# Emperor Go-Suzaku (後朱雀天皇)

**Emperor Go-Suzaku** (後朱雀天皇), whose name older sources sometimes render as "Suzaku II," lived from December 14, 1009 to February 7, 1045, dying at 37.<sup>[1](https://ctext.org/datawiki.pl?if=en&res=669283)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup> His reign fell within the Fujiwara regency government, and [Fujiwara no Yorimichi](https://www.edgepedia.org/fujiwara-no-yorimichi) held the kanpaku post throughout it.<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup> In 1040 he issued an edict halting new estates (shōen), whose content became the basis of the later Kantoku and Enkyū estate-reorganization edicts.<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup> Falling ill, he abdicated after naming his elder son Chikahito, the future [Emperor Go-Reizei](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-go-reizei), as first successor and arranging for his second son Takahito, the future [Emperor Go-Sanjō](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-go-sanjo), to be named crown prince.<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>

The prefix Go (後), meaning "later," identifies him as the second emperor bearing the name Suzaku, following the 10th-century [Emperor Suzaku](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-suzaku); older sources sometimes render his name as "Suzaku II"<sup>[1](https://ctext.org/datawiki.pl?if=en&res=669283)</sup>.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Life dates | December 14, 1009 – February 7, 1045; died at 37<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup> |
| Regent | Fujiwara no Yorimichi held the kanpaku post throughout the reign<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup> |

## Reign under Fujiwara tutelage

The reign fell within the Fujiwara regency government, and Fujiwara no Yorimichi, Michinaga's son and Go-Suzaku's uncle, exercised the kanpaku's full authority; the Britannica encyclopedia entry states that during his tenure the emperor's will did not always prevail<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>.

The reign was troubled by epidemic disease, large-scale protest actions (gōso) by the monk warriors of [Enryaku-ji](https://www.edgepedia.org/enryaku-ji), and frequent arson in the capital<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>.

**Policy initiative.** In 1040 the emperor issued an edict halting new estates (shōen); a Nipponica encyclopedia account notes that the measure apparently was not put into effect, but that its content became the basis of the later Kantoku and Enkyū estate-reorganization edicts<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>. The 1040 edict is cited as evidence of the emperor's own interest in government<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>.

## Abdication and the Go-Sanjō succession

Falling ill while staying at the Higashi Sanjō dono temporary palace, Go-Suzaku decided to abdicate. He named his elder son Chikahito (the future Emperor Go-Reizei) as his first successor, and at the same time arranged for his second son Takahito, the future Emperor Go-Sanjō, to be named crown prince. The regent Yorimichi showed reluctance toward this arrangement, but the emperor carried it through; the history encyclopedia Nipponica credits this as opening the road toward cloistered rule (insei) by Go-Sanjō's line<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>.

The abdication occurred on the sixteenth day of the first month of Kantoku 2 and the death on the eighteenth, in the [Japanese calendar](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-calendar)<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>.

## Writings and later significance

A poetry line in the *Shin Kokin Wakashū* ("Harusame no furishiku koro wa aoyagi no ito midaretsutsu hito zo koishiki") is attributed to him in the biographical dictionary entry<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>. His imperial diary, the *Chōryaku-ki* (《長暦御記》), survives only in fragments<sup>[2](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)</sup>.

Because Takahito, the son of Princess Teishi, eventually became Emperor Go-Sanjō, whose reign ended Fujiwara dominance over the imperial line<sup>[3](https://jref.com/articles/heian-period-part-1.204/)</sup>, the succession Go-Suzaku forced through against Yorimichi's wishes stands in retrospective accounts as a consequential act. A modern Japanese paper discussing imperial succession notes that had Go-Sanjō not lived to take the throne, the cloistered government of [Emperor Shirakawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/emperor-shirakawa) might not have come about as it did<sup>[4](https://rku.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/6857/files/hougaku_1602_13_81.pdf)</sup>.

## References

1. [後朱雀天皇 Hou Zhuque Tianhuang, Chinese Text Project](https://ctext.org/datawiki.pl?if=en&res=669283)
2. [後朱雀天皇(ゴスザクテンノウ), Kotobank (multiple dictionaries)](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%8C%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%E5%A4%A9%E7%9A%87-64884)
3. [Heian Period, Part 1, Japan Reference](https://jref.com/articles/heian-period-part-1.204/)
4. [国体論の形成Ⅰ〜南北朝正閏論争からみた南朝正統観の歴史認識, 立命館大学](https://rku.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/6857/files/hougaku_1602_13_81.pdf)

---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › Japan › Heian Japan (794 to 1185) › Heian people and families*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license