Emperor Horikawa

Japanese: 堀河天皇 - ほりかわてんのう

Year of death: 19th July 1107 (9th August 1107)
Year of birth: Joreki 3.7.9 (1079.8.8)
An emperor in the late Heian period. Son of Emperor Shirakawa and Yoshiko, the daughter of Minister of the Right, Minamoto no Akifusa. Given name Yoshihito. When Emperor Shirakawa's half-brother, Crown Prince Sanehito, died of illness in 1085, Yoshihito ascended to the throne the following year when his father abdicated and was made Crown Prince. In 1089, he came of age. He died of illness while still in power. He reigned for 22 years. As he ascended to the throne at a young age, his father, the retired Emperor Shirakawa, ruled as a cloistered emperor and held real political power. However, he was assisted by the chancellor Fujiwara no Michimichi and Fujiwara no Michitoshi, as well as Oe no Masafusa, and although there was some friction with the retired Emperor Shirakawa, he led a stable political situation, and in later generations he was praised as the wisest king of the last era. Influenced by the Empress Atsushi, she developed a love of waka poetry, and while she composed poetry herself, she also gathered around her fellow poets, such as Minamoto no Kuninobu, Fujiwara no Toshitada, and Minamoto no Toshiyori, forming what was known as the Horikawa-in poetry circle, which placed emphasis on literary art, and undertook innovative endeavors that would have a lasting impact on later generations, such as the "Horikawa-in Ensho-awase" and "Horikawa-in Hyakushu." Nine of her waka poems remain in imperial anthologies, starting with the "Kinyoshu." She also loved music, learning the flute from Minamoto no Masanaga, the sho from Toyohara Tokimoto, and Kagura from Tada, and she frequently held small-scale musical and instrumental gatherings at the Imperial Court. Her enthusiasm is recorded as anecdotes in numerous anthologies of tales, such as "Kyokuminsho" and "Jikkunsho." She was revered by many of her subjects, and her death was deeply regretted, and in memory of her passing, the "Sanuki no Naishi Nikki" was written. <References> Hashimoto Fumio, "Research into the History of the Poetry Circle during the Insei Period"

(Harumi Watanabe)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：嘉承2.7.19(1107.8.9)
生年：承暦3.7.9(1079.8.8)
平安後期の天皇。白河天皇と右大臣源顕房の娘賢子の子。諱は善仁。白河天皇の異母弟,皇太子実仁親王が応徳2(1085)年病没すると,父天皇の譲位で翌3年立太子と同時に即位。寛治3(1089)年元服。在位のまま病により崩ずる。在位期間22年。幼少時の即位であったことから,父白河上皇が院政を行い政治の実権を握る状態ではあった。しかし,関白藤原師通や藤原通俊,さらには大江匡房らに補佐され,白河上皇との多少の摩擦はあったものの,安定した政治状況に至ったことから,後世になって末代の賢王とも称賛された。中宮篤子内親王の影響もあって和歌を好み,自らも詠作する一方,源国信,藤原俊忠,源俊頼らの歌人たちを周辺に集め,文芸性を重視した堀河院歌壇と称されるものが形成され,『堀河院艶書合』『堀河院百首』などの後世に影響を残す斬新な試みがなされた。『金葉集』以下の勅撰集に9首の和歌が残る。また音楽も好み,笛は源政長を,笙は豊原時元を,神楽は多資忠をそれぞれ師として学び,宮中で小規模な管弦の会を繰り返し催した。その熱中ぶりは『教訓抄』『十訓抄』など数多くの説話集に逸話として残されている。多くの臣下に敬慕され,その死は深く惜しまれたが,その崩御を悼んで描かれたのが『讃岐典侍日記』である。<参考文献>橋本不美男『院政期の歌壇史研究』

(渡辺晴美)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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