Emperor Takakura Explained

Emperor Takakura
Succession:Emperor of Japan
Reign:April 9, 1168 – March 18, 1180
Coronation:April 29, 1168
Cor-Type:Japan
Predecessor:Rokujō
Successor:Antoku
Posthumous Name:Tsuigō


Emperor Takakura (Japanese: 高倉院 or Japanese: 高倉天皇)

Issue:
Royal House:Imperial House of Japan
Father:Emperor Go-Shirakawa
Mother:Taira no Shigeko
Birth Date:September 20, 1161
Place Of Burial:Nochi no Seikan-ji no Misasagi (後清閑寺陵) (Kyoto)

was the 80th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1168 through 1180.[1]

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)[2] was Norihito-shinnō (憲仁親王).[3]

Takakura was the fourth son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and thus uncle to his predecessor, Emperor Rokujō. His mother was Empress Dowager Taira no Shigeko, the younger sister of Taira no Tokiko, the concubine of Taira no Kiyomori. His empress consort was Taira no Tokuko (later Empress Dowager Kenrei), the regent of Taira no Kiyomori, and thus his first cousin (as his mother and Tokuko's mothers were sisters).

Events of Takakura's life

Although Takakura was formally enthroned, the reality was that government affairs were controlled by his father and his father-in-law.

Takakura had his own views on the role of Emperor. He is said to have written:

"The Emperor is a ship. His subjects are water. The water enables a ship to float well, but sometimes the vessel is capsized by it. His subjects can sustain an Emperor well, but sometimes they overthrow him."[6]

Ex-Emperor Go-Shirakawa exercised the powers attendant the well-settled patterns of cloistered rule. Taira no Kiyomori, who was the father of the Empress, did whatever he pleased as de facto Regent.

Soon after the birth of Emperor Takakura's son, Prince Tokihito, he was pressured to abdicate. The one-year-old infant would become Emperor Antoku.

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Takakura's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

Eras of Takakura's reign

The years of Takakura's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[14]

Cultural references

Takakura is the "Imperial Sovereign" of the Japan-inspired land of Akatsurai in Book 6: "The Lords of the Rising Sun" in the Fabled Lands adventure gamebook series. He is portrayed as a young man with little real power, it being largely in the hands of his chancellor, "Lord Kiyomori".

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 195–200; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 330–333; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 212–214.
  2. Brown, pp. 264; n.b., up until the time of Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their imina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
  3. Titsingh, p. 195; Varley, p. 212.
  4. Brown, p. 330; Varley, p. 44; n.b., a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
  5. Titsingh, p. 195; Varley, p. 44.
  6. Kitagawa, Hiroshi et al. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p. 220.
  7. Kitagawa, p. 783.
  8. Titsingh, p. 198.
  9. Titsingh, p. 199.
  10. Kitagawa, p. 784.
  11. Kamo no Chōmei. (1212). Hōjōki.
  12. Brown, p. 331.
  13. Brown, p. 332.
  14. Titsingh, p. 195; Brown, pp. 330–331.

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