(1328 – March 29, 1368) was the 97th

emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

, according to the traditional order of succession, and a member of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period of rival courts. He reigned from September 18, 1339, until March 29, 1368 ('' Shōhei 23, 11th day of the 3rd month''). His personal name was . He reigned from Sumiyoshi,

Ōsaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population o ...

, Yoshino,

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

, and other temporary locations. This 14th-century sovereign was named after the 10th-century Emperor Murakami and ''go-'' (後), translates as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Murakami". The Japanese word ''go'' has also been translated to mean the "second one"; and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Murakami, the second", or as "Murakami II".

Events of Go-Murakami's life

"Prince Norinaga" was Go-Daigo's son from his "favorite consort of his later years". This was Lady Renshi. He lived during the turbulent years of conflict between rival claimants to the Chrysanthemum Throne. The contested succession pitted what were known as the Northern and Southern Courts against each other. These years are also known as the

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

. When

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

began his Kenmu Restoration, the still very young prince, along with Kitabatake Akiie, in 1333 went to Tagajō in what is now

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the n ...

, at the time Mutsu Province, to return the eastern

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

to their allegiance and destroy the remnants of the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...

. However, in 1336, because

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

had raised a rebellion, the Emperor returned to Sakamoto with a strong force to confront him. He was accompanied by Kitabatake Akiie, in order to confront Takauji. When Takauji defeated them in Kyōto in 1336, they again returned to Mutsu Province. In 1337, because Tagajō was attacked, they returned yet again to the west, returning to Yoshino while constantly fighting battles. In 1338, he headed to Tagajō, but returned to Yoshino because of a storm. In Oct. 1338, he was named

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

. On 19 Sept. 1339, he became emperor upon the death of

. Kitabatake Chikafusa became his advisor. In 1348, Kō no Moronao attacked Yoshino, and the Emperor left for modern-day Nishiyoshino Village in Yoshino District,

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

, which was then

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, ...

. In 1352, he entered Otokoyama in Yamashiro Province. As a result of the Battle of Shichijō Ōmiya, Kusunoki Masanori recovered Kyōto from Ashikaga Yoshiakira. At this time, April 1352, the Retired Northern Emperors Kōgon, Kōmyō, and Sukō were taken to Anau, the location of the Southern Court. However, within twenty days, Ashikaga Yoshiakira had recaptured Kyōto. The Emperor and his retinue were confined to Otokoyama, but escaped to Kawachi Province during an attack by Yoshiakira, and a few months later returned to Yoshino. In 1361, Hosokawa Kiyōji and Kusunoki Masanori, who had returned to the Southern Court's allegiance, attacked Kyōto, and temporarily recovered it. But, Yoshiakira quickly responded, and they evacuated Kyōto in less than twenty days. They continued trying to recover Kyōto, but the Southern Court's power was already weakening, and by the Emperor's death in 1368,

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu was ...

was in power and the throne had been moved to Sumiyoshi. Kanshinji gomurakami tenno hinoomisasagi

Go-Murakami's tomb is known as ''Hinoo no misasagi'' (檜尾陵); it is located in the precincts of Kanshin-ji temple (観心寺) in Kawachinagano, Osaka.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 422.

Kugyō

Kugyō is the collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre- Meiji eras. The term generally referred to the and court officials and denoted a court rank between First Rank and Third Rank und ...

'' (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

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 Go-Murakami's reign, this apex of the ''

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

included: * '' Sadaijin'' * '' Udaijin'' * '' Naidaijin'' * ''

Dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

Eras of Go-Murakami's reign

The years of Go-Murakami's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or ''

nengō The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

''. :''Nanboku-chō'' southern court *Eras as reckoned by legitimate Court (as determined by Meiji rescript) ** '' Engen'' (1336–1340) ** '' Kōkoku'' (1340–1346) ** '' Shōhei'' (1346–1370) :''Nanboku-chō'' northern court *Eras as reckoned by pretender Court (as determined by Meiji rescript) ** '' Ryakuō'' (1338–1342) ** ''

Kōei was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Ryakuō and before Jōwa. This period spanned the years from April 1342 to October 1345. The emperor in Kyo ...

'' (1342–1345) ** '' Jōwa'' (1345–1350) ** '' Kannō'' (1350–1352) ** '' Bunna'' (1352–1356) ** '' Embun'' (1356–1361) ** '' Kōan'' (1361–1362) ** '' Jōji'' (1362–1368) ** '' Ōan'' (1368–1375)

Genealogy

He was the seventh son of

*Consort: Minamoto (Kitabatake) Akiko (源 (北畠) 顕子), Kitabatake Chikafusa's daughter **First daughter: Imperial Princess Noriko (憲子内親王; 1345-1391) later Shin-Sen'mon-in (新宣陽門院) *Court Lady: Fujiwara no Shōshi (藤原勝子) later

Kaki Mon'in Kaki Mon'in (嘉喜門院, died 1380s?) was a Japanese noblewoman, Buddhist nun and ''waka'' poet of the Nanboku-chō period. She may have been the daughter of Ano Sanetame. She was a concubine of Japan's 97th emperor, Emperor Go-Murakami, an emper ...

, Ano Sanetama’s daughter **First son: Imperial Prince Yutanari (寛成親王) later Emperor Chōkei **Second son: Imperial Prince Hironari (熙成親王) later Emperor Go-Kameyama **Fourth son: Imperial Prince Yasunari (泰成親王, 1360–1423) *Consort: Okurakyo-no-Tsubone (大蔵卿局) **Third son: Imperial Prince Korenari (惟成親王, d. 1423) **Fifth son: Imperial Prince Moronari (師成親王, 1361–1431) *Consort: Reizen-no-Tsubone (冷泉局) **Seventh son: Imperial Prince Yoshinari (良成親王, d. 1395) *unknown **Sixth son: Imperial Prince Kanenari (説成親王) **daughter: Imperial Princess Sadako (貞子内親王)

References

References

* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. . * Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/ iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran">Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652">Hayashi_Gahō.html" ;"title="iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō">iyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652 ''Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou
Annales des empereurs du Japon
'' Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Go-Murakami Japanese emperors">Royal Asiatic Society">Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Go-Murakami Japanese emperors 1328 births 1368 deaths People of Muromachi-period Japan, Emperor Go-Murakami 1330s in Japan, Emperor Go-Murakami 1340s in Japan, Emperor Go-Murakami 1350s in Japan, Emperor Go-Murakami 1360s in Japan, Emperor Go-Murakami 14th-century Japanese monarchs Deified Japanese people

Events of Go-Murakami's life

Kugyō

Eras of Go-Murakami's reign

Genealogy

See also

References

References