Death - Kousou

Japanese: 薨奏 - こうそう

One of the Imperial Court ceremonies. According to the funeral ordinances, the death of a prince or a person of third rank or higher was called "death," while those of fifth rank or higher were called "sotsu" and commoners of sixth rank or lower were called "shi" to distinguish between these two. When a prince or a person of fifth rank or higher dies, the Ministry of Justice reports to the Emperor through the Dajokan. This is called a "death report," but it is not done for those who have already become monks. There is a theory that death reports are not done for young princes, and there are examples of this, but as the Kitayamasho explains, it is customary for princes to report their deaths regardless of whether they have become monks or are still children, and when a death report is made, it is said to be "mimairitamau."

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

宮中儀礼の一つ。喪葬令（そうそうりよう）によると，親王または三位以上の者の死を〈薨〉といい，五位以上の者は〈卒〉，六位以下庶人は〈死〉と称して区別した。親王および五位以上の者が没すると，治部省から太政官を経て天皇に奏聞する。これを薨奏というが，すでに出家した者には行わない。なお幼少の親王も薨奏しないとの説があり，その実例もあるが，《北山抄》の説くごとく，親王は入道･幼稚を問わず行うのが例で，薨奏に際しては，〈身退給（みまかりたまう）〉と奏する定めである。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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