku, Jitō, Kōken, Meishō; the debate to allow succession laws to be changed allowing for a possible future empress continue to this day, most with Princess Toshi in 2005. The years of Go-Sakuramachi's reign are more identified by more than one era name or nengō.
While Kugyō, is a collective term f
History of Japan
The first human habitation in the Japanese archipelago has been traced to prehistoric times. The Jōmon period, named after its "cord-marked" pottery, was followed by the Yayoi in the first millennium BC when new technologies were introduced from continental Asia. During this period, the first known written reference to Japan was recorded in the Chinese Book of Han in the first century AD. Between the fourth century and the ninth century, Japan's many kingdoms and tribes came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor; this imperial dynasty continues to reign over Japan. In 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō, marking the beginning of the Heian period, which lasted until 1185; the Heian period is considered a golden age of classical Japanese culture. Japanese religious life from this time and onwards was a mix of native Shinto practices and Buddhism. Over the following centuries, the power of the Emperor and the imperial court declined and passed to the military clans and their armies of samurai warriors.
The Minamoto clan under Minamoto no Yoritomo emerged victorious from the Genpei War of 1180–85. After seizing power, Yoritomo took the title of shōgun. In 1274 and 1281, the Kamakura shogunate withstood two Mongol invasions, but in 1333 it was toppled by a rival claimant to the shogunate, ushering in the Muromachi period. During the Muromachi period regional warlords called daimyōs grew in power at the expense of the shōgun. Japan descended into a period of civil war. Over the course of the late sixteenth century, Japan was reunified under the leadership of the daimyō Oda Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After Hideyoshi's death in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power and was appointed shōgun by the Emperor; the Tokugawa shogunate, which governed from Edo, presided over a prosperous and peaceful era known as the Edo period. The Tokugawa shogunate imposed a strict class system on Japanese society and cut off all contact with the outside world. Portugal and Japan started their first affiliation in 1543, making the Portuguese the first Europeans to reach Japan by landing in the southern archipelago of Japan.
The Netherlands was the first to establish trade relations with Japan, Japan–Netherlands relations dating back to 1609. The American Perry Expedition in 1853–54 more ended Japan's seclusion; the new national leadership of the following Meiji period transformed the isolated feudal island country into an empire that followed Western models and became a great power. Although democracy developed and modern civilian culture prospered during the Taishō period, Japan's powerful military had great autonomy and overruled Japan's civilian leaders in the 1920s and 1930s; the military invaded Manchuria in 1931, from 1937 the conflict escalated into a prolonged war with China. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to war with its allies. Japan's forces soon became overextended, but the military held out in spite of Allied air attacks that inflicted severe damage on population centers. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender on 15 August 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.
The Allies occupied Japan until 1952, during which a new constitution was enacted in 1947 that transformed Japan into a constitutional monarchy. After 1955, Japan enjoyed high economic growth, became a world economic powerhouse. Since the 1990s, economic stagnation has been a major issue. An earthquake, tsunami in 2011 caused massive economic dislocations and a serious nuclear power disaster; the mountainous Japanese archipelago stretches northeast to southwest 3,000 km off the east of the Asian continent at the convergence of four tectonic plates. The steep, craggy mountains that cover two-thirds of its surface are prone to quick erosion from fast-flowing rivers and to mudslides, they have hampered internal travel and communication and driven the population to rely on transportation along coastal waters. There is a great variety to its regions' geographical features and weather patterns, with a Wet season, in most parts in early summer. Volcanic soil that washes along the 13% of the area that makes up the coastal plains provides fertile land, the temperate climate allows long growing seasons, which with the diversity of flora and fauna provide rich resources able to support the density of the population.
A accepted periodization of Japanese history: Land bridges, during glacial periods when the world sea level is lower, have periodically linked the Japanese archipelago to the Asian continent via Sakhalin Island in the north and via the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan in the south since the beginning of the current Quaternary glaciation 2.58 million years ago. There may have been a land bridge to Korea in the southwest, though not in the 125,000 years or so since the start of the last interglacial; the Korea Strait was, quite narrow at the Last Glacial Maximum from 25,000 to 20,000 years BP. The earliest firm evidence of human habitation is of early Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers from 40,000 years ago, when Japan was separated from the continent. Edge-ground axes dating to 32–38,000 years ago found in 224 sites in Honshu and Kyushu are unlike anything found in neighbouring areas of continental Asia, have been proposed as evidence for the first Homo sapiens in Japan. Radiocarbon dating has shown that the earliest fossils in
Dewa Province
Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Echigō Provinces, its abbreviated form name was Ushū. Prior to the Asuka period, Dewa was inhabited by Ainu or Emishi tribes, was outside of the control of the Yamato dynasty. Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Emishi tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro in 658 and established a fort on the Mogami River. In 708 AD Dewa District was created within Echigō Province; the area of Dewa District was that of the modern Shōnai area of Yamagata Prefecture, was extended to the north as the Japanese pushed back the indigenous people of northern Honshū. Dewa District was promoted to the status of a province in 712 AD, gained Okitama and Mogami Districts part of Mutsu Province. A number of military expeditions were sent to the area, with armed colonists forming settlements with wooden palisades across central Dewa in what is now the Shōnai area of Yamagata Prefecture.
The capital of the new province was established at Dewanosaku, a fortified settlement in what is now part of Sakata, which served as a vital military stronghold in the expansion of Yamato control and settlement in the region. In 733, the capital was moved north, a new military settlement named “Akita Castle”, was built what is now in the Takashimizu area of the city of Akita. Abe no Yakamaro was sent as Chinjufu-shōgun. In 737, a major military operation began to connect Akita Castle with Taga Castle on the Pacific Coast. Over the next 50 years, additional fortifications were erected at Okachi in Dewa Province and Monofu in Mutsu Province involving a force of over 5000 men; the road was resented by the Emishi tribes, after an uprising in 767, pacification expeditions were carried out in 776, 778, 794, 801 and 811. During the Nara period, under the Engishiki classification system, Dewa was ranked as a "greater country". Under the ritsuryō system, Dewa was classed as a “far country”; the name of the province was pronounced “Idewa”.
The Ichinomiya of Dewa Province was the Chōkaisan Omonoimi Jinja in what is now Yamagata. During the Heian period, in 878, a major rebellion known as the Ganki Disturbance erupted in the region against Yamato rule. Another major uprising occurred as part of East Japan war Tengyō no Ran. Towards the end of the Heian period, the province was organized into eleven districts, it was the Former Nine Years War. Following the destruction of the Northern Fujiwara clan by the forces of the Kamakura shogunate in 1189, many Fujiwara partisans fled to the mountains of Dewa and continued to resist central authority; the area was divided into numerous shōen during the Kamakura period, which developed into the centers of numerous rival samurai clans. In 1335, Shiba Kaneyori received the Dewa Province as a fief from Ashikaga Takauji, but ruled it only in name. By the end of the Sengoku period, the Mogami clan had emerged as the strongest local force in the southern portion of the province, whereas the Akita clan dominated the northern portion of the province.
Both clans sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, were thus secured in their holdings at the start of the Tokugawa shogunate. During the early Edo period, both the Mogami and the Akita were dispossessed, their territories broken up into smaller domains, the largest of which were held by the Sakai clan and Uesugi clans. During the Bakumatsu period, all of the domains in the area joined the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei supporting the Tokugawa shogunate. Following the defeat of the pro-Tokugawa forces, the new Meiji government reorganized Dewa province into Ugo Province in the north, Uzen Province in the south in 1868; these provinces became Akita Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture on August 2, 1876. Ugo Province Akumi District Akita District Hiraka District Kawabe District Ogachi District Semboku District Yamamoto District Yuri District Uzen Province Tagawa District Kubiki District Mogami District Murayama District Okitama District Ushū Kaidō – a subroute of the Ōshū Kaidō and Sendaidō with 57 post stations connecting what is now Koori, Fukushima with Aomori Yonezawa Kaidō – connecting what is now Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima with Yamagata.
Sendai Kaidō – connecting what is now Sakata, Yamagata with Sendai. Ushū Hamakaidō – connecting Sakata with Niigata. Kōdansha.. Japan: an Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kōdansha. Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5. Terry's Japanese Empire: including Korea and Formosa, with Chapters on Manchuria, the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Chief Ocean Routes to Japan: a Guidebook for Travelers. New York: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 123254449 Titsingh, Isaac.. Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691. Media related to Dewa Province at Wikimedia Commons Murdoch's map of provinces, 1903
Empress Jitō
Empress Jitō was the 41st monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697. In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant; the two female monarchs before Jitō were Kōgyoku/Saimei. The five women sovereigns reigning after Jitō were Genmei, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, Go-Sakuramachi. Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenji, her mother was Ochi-no-Iratsume, the daughter of Minister Ō-omi Soga no Yamada-no Ishikawa Maro. She was the wife of Tenji's full brother Emperor Tenmu. Empress Jitō's given name was Unonosasara, or alternately Uno. Jitō took responsibility for court administration after the death of her husband, Emperor Tenmu, her uncle, she acceded to the throne in 687 in order to ensure the eventual succession of her son, Kusakabe-shinnō. Throughout this period, Empress Jitō ruled from the Fujiwara Palace in Yamato. In 689, Jitō prohibited Sugoroku, in 690 at enthronement she performed special ritual gave pardon and in 692 she travelled to Ise against the counsel of minister Miwa-no-Asono-Takechimaro.
Prince Kusakabe was named as crown prince to succeed Jitō. Kusakabe's son, Karu-no-o, was named as Jitō's successor, he would become known as Emperor Monmu. Empress Jitō reigned for eleven years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Empress Genmei, followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument. In 697, Jitō abdicated in Mommu's favor. After this, her imperial successors who retired took the same title after abdication. Jitō continued to hold power as a cloistered ruler, which became a persistent trend in Japanese politics; the actual site of Jitō's grave is known. This empress is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Nara; the Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Jitō's mausoleum.
It is formally named Ochi-no-Okanoe no misasagi. Kugyō is a collective term for the few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. 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 Jitō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Daijō-daijin, Takechi-shinnō Sadaijin Udaijin Naidaijin Jitō's reign is not linked by scholars to any era or nengō; the Taika era innovation of naming time periods – nengō – languished until Mommu reasserted an imperial right by proclaiming the commencement of Taihō in 701. See Japanese era name – "Non-nengo periods" See Jitō period; however and Ishida's translation of Gukanshō offers an explanation which muddies a sense of easy clarity: "The eras that fell in this reign were: the remaining seven years of Shuchō. In the third year of the Taka era, Empress Jitō yielded the throne to the Crown Prince."
The Man'yōshū includes poems said to have been composed by Jitō: After the death of the Emperor Tenmu:Composed when the Empress climbed the Thunder Hill: One of the poems attributed to Empress Jitō was selected by Fujiwara no Teika for inclusion in the popular anthology Hyakunin Isshu: Emperor of Japan Imperial cult Japanese empresses List of Emperors of Japan Aston, William George.. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A. D. 697. London: Kegan Paul, Trubner. OCLC 448337491 Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds.. Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03460-0. "Hyakunin-Isshu: Single Songs of a Hundred Poets" in Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan. Tokyo: Asia Society of Japan.... Click link for digitized, full-text copy __________.. Kokka taikan. Tokyo: Teikoku Toshokan, Meiji 30–34. [reprinted Shinten kokka taikan, 10 vols. + 10 index vols. Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1983–1992. ISBN 978-4-04-020142-9 Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai..
Man'yōshū. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. [reprinted by Columbia University Press, New York, 1965. ISBN 0-231-08620-2. Rprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 2005. ISBN 978-0-486-43959-4 Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon.. The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887 Titsingh, Isaac.. Nihon Ōdai Ichiran. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691 Varley, H. Paul.. Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5.
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the head of the Imperial Family and the head of state of Japan. Under the 1947 constitution, he is defined as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people." He was the highest authority of the Shinto religion. In Japanese, the Emperor is called Tennō "heavenly sovereign". In English, the use of the term Mikado for the Emperor was once common, but is now considered obsolete; the Emperor of Japan is the only head of state in the world with the English title of "Emperor". The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing monarchical house in the world; the historical origins of the Emperors lie in the late Kofun period of the 3rd–7th centuries AD, but according to the traditional account of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded in 660 BC by Emperor Jimmu, said to be a direct descendant of the sun-goddess Amaterasu. The current Emperor is Akihito, he acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Shōwa, in 1989. The Japanese government announced in December 2017 that Akihito will abdicate on 30 April 2019.
The role of the Emperor of Japan has alternated between a ceremonial symbolic role and that of an actual imperial ruler. Since the establishment of the first shogunate in 1199, the Emperors of Japan have taken on a role as supreme battlefield commander, unlike many Western monarchs. Japanese Emperors have nearly always been controlled by external political forces, to varying degrees. In fact, between 1192 and 1867, the shōguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura, were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor. After the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the Emperor was the embodiment of all sovereign power in the realm, as enshrined in the Meiji Constitution of 1889. Since the enactment of the 1947 Constitution, he has been a ceremonial head of state without nominal political powers. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Imperial Palace has been called Kyūjō Kōkyo, is on the former site of Edo Castle in the heart of Tokyo. Earlier, Emperors resided in Kyoto for nearly eleven centuries.
The Emperor's Birthday is a national holiday. Unlike most constitutional monarchs, the Emperor is not the nominal chief executive. Article 65 explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the Prime Minister is the leader; the Emperor is not the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The Japan Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954 explicitly vests this role with the Prime Minister; the Emperor's powers are limited only to important ceremonial functions. Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that the Emperor "shall perform only such acts in matters of state as are provided for in the Constitution and he shall not have powers related to government." It stipulates that "the advice and approval of the Cabinet shall be required for all acts of the Emperor in matters of state". Article 4 states that these duties can be delegated by the Emperor as provided for by law. While the Emperor formally appoints the Prime Minister to office, Article 6 of the Constitution requires him to appoint the candidate "as designated by the Diet", without giving the Emperor the right to decline appointment.
Article 6 of the Constitution delegates the Emperor the following ceremonial roles: Appointment of the Prime Minister as designated by the Diet. Appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as designated by the Cabinet; the Emperor's other duties are laid down in article 7 of the Constitution, where it is stated that "the Emperor, with the advice and approval of the Cabinet, shall perform the following acts in matters of state on behalf of the people." In practice, all of these duties are exercised only in accordance with the binding instructions of the Cabinet: Promulgation of amendments of the constitution, cabinet orders, treaties. Convocation of the Diet. Dissolution of the House of Representatives. Proclamation of general election of members of the Diet. Attestation of the appointment and dismissal of Ministers of State and other officials as provided for by law, of full powers and credentials of Ambassadors and Ministers. Attestation of general and special amnesty, commutation of punishment and restoration of rights.
Awarding of honors. Attestation of instruments of ratification and other diplomatic documents as provided for by law. Receiving foreign ambassadors and ministers. Performance of ceremonial functions. Regular ceremonies of the Emperor with a constitutional basis are the Imperial Investitures in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Speech from the Throne ceremony in the House of Councillors in the National Diet Building; the latter ceremony opens extra sessions of the Diet. Ordinary sessions are opened each January and after new elections to the House of Representatives. Extra sessions convene in the autumn and are opened then. Although the Emperor has been a symbol of continuity with the past, the degree of power exercised by the Emperor has varied throughout Japanese history. In the early 7th century, the Emperor had begun to be called the "Son of Heaven"; the title of Emperor was borrowed from China, being derived from Chinese characters and was retroactively applied to the legendary Japanese rulers who reigned before the 7th–8th centuries AD.
According to the traditional account of the Nihon Shoki, Japan was founded by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. Modern historians agree that the Emperors before the possible late 3rd century AD ruler known traditionally as Emperor Ōjin are legendary. Emperor Ank
Kiso District
Kiso District is a district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of November 1, 2005, the district has an estimated population of 34,759; the total area is 1,546.26 km². The district was once known as Nishichikuma District until May 1, 1968. There are only 3 3 villages within the district. Agematsu Kiso Town Nagiso Kiso Village Ōkuwa Ōtaki May 1, 1968 – The district was renamed to Kiso District. February 13, 2005 – The village of Yamaguchi merged into the city of Nakatsugawa, Gifu. April 1, 2005 – The village of Narakawa merged into the city of Shiojiri. November 1, 2005 – The town of Kisofukushima merged with the villages of Mitake and Kaida to form the new town of Kiso. Nakasendō, a former trade route between Edo and Kyoto. Tsumago-juku, a restored post town on the Nakasendō. Kiso Valley
