Go-Toba

The emperor Go-Toba (後鳥羽天皇 Go-Toba Tennō ) (August 6th 1180 - March 28th 1239) emperor Japan was the 82e, according to the traditional order of the succession, and reigned of the August 20th 1183 with the January 11th 1198.

Its personal name was Takahira (尊成). Its posthumous Nom was given to him in memory of that of the emperor Toba (one can translate the prefix Go- , 後, by “posterior”, which thus gives “posterior Toba Emperor”.)

Biography

Go-Toba goes up on the throne at the 3 years age, succeeding his/her brother the emperor Antoku, who is forced to abdicate during the Guerre of Gempei. A few years after his establishment, his/her grandfather the emperor withdrawn Go-Shirakawa dies, and Minamoto No Yoritomo benefits from the occasion to force the young emperor to name it sei-i-tai shōgun , thus melting the Shogunat de Kamakura and assuming the reality of the capacity, leaving to the imperial sovereign only one religious capacity.

In 1198, the shogun Go-Toba force, 18 years old, to abdicate. Two of wire of Go-Toba succeed to him on the throne but each one in their turn are forced to abdicate. Go-Toba reigns as an emperor withdrawn of 1198 with 1221 during the reign of three emperors but its capacity is limited more than that of the withdrawn emperors of the time Heian.

With died of Yoritomo in 1199, Go-Toba, which wants to put an end to the shôgunat of Kamakura and to reign personally, starts to gather troops, and in 1221, it makes abdicate his/her son Juntoku in favor of the son of this last, Chūkyō, in preparation of what will be called later the Révolte of Jōkyū. The Samurai S of the surroundings of Kyōto which were against the shôgunat support it, but the majority of the samurais, particularly those of the Kantō, choose the camp of the shogun, with supports Masako Hōjō, the widow of Yoritomo. The latter persuades the samurais gathered with Kyōto that if they did not support the shôgunat, they would lose their social status and their privileges, and that the court and the Kuge would regain their capacity and their influence. The rebellion of Go-Toba is then overcome and Chūkyō is replaced on the throne by Go-Horikawa, a nephew of Go-Toba.

After the rebellion, Go-Toba is exiled with the islands Oki, where he dies and is buried in 1239. Later, part of its body is buried in Ohara, in Kyōto.

Empress and consorts:

Fujiwara No Ninshi (Takako) ° 1174 + 1239, girl of Fujiwara (Kujo) Kanezane and Fujiwara No Kenshi (Kaneko); presented 17 II 1190; empress (chugu) 31 V 1190; titrated Gishumon In; of which

Princess Shoshi ° 1195+ 14 XII 1211; titrated empress (kogo) honorary 1208; titrated Shunkamon In 1209

Minamoto No Zaishi (Ariko) ° 1171 + 1257, girl of the monk (Fujiwara) No' in and adopted girl of Minamoto No Michichika; empress dowager; titrated Shomeimon In 9 II 1107; of which

first wire: Prince Tamehito ° 1195 (emperor TSUCHIMIKADO)

Fujiwara No Choshi ° 1182 + 1264, girl of Fujiwara No Norisue; empress dowager; titrated Shumeimon In 1207; nun in 1221; of which

third wire: Prince Morinari ° 1197 (Juntoku)
fourth wire: Prince Masanari ° 1200 + 1255

a girl of Fujiwara (Bo' my) No Nobukyo, of which

second wire: prince Nagahito ° 1196 + 1249
second girl: Princess Reishi ° 1200 + 1273
fifth wire: Prince Yorihito ° 1201 + 1264

a girl of the Prince (O) Nakasuke, going down from the Kazan emperor, of which

princess (Hime Miya) ° 1202 + VIII 1207

Lady of the Court

Princess Hiroko ° 1205; princess vestal of Ise

Culture

Go-Toba had a great influence on the Japanese culture of the time, being interested in all its aspects, of the cockfights to arts while passing by the techniques of craft industry.

He was thus a large amateur of the sabers, and made come with the passing of years a great number of blacksmiths from sabers to his court, giving them honorary titles and inviting them to teach him their Article He became thus itself a sizeable blacksmith, and its patronage gives place to the golden age of the manufacture of sabers in Japan. Its contribution to this art is always held in great regard, and still currently a tradition wants that it is the first factor of sabers about which one speaks in the suitable literature.

Go-Toba had many other centers of interests, and he in particular wrote a treaty on the Kemari , Ommari No Ki (“Chronic of the play of ball”), and one on the music, Ombiwa-awase (“Contest of Biwa”).

Its field of predilection, however, was poetry. It created a “office of poetry” (和歌所, waka-dokoro ) in 1201 and the compilation of the Shin Kokinshū ordered to him (“New old and modern anthology of waka ”). 34 of its poems were included in this anthology, and more than 200 others in various collections. One of them will be chosen by Fujiwara No Teika as a 99e poem of the anthology Ogura Hyakunin Isshu . Go-Toba also organized many contest of waka ( utaawase ).

Eras of its reign

Juei
Genryaku
Bunji
Kenkyū

References

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