Events of Tsuchimikado's life
In 1198, he became emperor upon the abdication of Emperor Go-Toba, who continued to exercise Imperial powers as cloistered emperor.
- 18 February 1198 (Kenkyū 9, 11th day of the 1st month): In the 15th year of Go-Toba-tennō's reign (後鳥羽天皇十五年), the emperor abdicated; and the succession (senso) was received by his eldest son.
- 1198 (Kenkyū 9, 3rd month): Emperor Tsuchimikado is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).
- 1199: Shortly after Tsuchimikado's reign began, Minamoto no Yoritomo died.
- 1203: Yoritomo's successor as head of the Kamakura shogunate, Minamoto no Yoriie, was assassinated; and former emperor Go-Toba was responsible for good relations with the shogunate when it was headed by Minamoto no Sanetomo from 1203 through 1219.
- 1210: Go-Toba persuaded Tsuchimikado to abdicate in favor of his younger brother, who would become known as Emperor Juntoku.
In Kyōto, Minamoto no Michichika took power as steward, and in Kamakura, in 1199, upon the death of Minamoto no Yoritomo, Hōjō Tokimasa began to rule as Gokenin.
Tsuchimikado removed himself from Kyoto, traveling first to Tosa Province (now known as Kōchi Prefecture); and later, he moved to Awa province (now known as Tokushima Prefecture), where he died in exile.
- 1231: The former emperor died at age 35.
Tsuchimikado's official Imperial tomb is in Kyoto. The emperor is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi). This mausoleum shrine is formally named Kanegahara no misasagi.
Kugyō
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.
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 Tsuchimikado's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
