This 11th-century sovereign was named after the 10th-century Emperor Suzaku and go- (後), translates literally as "later;" and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Suzaku". The Japanese word "go" has also been translated to mean the "second one;" and in some older sources, this emperor may be identified as "Suzaku, the second" or as "Suzaku II."
Biography
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)[4] was Atsunaga-shinnō (敦良親王).[5][6]
Go-Suzaku had five Empresses and seven Imperial children.[7]
Events of Go-Suzaku's life
May 15, 1036 (Chōgen 9, 17th day of the 4th month) : In the 9th year of Emperor Go-Ichijō's reign (後一条天皇九年), he died; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his younger brother.[8]
1036 (Chōgen 9, 7th month): Emperor Go-Suzaku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[9]
February 5, 1045 (Kantoku 2, 16th day of the 1st month): Emperor Go-Suzaku abdicated.[7]
February 7, 1045 (Kantoku 2, 18th day of the 1st month): The former-Emperor Go-Suzaku ordained as a Buddhist monk and died the same day at the age of 37.[10] His reign has lasted nine years—five in the nengōChōryaku, four in Chōkyu, and 2 in Kantoku.
Decorative emblems (kiri) of the Hosokawa clan are found at Ryōan-ji. Go-Suzaku is amongst six other emperors entombed near what had been the residence of Hosokawa Katsumoto before the Ōnin War.
The actual site of Go-Suzaku's grave is unknown.[1] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShintoshrine (misasagi) at Kyoto.
Go-Suzaku is buried amongst the "Seven Imperial Tombs" at Ryōan-ji Temple in Kyoto.[12]
The specific mound which commemorates the Hosokawa Emperor Go-Suzaku is today named Shu-zan.[13]
The emperor's burial place would have been quite humble in the period after Go-Suzaku died.[13]
These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th century restoration of imperial sepulchers (misasagi) which were ordered by Emperor Meiji.[13]
The final resting place of Emperor Go-Suzaku's consort, Teishi Nai-shinnō (1013–1094), is here as well.[13]
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. Even during those years in which the court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted.
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 Go-Suzaku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
^Brown, pp. 264; prior to Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
^Brown, p. 310; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
