Emperor En'yū


Emperor En'yū was the 64th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
En'yū's reign spanned the years from 969 through 984.

Biography

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Morihira-shinnō.
Morihira-shinnō was the fifth son of Emperor Murakami by the empress consort Anshi, the daughter of Fujiwara no Morosuke, therefore the brother of Emperor Reizei.
In 967, Morihira-shinnō was appointed as the crown prince, bypassing his elder brother by the same mother, since his brother had no support from the Fujiwara clan.
En'yū had five Empresses or Imperial consorts and one Imperial son.

Events of En'yū's life

In his reign there was a severe struggle between the Fujiwara clan over who would be appointed kampaku. Emperor En'yū followed his mother's advice and favored Fujiwara no Kanemichi, his maternal uncle. He had only one son, later the emperor Emperor Ichijō by Senshi, a daughter of his uncle Fujiwara no Kaneie, who was another brother of his mother. He made the daughter of Kanemichi the empress consort, though she bore no children. Senshi and her father Kaneie were angry at this elevation of their rival and were absent from the court for a long time, staying at the mansion of Kaneie with the child.
Imperial processions to the Hachiman and Hirano Shrines were first made during the reign of Emperor En'yū.
The actual site of En'yū's grave is known. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Kyoto.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as En'yū's mausoleum. It is formally named Nochi no Mukarami 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 have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During En'yū's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
The years of En'yū's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.
: Fujiwara no Koshi, Fujiwara no Kanemichi’s daughter
Empress : Fujiwara no Junshi/Nobuko, Fujiwara no Yoritada’s daughter
Consort : Imperial Princess Sonshi, Emperor Reizei’s daughter
Consort : Fujiwara no Senshi, Fujiwara no Kaneie’s daughter; later, Nyoin 'Higashi-sanjō In'
Court Attendant : Chujo-Miyasudokoro, Fujiwara no Kanetada's daughter
Court Attendant : Shōshō kōui

Ancestry