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He was the eldest son of Prince ?? (誠仁親王), later refered to as an honorary Retired Emperor, fifth-born son of Emperor Ogimachi. His mother was a lady-in-waiting Children:
Originally, Emperor Ogimachi's son was supposed to succeed him. However, he died in 1586 of natural causes. For this reason, Prince Katahito was made crown prince on November 5 of that year, and two days later, his grandfather the Emperor abdicated, and Prince Katahito became Emperor Go-Yozei.
His reign corresponds to the rise of Oda Nobunaga, the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the beginning of the Edo Bakufu.
The Emperor gave Toyotomi Hideyoshi the rank of Taiko, originally a title given to the father of the Emperor's chief advisor ( Kampaku), or a retired Kampaku, which was essential to increase his status, and effectively stablize his power. This also allowed the Imperial Family to recover its lost prestige.
In 1603, Tokugawa IeyasuTokugawa Ieyasu (also (archaic) Iyeyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu January 31 1543 June 1 1616) was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, and is commonly known as one of the "three great unifiers" of feudal Japan (the other two are Oda Nobunaga and Toyotom was given the title of Seii TaishogunFor the James Clavel novel, see Shogun or for the TV Miniseries. In Japanese history, a Shogun was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era beginning in 1868. Bakufu is a Japanese word for the administration of a Shogun, which had recently become empty, beginning the Edo BakufuThe Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. This period is known as the Edo period. He gradually began to interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Court. The right to grant ranks of court nobility and change the era became a concern of the bakufu. However, the Imperial Court's poverty during the Warring States EraThe Sengoku Period ( Sengoku jidai or "warring-states" period, is a period of long civil war in the History of Japan that spans through the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. It started in the late Muromachi period in 1467 with the Onin War Onin no became a thing of the past.
In 1611 he abdicated in favor of his third son, who became the Go-Mizunoo Emperor. He had wanted to be succeeded by his younger brother, Imperial Prince Hachijo-no-miya Toshihito (八条宮智仁親王) (first of the Hachijo-no-miya line, later called Katsura-no-miya), who built the Katsura Imperial Villa.
He loved literature and art. He published the Kobun Kokyo and part of NihonshokiNihonshoki ( Japanese language) is the second oldest history book about the ancient history of Japan. Compared with Kojiki the oldest, it is more elaborate and has proven invaluable to historians as it includes the most complete historical records they ha with movable type dedicated to the emperor by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
He died on September 25, 1617.