Prince Masahito


Prince Masahito, also known as Prince Sanehito and posthumously named Yōkwōin daijō-tennō, was the eldest son of Emperor Ōgimachi. He predeceased his father.
Masahito's eldest son was Imperial Prince Kazuhito, who acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on the death of Emperor Ōgimachi. Kazuhito would become known as Emperor Go-Yōzei.
Later, Go-Yōzei elevated the rank of his father, even though his father's untimely death made this impossible in life. In this manner, Go-Yōzei himself could enjoy the polite fiction of being the son of an emperor.
The actual site of Prince Masahito's grave is known. This posthumously-elevated emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Kyoto.
The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Yōkwōin's mausoleum. It is formally named Tsuki no wa no misasagi at Sennyū-ji.

Ancestry