Meet all the emperors of Japan

Do you know all the emperors of Japan? In this article, we will share a complete list of Japanese emperors, from the legendary Jimmu to Naruhito, the 126th, who has reigned since May 1, 2019.

Contents 9

Early emperors in the traditional count

Let's start with the early names in the traditional count. The first emperor of Japan, according to Shinto tradition, is Jimmu. He is considered a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu.

The name most readers know is the posthumous name, often taken from a palace or a chosen quality, rather than the name used in life. Jingū stays in the table as regent, and Ōjin is the 15th. Below is the list in numerical order:

No.	Years	Posthumous name	Kanji	Name
1st	660 B.C. - 585 B.C.	Jimmu	神武天皇	Kamuyamato Iwarebiko
2nd	581 B.C. - 549 B.C.	Suizei	綏靖天皇	Kamununa Kawa Mimi no Mikoto
3rd	549 B.C. - 511 B.C.	Annei	磯城津彦玉手看尊 / 安寧天皇	Sikitsuhiko Tamatemi no Mikoto
4th	510 B.C. - 476 B.C.	Itoku	懿徳天皇	Oho Yamatohiko Suki Tomonau no Mikoto
5th	475 B.C. - 393 B.C.	Koshō	観松彦香殖稲尊 / 孝昭天皇	Mima Tsuhiko Kaeshine no Mikoto
6th	392 B.C. - 291 B.C.	Koan	孝安天皇	Oho Yamato Tarasihiko Kuniosi Hito no Mikoto
7th	290 B.C. - 215 B.C.	Korei	孝霊天皇	Oho Yamato Nekohiko Futoni no Mikoto
8th	214 B.C. - 158 B.C.	Kogen	孝元天皇	Oho Yamato Nekohiko Kuni Kuro no Mikoto
9th	158 B.C. - 98 B.C.	Kaika	開化天皇	Waka Yamato Nekohiko Oho Bibi no Mikoto
10th	97 B.C. - 30 B.C.	Sujin	崇神天皇	Mimaki Irihiko Isatsi no Mikoto
11th	29 B.C. - 70	Suinin	垂仁天皇	Ikume Irihiko Isatsi no Mikoto
12th	71 - 130	Keikō	景行天皇	Oho Tarasihiko Osirowake no Mikoto
13th	131 - 191	Seimu	成務天皇	Waka Tarasihiko
14th	192 - 200	Chuai	仲哀天皇	Tarasi Nakatsuhiko no Mikoto
15th/ (Regent)	201 - 269	Jingū	神功天皇
15th	270 - 310	Ojin	応神天皇	Homuta Wake no Mikoto or Honda Wake no Mikoto
16th	313 - 399	Nintoku	仁徳天皇	Oho Sazaki no Mikoto

Japanese Emperors of the Yamato Period

The next stretch runs from Richū through the early Asuka court. Kimmei, whose kanji is 欽明天皇, is the first emperor in this list whose reign historians can check against records outside the chronicles. Saimei is Kōgyoku back on the throne. Tenji's years are counted from 661, with the formal enthronement in 668.

No.	Time	Name	Kanji Name	Romaji
17th	400 - 405	Richu	履中天皇	Isavo Wake no Mikoto
18th	406 - 410	Hanzei	反正天皇	Misu wa Wake no Mikoto
19th	411 - 453	Ingyo	允恭天皇	Wo Atsumano Wakako no Sukune
20th	453 - 456	Anko	安康天皇	Anahono no Mikoto
21st	456 - 479	Yuryaku	雄略天皇	Oho Hatsuneno no Mikoto
22nd	480 - 484	Seinei	清寧天皇	Siraga Takehiro Kuni Osi Wakai Yamato Neko no Mikoto
23rd	485 - 487	Kenzo	顕宗天皇	Ohoke no Mikoto
24th	488 - 498	Ninken	仁賢天皇	Oho Ai Azana Simano Irakko
25th	498 - 506	Buretsu	武烈天皇	Wo Fatsuse Wakai Sazaki
26th	507 - 531	Keitai	継体天皇	Wo Ofu Atonohiko Fudo no Mikoto
27th	531 - 535	Ankan	安閑天皇	Hirokuni Oshitake Kanahi no Mikoto
28th	535 - 539	Senka	宣化天皇	Takehi Hirokuni Oshitake no Mikoto
29th	539 - 571	Kimmei	欽明天皇	Amekuni Oshiharaki Hironiwa no Mikoto
30th	572 - 585	Bidatsu	敏達天皇	Nunakura no Futotamashiki no Mikoto
31st	585 - 587	Yomei	用明天皇	Tachibana no Toyohi no Mikoto
32nd	587 - 592	Sushun	崇峻天皇	Hatsusebe no Mikoto
33rd	593 - 628	Suiko	推古天皇	Toyomike Kashikiyahime
34th	629 - 641	Jomei	舒明天皇	Tamura
35th	642 - 645	Kogyoku	皇極天皇	Takara
36th	645 - 654	Kōtoku	孝徳天皇	Karu
37th	655 - 661	Saimei	斉明天皇	Takara
38th	661 - 672	Tenji	天智天皇	Naka-no-Ōe
39th	672	Kōbun	弘文天皇	Ōtomo
40th	673 - 686	Tenmu	天武天皇	Ōama
41st	686 - 697	Jitō	持統天皇	Uno
42nd	697 - 707	Monmu	文武天皇	Karu

Japanese Emperors of the Nara Period

Shotoku and Koken are the same person. She reigned twice as empress of Japan, and her personal name was Abe. Genmei, first in the table below, was an earlier empress who was also called Abe. The court moved to Nara in 710, during Genmei's reign.

No.	Reign	Common Name	Kanji Name	Name
43rd	707 - 715	Genmei	元明天皇	Abe
44th	715 - 724	Gensho	元正天皇	Hidaka
45th	724 - 749	Shōmu	聖武天皇	Obito
46th	749 - 758	Koken	孝謙天皇	Abe
47th	758 - 764	Junnin	淳仁天皇	Oi
48th	764 - 770	Shotoku	称徳天皇	Abe
49th	770 - 781	Konin	光仁天皇	Shirakabe

Japanese Emperors of the Heian Period

Kammu opened the Heian Period by leaving Nara. In 794 he settled the court at Heian-kyō, the city now called Kyoto.

No.	Years	Name	Kanji	Personal Name
50th	781 - 806	Kammu	桓武天皇	Yamabe
51st	806 - 809	Heizei	平城天皇	Ate
52nd	809 - 823	Saga	嵯峨天皇	Kamino
53rd	823 - 833	Junna	淳和天皇	Odomo
54th	833 - 850	Nimmyo	仁明天皇	Masara
55th	850 - 858	Montoku	文徳天皇	Michiyasu
56th	858 - 876	Seiwa	清和天皇	Korehito
57th	876 - 884	Yozei	陽成天皇	Sadaakira
58th	884 - 887	Koko	光孝天皇	Tokiyasu
59th	887 - 897	Uda	宇多天皇	Sadami
60th	897 - 930	Daigo	醍醐天皇	Atsuhito
61st	930 - 946	Suzaku	朱雀天皇	Yutaakira
62nd	946 - 967	Murakami	村上天皇	Nariakira
63rd	967 - 969	Reizei	冷泉天皇	Norihira
64th	969 - 984	En'yu	円融天皇	Morihira
65th	984 - 986	Kazan	花山天皇	Morosada
66th	986 - 1011	Ichijo	一条天皇	Yasuhito
67th	1011 - 1016	Sanjo	三条天皇	Okisada/Iyasada
68th	1016 - 1036	Go-Ichijo	後一条天皇	Atsunari
69th	1036 - 1045	Go-Suzaku	後朱雀天皇	Atsuyoshi
70th	1045 - 1068	Go-Reizei	後冷泉天皇	Chikahito
71st	1068 - 1073	Go-Sanjo	後三条天皇	Takahito
72nd	1073 - 1087	Shirakawa	白河天皇	Sadahito
73rd	1087 - 1107	Horikawa	堀河天皇	Yoshihito
74th	1107 - 1123	Toba	鳥羽天皇	Munehito
75th	1123 - 1142	Sutoku	崇徳天皇	Akihito
76th	1142 - 1155	Konoe	近衛天皇	Narihito
77th	1155 - 1158	Go-Shirakawa	後白河天皇	Masahito
78th	1158 - 1165	Nijo	二条天皇	Morihito
79th	1165 - 1168	Rokujo	六条天皇	Nobuhito
80th	1168 - 1180	Takakura	高倉天皇	Norihito
81st	1180 - 1185	Antoku	安徳天皇	Tokihito
82nd	1183 - 1198	Go-Toba	後鳥羽天皇	Takahira

Japanese Emperors of the Kamakura Period

The Kamakura Period in the imperial list runs from Tsuchimikado to Go-Daigo, who kept his court at Yoshino until 1339.

No.	Years	Name	Kanji
83rd	1198 - 1210	Tsuchimikado	土御門天皇
84th	1210 - 1221	Juntoku	順徳天皇
85th	1221	Chukyo	仲恭天皇
86th	1221 - 1232	Go-Horikawa	後堀河天皇
87th	1232 - 1242	Shijo	四条天皇
88th	1242 - 1246	Go-Saga	後嵯峨天皇
89th	1246 - 1260	Go-Fukakusa	後深草天皇
90th	1260 - 1274	Kameyama	亀山天皇
91st	1274 - 1287	Go-Uda	後宇多天皇
92nd	1287 - 1298	Fushimi	伏見天皇
93rd	1298 - 1301	Go-Fushimi	後伏見天皇
94th	1301 - 1308	Go-Nijo	後二条天皇
95th	1308 - 1318	Hanazono	花園天皇
96th	1318 - 1339	Go-Daigo	後醍醐天皇

Japanese Emperors of the Muromachi Period

During this period Japan had two courts. The southern line, which keeps the traditional numbers, stayed at Yoshino. The northern court sat in Kyoto. A 1911 decision treated the southern line as the legitimate one, so Go-Komatsu enters the numbered list in 1392, after Go-Kameyama stepped down. Before that year he is the sixth northern emperor.

No.	Years	Posthumous name	Kanji	Personal name
97	1339 - 1368	Go-Murakami	後村上天皇	Noriyoshi
98	1368 - 1383	Chōkei	長慶天皇	Yutanari
99	1383 - 1392	Go-Kameyama	後亀山天皇	Hironari
100	1392 - 1412	Go-Komatsu	後小松天皇	Motohito
101	1412 - 1428	Shoko	称光天皇	Mihito
102	1428 - 1464	Go-Hanazono	後花園天皇	Hikohito
103	1464 - 1500	Go-Tsuchimikado	後土御門天皇	Fusahito
104	1500 - 1526	Go-Kashiwabara	後柏原天皇	Katsuhito
105	1526 - 1557	Go-Nara	後奈良天皇	Tomohito
106	1557 - 1586	Ogimachi	正親町天皇	Michihito
107	1586 - 1611	Go-Yozei	後陽成天皇	Kazuhito
Northern Court	--	--	--	--
1	1331 - 1333	Kōgon	光厳天皇	Kazuhito
2	1336 - 1348	Kōmyō	光明天皇	Yutahito
3	1348 - 1351	Sukō	崇光天皇	Okihito
4	1352 - 1371	Go-Kogon	後光厳天皇	Iyahito
5	1371 - 1382	Go-En'yū	後円融天皇	Ohito
6	1382 - 1392	Go-Komatsu	後小松天皇	Motohito

Japanese Emperors of the Edo Period

In the Edo period, Go-Sakuramachi was the last woman to reign as empress. The Tokugawa shoguns ran the government, and an emperor still sat on the throne through those years.

No.	Years	Posthumous name	Kanji	Personal name
108	1611 - 1629	Go-Mizunoo	後水尾天皇	Kotohito
109	1629 - 1643	Meishō	明正天皇	Okiko
110	1643 - 1654	Go-Komyo	後光明天皇	Tsuguhito
111	1654 - 1663	Go-Sai	後西天皇	Nagahito
112	1663 - 1687	Reigen	霊元天皇	Satohito
113	1687 - 1709	Higashiyama	東山天皇	Asahito
114	1709 - 1735	Nakamikado	中御門天皇	Yasuhito
115	1735 - 1747	Sakuramachi	桜町天皇	Teruhito
116	1747 - 1762	Momozono	桃園天皇	Toohito
117	1762 - 1771	Go-Sakuramachi	後桜町天皇	Toshiko
118	1771 - 1779	Go-Momozono	後桃園天皇	Hidehito
119	1779 - 1817	Kokaku	光格天皇	Tomohito
120	1817 - 1846	Ninko	仁孝天皇	Ayahito
121	1846 - 1867	Komei	孝明天皇	Osahito

Japanese Emperors of the Modern Period

The list below runs from Meiji to the present. Mutsuhito succeeded after Kōmei died on January 30, 1867. Japanese court chronology dates the reign from February 13, 1867. The restoration of imperial rule was proclaimed on January 3, 1868, and the enthronement ceremony was held in Kyoto on October 12, 1868. Akihito abdicated on April 30, 2019, and has since been Emperor Emeritus. Naruhito received the regalia the next morning.

Imperial Era	Original Name	Name in Japanese	Reign	Coronation	Consort	Birth	Death
Meiji (122nd)	Mutsuhito	明治天皇	February 13, 1867 to July 30, 1912	October 12, 1868	Shoken	November 3, 1852 Kyoto	July 30, 1912 (59 years) Tokyo
Taisho (123rd)	Yoshihito	大正天皇	July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926	November 10, 1915	Teimei	August 31, 1879 Tokyo	December 25, 1926 (47 years) Tokyo
Showa (124th)	Hirohito	昭和天皇	December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989	November 10, 1928	Kojun	April 29, 1901 Tokyo	January 7, 1989 (87 years) Tokyo
Heisei (125th)	Akihito	平成天皇	January 7, 1989 to April 30, 2019	November 12, 1990	Michiko	December 23, 1933, Tokyo	N/A
Reiwa (126th)	Naruhito	令和天皇	May 1, 2019 to the present	October 22, 2019	Masako	February 23, 1960, Tokyo	N/A

Complete List of Shoguns of Japan

Some emperors left government to the heads of the armies, the shogun. The table keeps the temporary commissions from Asuka and Heian, then the Kamakura, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa lines.

No.	Name	Years
Asuka - Heian
1	Kose no Maro	709 - 709
2	Tajinohi no Agatamori	720 - 721
3	Ōtomo no Yakamochi (c. 718–785)	784 - 785
4	Ki no Kosami	788 - 789
5	Ōtomo no Otomaro (731–809)	793 - 794
6	Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811)	797 until 808
7	Funya no Waramaro (765–823)	811 until 816
8	Fujiwara no Tadabumi (873–947)	940 until 940
9	Minamoto no Yoshinaka (1154–1184)	1184 - 1184
Kamakura Shogunate
1	Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199)	1192 - 1199
2	Minamoto no Yoriie (1182–1204)	1202 - 1203
3	Minamoto no Sanetomo (1192–1219)	1203 - 1219
4	Kujō Yoritsune (1218–1256)	1226 - 1244
5	Kujō Yoritsugu (1239–1256)	1244 - 1252
6	Prince Munetaka (1242–1274)	1252 - 1266
7	Prince Koreyasu (1264–1326)	1266 - 1289
8	Prince Hisaaki (1276–1328)	1289 - 1308
9	Prince Morikuni (1301–1333)	1308 - 1333
Kenmu Restoration
1	Prince Moriyoshi (1308–1335)	1333 - 1333
2	Prince Narinaga (1326–1338/1344)	1335 - 1336
Ashikaga Shogunate
1	Ashikaga Takauji (1305–1358)	1338 - 1358
2	Ashikaga Yoshiakira (1330–1367)	1358 - 1367
3	Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408)	1368 - 1394
4	Ashikaga Yoshimochi (1386–1428)	1394 - 1423
5	Ashikaga Yoshikazu (1407–1425)	1423 - 1425
6	Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394–1441)	1429 - 1441
7	Ashikaga Yoshikatsu (1434–1443)	1442 - 1443
8	Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–1490)	1449 - 1473
9	Ashikaga Yoshihisa (1465–1489)	1473 - 1489
10	Ashikaga Yoshitane (1466–1523)	1490 - 1493
11	Ashikaga Yoshizumi (1481–1511)	1494 - 1508
12	Ashikaga Yoshitane (1466–1523)	1508 - 1521
13	Ashikaga Yoshiharu (1511–1550)	1521 - 1546
14	Ashikaga Yoshiteru (1536–1565)	1546 - 1565
15	Ashikaga Yoshihide (1538–1568)	1568 - 1568
16	Ashikaga Yoshiaki (1537–1597)	1568 - 1573
Tokugawa Shogunate
1	Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616)	1603 - 1605
2	Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632)	1605 - 1623
3	Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–1651)	1623 - 1651
4	Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641–1680)	1651 - 1680
5	Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646–1709)	1680 - 1709
6	Tokugawa Ienobu (1662–1712)	1709 - 1712
7	Tokugawa Ietsugu (1709–1716)	1713 - 1716
8	Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751)	1716 - 1745
9	Tokugawa Ieshige (1712–1761)	1745 - 1760
10	Tokugawa Ieharu (1737–1786)	1760 - 1786
11	Tokugawa Ienari (1773–1841)	1787 - 1837
12	Tokugawa Ieyoshi (1793–1853)	1837 - 1853
13	Tokugawa Iesada (1824–1858)	1853 - 1858
14	Tokugawa Iemochi (1846–1866)	1858 - 1866
15	Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837–1913)	1866 - 1867

The years before Kimmei come from the Nihon Shoki. Those early dates are traditional, and historians cannot confirm them reign by reign.