Emperor Juntoku - Events of Juntoku's Life

Events of Juntoku's Life

Morinari-shinnō became Crown Prince in 1200. He was elevated to the throne after Emperor Go-Toba pressured Emperor Tsuchimikado into abdicating.

  • 1210 (Jōgen 1, 25th day of the 11th month): In the 12th year of Tsuchimikado-tennō 's reign (土御門天皇12年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his younger brother, the second son of the former-Emperor Go-Toba. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Juntoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

In actuality, Emperor Go-Toba wielded effective power as a cloistered emperor during the years of Juntoku's reign.

In 1221, he was forced to abdicate because of his participation in Go-Toba's unsuccessful attempt to displace the Kamakura bakufu with re-asserted Imperial power. This political and military struggle was called the Jōkyū War or the Jōkyū Incident (Jōkyū-no ran).

After the Jōkyū-no ran, Juntoku was sent into exile on Sado Island (佐渡島 or 佐渡ヶ島, both Sadogashima), where he remained until his death in 1242.

This emperor is known posthumously as Sado-no In (佐渡院) because his last years were spent at Sado. He was buried in a mausoleum, the Mano Goryo, on Sado's west coast. Juntoku's official Imperial tomb (misasagi) is in Kyoto.

Juntoku was tutored in poetry by Fujiwara no Sadaie, who was also known as Teika. One of the emperor's poems was selected for inclusion in the what became a well-known anthology, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. This literary legacy in Teika's collection of poems has accorded Juntoku a continuing popular prominence beyond the scope of his other lifetime achievements. The poets and poems of the Hyakunin isshu form the basis for a card game (uta karuta) which is still widely played today.

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