Empress Kōken (孝謙天皇, Kōken-tennō, 718 – August 28, 770), known as Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇, Shōtoku-tennō) after her second accession to the throne, was the 46th (with the name Empress Kōken) and the 48th monarch of Japan (with the name Empress Shōtoku),[1] according to the traditional order of succession.[2] Both her reigns occurred during the Nara period.
The daughter of Emperor Shōmu, Empress Kōken succeeded to the throne at the age of 31, following her father's renunciation. She first reigned from 749 to 758. During this period, the government was heavily influenced by her mother, the former empress consort Kōmyō, and the latter's nephew, Fujiwara no Nakamaro. She was eventually replaced on the throne by her relative, Emperor Junnin, whose rule was a continuation of Nakamaro's regime. During the intermediate period of her reigns, the retired empress Kōken is said to have become close to a monk without a noble background, named Dōkyō, by 762. Their precise relationship remains a mystery, although there is a common version that it was romantic. The retired empress had taken Buddhist oaths and became a nun, but retained a decisive role in politics.
After Kōmyō's death in July 760, the growing power struggle between Kōken's and Nakamaro's opposing factions became increasingly inevitable. Following the suppression of the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion and his murder, Kōken reascended the throne as Empress Shōtoku in 764 and ruled until her death in 770, concentrating the government into her own hands. Dōkyō was appointed Grand Minister within a year. In 766, he was promoted to Hōō (priestly emperor) and in around 769 tried to ascend the throne himself, which led to a scandal; this was one of few recorded instances when there was an attempt to end the imperial dynasty. The death of the empress, presumably from smallpox, and resistance from the aristocracy destroyed his plans. This incident was a reason for the later move of the Japanese capital from Nara (Heijō). Empress Kōken was one of the most politically powerful women in Japanese history: subsequent empresses were only ritual rulers, while the government was dominated by the shoguns (military dictators).
In the history of Japan, Kōken/Shōtoku was the sixth of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The five female monarchs before her were Suiko, Kōgyoku/Saimei, Jitō, Genmei and Genshō, and the two women sovereigns reigning after Kōken/Shōtoku were Meishō and Go-Sakuramachi.
Kōken is traditionally venerated at her tomb; the Imperial Household Agency designates Takano no Misasagi (高野陵, Takano Imperial Mausoleum), in Nara, Nara, as the location of Kōken's mausoleum.[1] The site is publicly accessible.[5][6]
Events of Kōken's life
August 19, 749[7] (Tenpyō-kanpō 1, 2nd day of the 7th month[8]): In the 25th year of Shōmu-tennō's reign (聖武天皇二十五年), the emperor renounced his throne and the succession (senso) was received by his daughter. Shortly thereafter, Kōken is said to have acceded to the throne.[9]
757: Conspiracy to overthrow Empress Kōken was not successful.[10]
758: Kōken abdicated in favor of a cousin who would become known as Emperor Junnin. The Empress had reigned for about ten years.
764: In the sixth year of Junnin-tennō's reign, the emperor was deposed by his adoptive mother, and the succession was received by former-Empress Kōken.
January 26, 765 (Tenpyō-hōji 9, 1st day of the 1st month[11]): Kōken formally reascended the throne (sokui) as Empress Shōtoku.[12]
August 28, 770 (Jingo-keiun 4, 4th day of the 8th month[13][14]: Empress Shōtoku died at age 57,[15] leaving the throne vacant.[16] She was succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, Emperor Kōnin. Empress Shōtoku had reigned for five years.[15]
Eras of her reigns
The years of Kōken's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name.[17]
Koken's reign was turbulent, and she survived coup attempts by both Tachibana no Naramaro and Fujiwara no Nakamaro.[19] 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.[20]
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.[21]Empress Genmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.
She is also known for sponsoring the Hyakumantō Darani, one of the largest productions of printed works in early Japan.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, a Buddhist temple in the Arashiyama neighborhood of Kyoto, was founded by Shōtoku in the middle of the eighth century.
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:
Empress Kōken, known as Imperial Princess Abe (阿倍内親王), was the second daughter of Emperor Shōmu born by his empress consort, Fujiwara Asukabehime. She had a younger brother, but he didn't survive to adulthood.
^Brown and Ishida, p. 276 has the year as 769, 4th day of the 8th month, instead of 770. Believe this to be a typo, because Brown-Ishida's own timeline gives 770, and the Japanese Wikipedia article on Empress Kōken is using the 4th day of the 8th month of 770.
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