Fujiwara no Kiyoko explained

Fujiwara no Kiyoko
Succession:Empress consort of Japan
Reign:1130–1141
Succession1:Empress dowager of Japan
Reign1:1142–1150
Consort:yes
Spouse:Emperor Sutoku
Father:Fujiwara no Tadamichi
Birth Date:1122
Death Date:1182
Royal House:Imperial House of Japan

Fujiwara no Kiyoko (藤原 聖子; 1122–1182),[1] later Kōkamon'in (皇嘉門院), was an Empress consort of Japan as the consort of Emperor Sutoku.[2]

Biography

Her father the former regent Fujiwara Tadamichi, who had ruled during Emperor Sutoku's childhood, and her mother was Fujiwara Muneko.[3] [4] [5]

Kōkamonin had no children. She is known today for the cleverness of her strategies to ensure she controlled her own fortune and estates, despite the difficulty of doing so as woman (particularly a childless woman). Her brother acted as custodian, yet she retained power. With her wealth, she supported various religious projects, such as sponsoring Buddhist buildings, as well as paying for memorial services for her father.

Her husband, Emperor Sutoku, was forced to abdicate the throne and retire, living as a retired emperor.[6] After the Hogen rebellion, in 1156, Sutoku was exiled; Kōkamon'in chose to remain in Jyoti and she was ordained as a Buddhist nun, receiving the Dharma name Seijōe (清浄恵). In 1164 she renewed her ordination and received the name Rengaku (蓮覚).[7]

Her brother, Fujiwara no Kanezane, was a well-known statesman and author, who built religious halls in her honour.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Thumas . Jonathan . November 2022 . Buried Scripture and the Interpretation of Ritual . Cambridge Archaeological Journal . en . 32 . 4 . 585–599 . 10.1017/S0959774322000038 . 247030731 . 0959-7743.
  2. Book: Shinkokinshū (2 vols): New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern . 2015-02-24 . BRILL . 978-90-04-28829-4 . en.
  3. Book: Goodwin . Janet R. . Land, Power, and the Sacred: The Estate System in Medieval Japan . Piggott . Joan R. . 2018-07-31 . University of Hawaii Press . 978-0-8248-7546-6 . en.
  4. Book: Proceedings of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies: PAJLS. . 2000 . AJLS . en.
  5. Book: Gunji, Naoko . Amidaji: Emperor Antoku's Mortuary Temple and its Culture . 2022-12-28 . BRILL . 978-90-04-52296-1 . en.
  6. Book: Hubbard, Ben . The Samurai: Swords, Shoguns and Seppuku . 2014-06-02 . The History Press . 978-0-7509-5725-0 . en.
  7. Web site: 皇嘉門院 . コトバンク . The Asahi Shimbun Company . 2019-10-12 . ja.
  8. Book: Ruch, Barbara . Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan . 2002 . Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan . 978-1-929280-15-5 . en.