Emperor Ninkō

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Emperor Ninkō 仁孝天皇
Emperor of Japan
Reign	7 May 1817 – 21 February 1846
Enthronement	31 October 1817
Predecessor	Kōkaku
Successor	Kōmei
Shōguns	See list Tokugawa Ienari (1817-1837) Tokugawa Ieyoshi (1837-1846)
Born	Ayahito (恵仁) (1800-03-16)16 March 1800 Tokugawa Shogunate
Died	21 February 1846(1846-02-21) (aged 45) Kyoto, Tokugawa Shogunate
Burial	Tsuki no wa no misasagi (後月輪陵), Kyoto
Spouse	Takatsukasa Tsunako Takatsukasa Yasuko
Issue more...	Princess Sumiko Emperor Kōmei Princess Kazu
Posthumous name Chinese-style shigō: Emperor Ninkō (仁孝天皇)
House	Imperial House of Japan
Father	Emperor Kōkaku
Mother	Kajyūji Tadako [ja]
Religion	Shinto
Signature

Ayahito (Japanese: 恵仁, 16 March 1800 – 21 February 1846), posthumously honored as Emperor Ninkō (仁孝天皇, Ninkō-tennō), was the 120th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.^[1][2] Ninkō's reign spanned the years from 1817 until his death in 1846, and saw further deterioration of the power of the ruling Shōgun.^[3] Disasters, which included famine, combined with corruption and increasing Western interference, helped to erode public trust in the bakufu government. Emperor Ninkō revived certain court rituals and practices upon the wishes of his father. However, it is unknown what role, if any, the Emperor had in the turmoil which occurred during his reign.

His family included fifteen children from various concubines, but only three of them lived to adulthood. His fourth son, Imperial Prince Osahito became Emperor Kōmei upon Ninkō's death in 1846. While political power at the time still resided with the Shōgun, the beginnings of the Bakumatsu (end of military government) were at hand.

Before Ninkō's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina) was Ayahito (恵仁).^[4] He was born on 16 March 1800 and was the fourth son of Emperor Kōkaku. He was the only child of sixteen others to survive into adulthood. Ayahito was named as crown prince in 1809, having been adopted by his father's chief wife Imperial Princess Yoshiko (欣子内親王), also known as Shin-Seiwa-in (新清和院). His birth mother was one of his father's concubines named Kajyūji Tadako (勧修寺婧子).

Prince Ayahito was enthroned as Emperor on 31 October 1817, after his father retired from the throne. Following his father the Retired Emperor's wishes, he attempted to revive certain court rituals and practices. These included, among other things, restoring the title tennō, which identified the Emperor. Among Ninkō's innovations was the establishment of the Gakushūsho (the predecessor of the Gakushūin) for the Court Nobility just outside the Imperial Palace. One major event during his reign was the Tenpō famine which lasted from 1833 to 1837. The famine was most severe in northern Honshū and was caused by flooding and cold weather.^[5] Ninkō's reign also saw some deterioration of the Shōgun's power. Damage from the Tenpō famine and other concurring natural disasters shook the faith of the people in the ruling Shōgun. In 1837, Ōshio Heihachirō led a revolt in Osaka against corrupt officials who refused to help feed the impoverished residents of the city. That same year also had an incident take place where an American merchant vessel was driven away by coastal artillery. While order was eventually restored, long term resentment resonated with the commoners against the ruling government. It is unclear though what role, if any, the Emperor played during this period of unrest.

Emperor Ninkō died on 21 February 1846 and was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum, Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashiyama no misasagi (後月輪東山陵), which is at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. Also enshrined in Tsuki no wa no misasagi, at Sennyū-ji are this Emperor's immediate Imperial predecessors since Emperor Go-Mizunoo – Meishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Reigen, Higashiyama, Nakamikado, Sakuramachi, Momozono, Go-Sakuramachi, Go-Momozono and Kōkaku. The shrine complex also encompasses the misasagi of Ninkō's immediate successor – Kōmei.^[6] Empress Dowager Yoshikō is also entombed at this Imperial mausoleum complex.^[7]

The years of Ninkō's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.^[3] While 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.

The following eras occurred during Ninkō's reign:

• Bunka (1804–1818)
• Bunsei (1818–1830)
• Tenpō (1830–1844)
• Kōka (1844–1848)

During Ninkō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

• Kampaku, Ichijō Tadayoshi, 1814–1823
• Kampaku, Takatsukasa Masamichi, 1823–1856
• Sadaijin
• Udaijin
• Naidaijin
• Dainagon

Emperor Ninkō's family included 7 sons and 8 daughters from various concubines, but only the future Emperor Komei (Komei-tennō), Princess Sumiko (Sumiko-naishinnō) and Princess Chikako (Chikako-naishinnō) survived beyond childhood.^[8]

^[9]

• Emperor of Japan
• List of Emperors of Japan
• Imperial cult
• Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines

• Meyer, Eva-Maria. (1999). Japans Kaiserhof in der Edo-Zeit: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Jahre 1846 bis 1867. Münster: LIT Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8258-3939-0; OCLC 42041594
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-04940-5; OCLC 59145842

• Kazu-No-Miya Chikako