Emperor Go-Komatsu

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Emperor Go-Komatsu (後小松天皇 Go-Komatsu Tennō) (August 1, 1377 - December 1, 1433) was the 100th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He is officially considered a pretender from May 24, 1382 to October 21, 1392, when Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicated, and a legitimate emperor from that date until October 5, 1412. His personal name was Motohito (幹仁).

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[edit] Genealogy

Go-Komatsu was the first son of the Northern Pretender Emperor Go-En'yū. His mother was Tsūyōmonin no Itsuko (通陽門院厳子), daughter of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Sanjō Kimitada (三条公忠).

  • Consort: Motoko (資子) Daughter of Hino Sukekuni (日野資国)
  • Consort: Unknown (the daughter of a retainer from the Southern Court)

[edit] Name

He was named after Emperor Kōkō, who had the alternate name Komatsu, because they both returned the throne to their families, in the case of Emperor Go-Komatsu, by defeating his Southern Court rivals, and in the case of Emperor Kōkō, by succeeding his elder brother's grandson, Emperor Yōzei.

[edit] Life

He was raised in the mansion of Hino Sukenori (日野西資教). He succeeded as Northern Emperor upon the abdication of his father, the Northern Pretender Emperor Go-En'yū. With the help of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, his father ruled as Cloistered Emperor. In 1392, following the re-unification of the Northern and Southern Courts, the Southern Emperor Emperor Go-Kameyama turned over the three sacred treasures, bringing the Southern Court to and end, and making Emperor Go-Komatsu the legitimate emperor of Japan on October 21, 1392.

In the peace at that time, it was agreed that the northern and southern courts would alternate. However, in 1412, when Emperor Go-Komatsu abdicated, the agreement was thrown away, and, instead, he was succeeded by his son, Emperor Shōkō, and all subsequent Emperors were descended from the Northern Court. Until 1911, the Northern Court Emperors were considered the legitimate ones, and the Southern Court to be illegitimate. However, now the Southern Court is considered to have been legitimate, primarily because they retained the three sacred treasures, and thus, Emperor Go-Komatsu is not considered to have been legitimate for the first 10 years of his reign.

[edit] Eras during his reign

(Northern court)

(Southern court)

(Both)

[edit] Southern Court Rivals

Preceded by:
Emperor Sukō
Northern Pretender
1371-1392
Succeeded by:
(none)
Preceded by:
Emperor Go-Kameyama
Emperor of Japan
1392-1412
Succeeded by:
Emperor Shōkō