Emperor Go-Fukakusa was the 89th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. This reign spanned the years 1246 through 1260. This 13th-century sovereign was named after the 9th-century Emperor Ninmyō and go-, translates literally as "later", and thus he could be called the "Later Emperor Fukakusa". The Japanese word go has also been translated to mean the "second one"; and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Fukakusa, the second", or as "Fukakusa II".
Name
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Hisahito. Although the Roman-alphabet spelling of the name of this 13th-century emperor is the same as that of the personal name of a current member of the Imperial family, the kanji are different:
Hisahito-shinnō formally became Go-Fukakusa-tennō at the age of 2; and Go-Saga began to exercise power as cloistered Emperor.
16 February 1246 : In the 4th year of Go-Saga-tennō 's reign, he abdicated; and the succession was received by his 4-year-old son. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Fukakusa is said to have acceded to the throne.
In 1259, at the insistence of Retired Emperor Go-Saga, he abdicated at the age of 15 to his younger brother, who would become Emperor Kameyama. After Emperor Go-Uda's ascension in 1260, Saionji Sanekane negotiated with the Bakufu, and succeeded in getting Emperor Go-Fukakusa's son Hirohito named as Crown Prince. In 1287, with his ascension as Emperor Fushimi, Go-Fukakusa's cloistered rule began. In 1290, he entered the priesthood, retiring from the position of cloistered Emperor. But, with his seventh son, Imperial Prince Hisaaki becoming the 8thKamakura shōgun among other things, the position of his Jimyōin-tō became strengthened. In 1304, he died. He is enshrined with other emperors at the imperial tomb called Fukakusa no kita no misasagi in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.
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 Go-Fukakusa's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
