Before Montoku's ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (imina)[4] was Michiyasu (道康).[5] He was also known as Tamura-no-mikado[6] or Tamura-tei.[7]
He was the eldest son of Emperor Ninmyō. His mother was Empress Dowager Fujiwara no Junshi (also called the Gojō empress 五条后), daughter of the minister of the left, Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu.[6]
Montoku had six Imperial consorts and 29 Imperial children.[8]
6 May 850 (Kashō 3, 21st day of the 3rd month): In the 17th year of Ninmyō-tennō's reign (仁明天皇十七年), the emperor died; and his eldest son received the succession (senso).[9]
850 (Kashō 3, 4th month): Emperor Montoku formally acceded to the throne (sokui).[10]
850 (Kashō 3, 5th month): The widow of Emperor Saga, who was also the mother of Emperor Ninmyō and the grandmother of Emperor Montoku, died. This very devout Buddhist had founded a temple called Danrin-ji (檀林寺) on the site of present-day Tenryū-ji (天龍寺) – more formally known as Tenryū Shiseizen-ji (天龍資聖禅寺), located in what is now Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward in Kyoto, Before her death, the former empress had been known by the honorific title, Danrin-kōgō (檀林皇后); and she had been honored as if she were a saint.[11]
850 (Kashō 3, 11th month): The emperor named Korehito-shinnō, the 4th son of Emperor Montoku as his heir.[12] This 9-month-old baby was also the grandson of udaijinFujiwara no Yoshifusa.[13]
853 (Ninju 3, 2nd month): The emperor visited the home of udaijin Yoshifusa, the grandfather of his designated heir.[13]
11 July 854 (Saikō 1, 13th day of the 6th month): The sadaijin Minamoto no Tokiwa, also known as Minamoto no Tsune, died at age 43.[14]
855 (Saikō 2, in the 1st month): The Emishi organized a rebellion; and in response, a force of 1,000 men and provisions were sent to the north.[15]
855 (Saikō 2, 5th month): The head of the great statute of Buddha in the Tōdai-ji fell off; and in consequence, the emperor ordered the then dainagon Fujiwara no Yoshisuke, the brother of sadaijin Yoshifusa, to be in charge of gathering the gifts of the pious from throughout the empire to make another head for the Daibutsu.[15]
Events during his reign included the repression of insurrections among the Ebisu people in Mutsu Province in 855, and among the people of the island of Tsushima two years later.
7 October 858 (Ten'an 2, 27th day of the 8th month): Montoku died at the age of 32.[16]
The actual site of Montoku's grave is known.[1] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShintoshrine (misasagi) at Kyoto.
In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Montoku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
Brown, pp. 264; prior to Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors were very long and people did not generally use them; however, the number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
Titsingh, p. 112; Brown, p. 284; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
