11 Facts About Emperor Go-Mizunoo

Kotohito, posthumously honored as Emperor Go-Mizunoo, was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the third son of Emperor Go-Yozei and his consort, Konoe Sakiko.

Emperor Go-Mizunoo resided together with concubines in the Dairi of the Heian Palace.

Emperor Go-Mizunoo had 33 children with his empress consort and 6 concubines.

The succession was considered to have been received by the new monarch; and shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Mizunoo is said to have acceded.

The events during Emperor Go-Mizunoo's lifetime shed some light on his reign.

Ieyasu died at Suruga the following year and Former-Emperor Go-Mizunoo Go-Yozei died in 1617.

In 1623, the Emperor Go-Mizunoo made Tokugawa Iemitsu, son of Hidetada, shogun and later visited Nijo Castle.

The "Purple Robe Incident" occurred in 1627 when the Emperor Go-Mizunoo was accused of having bestowed honorific purple garments to more than ten priests despite the shogun's edict which banned them for two years, a practice probably set in place to break the bond between the Emperor Go-Mizunoo and religious circles.

Emperor Go-Mizunoo's memory is honored at Sennyu-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto where a designated Imperial mausoleum is located.

The years of Emperor Go-Mizunoo's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengo: Keicho, Genna, and Kan'ei.