Emperor Juntoku


Emperor Juntoku was the 84th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1210 through 1221.

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Morinari-shinnō.
He was the third son of Emperor Go-Toba. His mother was Shigeko, the daughter of Fujiwara Hanki
Morinari-shinnō became Crown Prince in 1200. He was elevated to the throne after Emperor Go-Toba pressured Emperor Tsuchimikado into abdicating.
In actuality, Emperor Go-Toba wielded effective power as a cloistered emperor during the years of Juntoku's reign.
In 1221, he was forced to abdicate because of his participation in Go-Toba's unsuccessful attempt to displace the Kamakura bakufu with re-asserted Imperial power. This political and military struggle was called the Jōkyū War or the Jōkyū Incident.
After the Jōkyū-no ran, Juntoku was sent into exile on Sado Island, where he remained until his death in 1242.
This emperor is known posthumously as Sado-no In because his last years were spent at Sado. He was buried in a mausoleum, the Mano Goryo, on Sado's west coast. Juntoku's official Imperial tomb is in Kyoto.
Juntoku was tutored in poetry by Fujiwara no Sadaie, who was also known as Teika. One of the emperor's poems was selected for inclusion in what became a well-known anthology, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. This literary legacy in Teika's collection of poems has accorded Juntoku a continuing popular prominence beyond the scope of his other lifetime achievements. The poets and poems of the Hyakunin isshu form the basis for a card game which is still widely played today.

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