| Empress Kōken Empress Shōtoku |
|
|---|---|
| Empress of Japan | |
| Reign | 749 - 758, 764 - 770 |
| Born | Yōrō 2 (718) |
| Died | the 4th Day of the 8th Month of Jingo-keiun 4 (770) |
| Buried | Takano no Misasagi (Nara) |
| Predecessor | Emperor Shōmu, Emperor Junnin |
| Successor | Emperor Junnin, Emperor Kōnin |
| Father | Emperor Shōmu |
| Mother | Empress Kōmyō |
Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇 Shōtoku-tennō) (718 – August 28 770[1]) was both the 46th and the 48th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[2] The period in which she was the reigning sovereign stretched from 749 through the year of her death in 770.[3]
Shōtoku initially ruled as Empress Kōken (孝謙天皇 Kōken-tennō) from 749 to 758. She abdicated in favor of her second cousin, Emperor Junnin; but six years later she took the crown from him and reascended the throne. She never renounced her Buddhist vows,[clarification needed] setting a precedent. Her posthumous name for this second reign (764-770) was known as Empress Shōtoku.[4]
Contents |
Genealogy
Before her ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, her personal name (her imina)[5] was Abe-hime.[6]
Events of Kōken's life
- Tenpyō-kanpō 1, on the 2nd day of the 7th month (749): In the 25th year of Shōmu-tennō's reign (聖武天皇25年), the emperor died; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his daughter. Shortly thereafter, Empress Kōken is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[7]
Empress Kōken reigned for ten years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.[8] Empress Gemmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
Kugyō
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few 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 Kōken's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
- Taihō, Emi no Oshikatsu (formerly Fujiwara Nakamaro).[6]
- Daijō-daijin
- Sadaijin, Tachibana no Moroe (formerly Katsuragi-ō, Prince Katsuragi) (half brother of Empress Kōmyō).[6]
- Udaijin, Fujiwara no Toyonari (first son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro).[6]
- Udaijin, Fujiwara no Nakamaro (second son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro).[6]
- Nadaijin
- Dainagon
Eras of Kōken's reign
The years of Kōken's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[9]
- Tenpyō-kanpō (749-749)
- Tenpyō-shōhō (749-757)
- Tenpyō-hōji (757-765)
Events of Shōtoku's life
- Tenpyō-hōji 9, on the 1st day of the 1st month (765): In the 6th year of Junnin-tennō's reign (淳仁天皇6年), the emperor was deposed by his adoptive mother; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by former-Empress Kōken. Shortly thereafter, Empress Shōtoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).[10]
Empress Shōtoku's reign was exceedingly turbulent, and she survived coup attempts by both Tachibana Naramaro and Fujiwara no Nakamaro.[11]
Today, she is remembered chiefly for her alleged affair with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō (道鏡), a man she honored with titles and power. An oracle from Usa Shrine, the shrine of the kami Hachiman (八幡) in Usa, is said to have proclaimed that the monk should be made emperor; but when the empress sent Wake no Kiyomaro (和気清麻呂) to verify the pronouncement, Hachiman decreed that only one of imperial blood should ascend to the throne.[12]
- Jingo-keiun 3, on the 4th day of the 8th month (769): Empress Shōtoku died at age 57.[13]
Empress Shōtoku rule for ten years. As with the seven other reigning empresses whose successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, she was followed on the throne by a male cousin, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century.[8] Empress Gemmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
Shōtoku died of smallpox, after which she was succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, Emperor Kōnin. She should not be confused with Prince Shōtoku (572-622), who was one of the first in Japan to sponsor Buddhism. Shōtoku's Imperial misasagi or tomb can be visited today in Misasagi-cho, Nara City.[14][15]
Kugyō
The kugyō during Shōtoku's reign included:
Eras of Shōtoku's reign
The years of Shōtoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.[16]
- Tenpyō-hōji (757-765)
- Tenpyō-jingo (765-767)
- Jingo-keiun (767-770)
Notes
- ^ August 28, 770 corresponds to the Fourth Day of the Eighth Month of the Fourth Year of Jingo-keiun of the traditional lunisolar calendar used in Japan until 1873.
- ^ The reigning empresses in the years before the reign of Kōken-tennō were: (1) Suiko, (2) Kōgyoku/Saimei, (3) Jitō, (4) Gemmei, and Genshō. The reigning empresses after Empress Kōken and/or Empress Shōtoku were (a) Meishō and (b) Go-Sakuramachi.
- ^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 73-81; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 274-276; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. p. 143-147.
- ^ Bender, Ross (1979). "The Hachiman Cult and the Dōkyō Incident". Monumenta Nipponica 34 (2): 125–53. doi:.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e Brown, p. 274.
- ^ Brown, pp. 274; 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.
- ^ a b "Life in the Cloudy Imperial Fishbowl," Japan Times. March 27, 2007.
- ^ Titsingh, p. 73.
- ^ Brown, pp. 276; Varley, p. 44, 145.
- ^ Bender, Ross (2009). "THE SUPPRESSION OF THE TACHIBANA NARAMARO CONSPIRACY". Translation of Shoku Nihongi. rossbender.org. http://rossbender.org/Naramaro.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ Titsingh, pp. 78-81.
- ^ a b c d Brown, p. 276.
- ^ Shōtoku's misasagi -- image
- ^ Shōtoku's misasagi -- map (top left)
- ^ Titsingh, p. 78.
References
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Varley, H. Paul , ed. (1980). [ Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki (A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4
See also
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Emperor Shōmu |
Empress of Japan: Kōken 749-758 |
Succeeded by Emperor Junnin |
| Preceded by Emperor Junnin |
Empress of Japan: Shōtoku 764-770 |
Succeeded by Emperor Kōnin |
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