Emperor Momozono - Events of Momozono's Life

Events of Momozono's Life

During his reign, in 1758, the Hōreki Scandal occurred when a large number of the young court nobility were punished by the Bakufu for advocating the restoration of direct Imperial rule.

• 25 April 1747: Prince Toohito was invested as Crown Prince.

• 9 June 1747: Prince Toohito became emperor.

• 1748 (Kan'en 1): The first performance of the eleven-act puppet play Kanadehon Chushingura (A copybook of the treasury of loyal retainers), depicting the classic story of samurai revenge, the 1702 vendetta of the 47 rōnin.

• 1748 (Kan'en 1): : A Ryukyuan diplomatic mission from Shō Kei of the Ryūkyū Kingdom was received by the shogunate.

• 7 October 1749 (Kan'en 2, 26th day of the 8th month): A terrific storm of wind and rain strikes Kyoto; and the keep of Nijō Castle is burnt after it was struck by lightning.

• 1752 (Hōreki 2): : A Ryukyuan diplomatic mission from Shō Boku of the Ryūkyū Kingdom arrived in Edo.

• 1758 (Hōreki 8): The Hōreki incident involved a small number of kuge who favored a restoration of Imperial power; and this was construed as a threat by the shogunate.

• 1760 (Hōreki 10): Shogun Ieshige resigns and his son, Ieharu, becomes the 10th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

• 1762 (Hōreki 12): The emperor abdicated in favor of his sister.

• 31 August 1762: The emperor died at the age of 21.

Momozono's kami is enshrined in an Imperial mausoleum (misasagi), Tsukinowa no misasagi, at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. Also enshrined here are Momozono's immediate Imperial predecessors since Emperor Go-Mizunoo – Meishō, Go-Kōmyō, Go-Sai, Reigen, Higashiyama, Nakamikado and Sakuramachi, along with five of his immediate Imperial successors – Go-Sakuramachi, Go-Momozono, Kōkaku, Ninkō, and Kōmei.