Emperor Kōkō
- Reign: 884-887AD
- Born: 830AD
- Period: Heian Period
- Family: Emperor Ninmyō (father) Minamoto no Muneyuki (grandson)
- Order of Succession: Predecessor Emperor Yōzei * Successor Emperor Uda
Table of Contents
Emperor Kōkō
Emperor Kōkō (光孝天皇) was the 58th Emperor of Japan living from 830-871AD and reigning from 884-887AD.1
Family
Kōkō was the third son of Emperor Ninmyō1 and grandfather of the poet Minamoto no Muneyuki.1
Reign
He was the protégé of Fujiwara no Mototsune and was placed on the throne (aged 541) after Mototsune had Emperor Yōzei deposed. Mototsune would then see Kōkō deposed for Emperor Uda.2
Contemporary sources give him the name Emperor of the Ninna Era.1
Poetry
In total for him we can find 14 poems in Imperial Anthologies, in addition to a personal collection called the Ninna Gyoshū.
One of his poems (No.15) can be found in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu and goes as follows:1
| Japanese text3 | Romanized Japanese1 | English translation1 |
|---|---|---|
| 君がため 春の野に出でて 若菜つむ わが衣手に 雪はふりつつ | Kimi ga tame haru no no ni idete wakana tsumu waga koromode ni yuki wa furitsutsu | For you, I came out to the fields to pick the first spring greens. All the while, on my sleeves a light snow falling. |
Footnotes
1. MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
2. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
3. Suzuki, H. et al. (1997) ”Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu”. Tokyo: Bun’eidō.
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