Emperor Kōkō (光孝天皇) was the 58th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Kōkō reigned from 884 to 887.

Traditional narrative

Before the emperor's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his name (imina) was Tokiyasu Shinnō (時康親王) 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 (go- meaning "later", so "Later Emperor Komatsu" or "Emperor Komatsu II"). Tokiyasu 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.

Events of Kōkō's life

The first kampaku Fujiwara no Mototsune was influential in the process by which Kōkō became an emperor. At the time Emperor Yōzei was deposed, Prince Tokiyasu was already Governor of Hitachi and Chief Minister of Ceremonies (Jibu-kyō, 治部卿) According to Kitabatake Chikafusa's 14th-century account, Mototsune resolved the problem of succession by simply going to visit Tokiyasu-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. 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. The actual site of Kōkō's grave is known. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Kyoto. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Kōkō's mausoleum. It is formally named Kaguragaoka no Higashi no misasagi.

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) 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:

Eras of Kōkō's reign

The years of Kōkō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

Consorts and children

Poetry

Emperor Kōkō is well-remembered for his poetry, and one of his waka appeared in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu:

Ancestry