Emperor Go-Momozono, who had become Crown Prince in 1768, had been ceded the throne in January 1771 by his aunt, Empress Go-Sakuramachi.

The Emperor has always been sickly, and in 1779, he dies at the age of just twenty-two.

Because his only child is a daughter, Princess Yoshiko, the dying emperor had hurriedly adopted a son from the Kan'in branch of the Imperial Family who becomes Emperor Kōkaku.