In 1072, after four years of his enthronement, the Emperor intended to pass the throne to his first Prince, Emperor Shirakawa and start the cloister government, however he became ill on the following year and died when he was forty years old.
1072年、即位後4年にて第一皇子白河天皇に譲位して院政を開こうと図ったが、翌年には病に倒れ、40歳で崩御した。