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Genealogy Emperor Kōmei was the fourth son of Emperor Ninkō. His wife was Kujō Asako (九条夙子), posthumously titled Eishō Kōteigō (英照皇太后). Emperor Meiji was his second son, by Nakayama Yoshiko (中山慶子). Kōmei had 6 children, four daughters and two sons, but the future Emperor Meiji was the only one to survive past the age of four. Life The Emperor's younger sister, Imperial princess Kazu-no-Miya Chikako (和宮親子内親王) was set to marry the Tokugawa shogun Tokugawa Iemochi as part of the Movement to Unite Court and Bakufu, but the shogun's death ended the negotiations. Both the Emperor and his sister were against the marriage, even though he realized the gains to be had from such familial connections with the true ruler of Japan. Emperor Kōmei didn't care much for anything foreign. He also hated the changes going on in Japan at the time. He was against opening Japan to Western powers, even as the Shogun continued to accept foreign demands. During his reign he started to get more power as the Tokugawa Shogunate declined, though this was limited to consultation and other protocol deference. He died of small pox at the age of 35. There is a theory that he was actually poisoned by the anti-Bakufu clique. Name Emperor Kōmei was the last emperor to be given a posthumous name chosen after his death. Beginning with Emperor Meiji, posthumous names were chosen in advance, being the same as the names coinciding with their reigns. Japanese_era_name|Eras of his reign In addition, Emperor Komei was the last Japanese Emperor who had multiple Era Names (nengo) during a single ruling term. Beginning with his successor Meiji, a single Era Name (identical to the Emperor's official title) was selected and did not change until his death. ---- | ||||||||||
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