Before the emperor's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his name was Tokiyatsu or Komatsu-tei. He would later be identified sometimes as "the Emperor of Komatsu". This resulted in the later Emperor Go-Komatsu adopting this name. Tokiyatsu Shinnō was the third son of Emperor Ninmyō. His mother was Fujiwara no Sawako. Kōkō had Four Imperial consorts and 41 Imperial sons and daughters.
The first kampakuFujiwara no Mototsune was influential in the process by which Kōkō became an emperor. At the time Emperor Yōzei was deposed, Prince Tokiaytsu was already Governor of Hitachi and Chief Minister of Ceremonies According to Kitabatake Chikafusa's 14th-century account, Mototsune resolved the problem of succession by simply going to visit Tokiyatsu-shinnō, where the kampaku addressed the prince as a sovereign and assigned imperial guards. The prince signaled his acceptance by going into the imperial palanquin, which then conducted him to the emperor's residence within the palace. Curiously, he was still wearing the robes of a prince when he decided to take this ride into an entirely unanticipated future.
February 4, 884 : In the 8th year of Emperor Yōzei's reign, the emperor was deposed; and scholars then construed that the succession was received by the third son of former Emperor Ninmyō, who was then age 55.
March 23, 884 : Emperor Kōkō is said to have acceded to the throne.
885 : The era name was changed accordingly in 885.
During his reign, Kōkō revived many ancient court rituals and ceremonies, and one example is the imperial hawking excursion to Serikawa, which had been initiated in 796 by Emperor Kanmu. This ritual event was revived by Kōkō after a lapse of 50 years.
January 11, 886 : Kōkō traveled to Seri-gawa to hunt with falcons. He very much enjoyed this kind of hunting, and he often took time for this kind of activity.
The actual site of Kōkō's grave is known. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShinto shrine at Kyoto. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Kōkō's mausoleum. It is formally named Kaguragaoka no Higashi no misasagi.
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 Kōkō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
Eighth Daughter: Imperial Princess Yasuko, married to Emperor Yōzei
Sixteenth Daughter: Imperial Princess Ishi, married to Emperor Daigo
Consort : Fujiwara no Kamiko, Fujiwara no Mototsune's daughter Consort : Fujiwara no Genjiko, Fujiwara no Yamakage's daughter Consort : Taira no Motoko/Tōshi, Taira no Yoshikaze's daughter Court Attendant : Shigeno no Naoko
Fourth Daughter: Imperial Princess Shigeko, 23rd Saiō in Ise Shrine 884–887
Court Attendant : Sanuki no Naganao's daughter
Ninth Son: Minamoto no Motomi
Court Attendant : Fujiwara Motoko Court lady: Sugawara no Ruishi, Sugawara no Koreyoshi's daughter Court lady: Princess Keishin, Prince Masami's daughter
