Background
Tenno Ōgimachi was born on 18 June 1517. He was the eldest son of Emperor Gonara.
正親町天皇
Tenno Ōgimachi was born on 18 June 1517. He was the eldest son of Emperor Gonara.
When his father died in 1557, he succeeded him to become the 106th sovereign. It was a time of great social unrest; the finances of the imperial household were at their lowest ebb, and it was therefore impossible to hold a proper coronation ceremony.
In was not until three years later, when one of the great daimyo of the Chugoku region, Mori Motonari, donated a sum of money for that purpose, that the ceremony could finally be carried out. In the years following, the move toward the unification of the country under a single military leader gained momentum, and at the same time the responsibility of supporting the imperial household was taken over by the military leaders who were working for unification. Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi worked to restore the fortunes of the imperial household, and through their efforts the palace was rebuilt and the court ceremonies were once again carried out in proper fashion.
Emperor Ogimachi reigned for thirty years and in 1586 ceded the throne to his grandson, who became Emperor Goyozei.