Nagahito-shinnō became emperor when his emperor-brother died. This death left the throne vacant and the succession (
senso) was received by the new monarch. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Go-Sai is considered to have acceded to the throne (
sokui). The events during his lifetime shed light on his reign. The years of Go-Sai's reign correspond with a period in which
Tokugawa Ietsuna was the leader at the pinnacle of the
Tokugawa shogunate. Go-Sai married the daughter of the first ; and he succeeded as second Takamatsu-no-miya. Then this Imperial prince became the emperor as a temporary measure until his younger brother, could grow older. •
January 1, 1638: The birth of an Imperial prince who will become known by the posthumous name of Go-Sai
-tennō. •
January 5, 1655: The death of Go-Kōmyō caused the succession (
senso) to be passed to his brother; and when the succession (
senso) was received, the reign of Emperor Go-Sai was deemed to commence. •
March 5, 1663 (
Kanbun 3, 26th day of the 1st month): Emperor Go-Sai abdicated, After abdicating, Go-sai put his heart into scholarship and he left behind many books, including the "Water and Sun Collection" (
Suinichishū, 水日集). He was talented in
waka; and he had a profound understanding of the classics. During his reign, because of great fires at the Grand
Ise Shrine,
Osaka Castle, and the
Imperial Palace, among others, the Great
Meireki Fire, earthquakes in the region, and because of repeated floods, many people blamed the Emperor, saying he lacked moral virtue. •
March 26, 1685 (
Jōkyō 2, 22nd day of the 2nd month): Former-Emperor Go-Sai died; Emperor Go-Sai is enshrined in the imperial mausoleum,
Tsuki no wa no misasagi, at
Sennyū-ji in
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. Also enshrined are Go-Sai's immediate predecessors,
Emperor Go-Mizunoo,
Empress Meishō and
Go-Kōmyō. Go-Sai's immediate Imperial successors, including
Reigen,
Higashiyama,
Nakamikado,
Sakuramachi,
Momozono,
Go-Sakuramachi and
Go-Momozono, are enshrined here as well. At the Kitano Shrine, a tablet over the
Chu-mon entryway reads
tenmangu in the calligraphy of Emperor Go-sai.
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. 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-Sai's reign, this apex of the
Daijō-kan included: •
Kampaku,
Nijō Mitsuhira, 1653–1663 •
Sadaijin •
Udaijin •
Naidaijin •
Dainagon ==Eras of Go-Sai-tennō's reign==