was the 80th

emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1168 through 1180.

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was Norihito''-shinnō'' (憲仁親王). He was also known as Nobuhito''-shinnō''. Takakura was the fourth son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and thus uncle to his predecessor, Emperor Rokujō. His mother was Empress Dowager

Taira The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divid ...

no Shigeko, the younger sister of Taira no Tokiko, the concubine of

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first s ...

. 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). * Empress consort: Taira no Tokuko (平徳子) – later Kenreimon-in ** First Son: Imperial Prince Tokihito (言仁親王) – later Emperor Antoku * Lady-in-waiting: Bōmon Shokushi (坊門殖子; 1157–1228) later Shichijō-in (七条院), Bomon Nobutaka's daughter ** Second son: Imperial Prince Morisada (守貞親王; 1179–1223) – later Go-Takakura In (後高倉院) – father of Emperor Go-Horikawa ** Fourth son: Imperial Prince Takahira (尊成親王) – later Emperor Go-Toba * Consort: Konoe Michiko (近衛通子; b. 1163) or Rokujō-no-tsubone (六条局), Konoe Motozane’s daughter. * Lady-in-waiting: Horikawa Toyoko (堀河豊子) or Azechi-Naishi (按察典侍), Horikawa Yorisada’s daughter ** Third daughter: Imperial Princess Kiyoko (潔子内親王; b. 1179) – Saigū of Ise * Court Lady: Taira no Noriko (平範子) or Shōshō-Naishi (少将内侍), Taira Yoshisuke’s daughter ** Third son: Imperial Prince Koreaki ( 惟明親王; 1172–1221) later Imperial Prince Priest Shōen (聖円入道親王) * Court Lady: Fujiwara Kimiko (藤原公子) or Sochi-no-Tsubone (帥局), Fujiwara no Kimishige’s daughter – former nanny of Takakura ** First daughter: Imperial Princess Isako (功子内親王; b. 1176) – Saigū of Ise * Court Lady: Kogō-no-Tsubone (小督局; b. 1157), Fujiwara no Shigenori’s daughter ** Second daughter: Imperial Princess Hanshi/ Noriko (範子内親王; 1177–1210) later Empress Dowager Bōmon-in (坊門院)

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. * 1168 ('' Nin'an 3, 19th day of the 2nd month''): In the 3rd year of Rokujō''-tennō''s reign (六条天皇3年), the emperor was deposed by his grandfather, and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his cousin, the third son of the retired- Emperor Go-Shirakawa. * 1168 (''Nin'an 3, 19th day of the 2nd month''): Emperor Takakura is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’), and he is proclaimed emperor. 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." Ex-Emperor Go-Shirakawa exercised the powers attendant the well-settled patterns of cloistered rule.

, who was the father of the Empress, did whatever he pleased as ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' Regent. * 1172 ('' Jōan 2, 10th day of the 2nd month''): Taira Kiyomori's daughter, Tokuko, becomes Takakura's consort. * May 27, 1177 ('' Jishō 1, 28th day of the 4th month''): A great fire in the capital was spread by high winds; and the palace was reduced to cinders. Letter by Emperor Takakura

* 1178 (''Jishō 2, 12th day of the 11th month''): Takakura's consort, Taira-no Tokuko, gave birth to a son. Kiyomori rejoiced; and all the officers of the court congratulated the parents. In the next month, this infant was declared heir to Emperor Takakura. * 1180 (''Jisho 4, 21st day of the 2nd month''): Emperor Takakura abdicated.Kitagawa, p. 784. * 1180 (''Jisho 4, 22nd day of the 4th month''): Emperor Antoku's coronation ceremony. * 1180 (''Jisho 4, 2nd day of the 6th month''): Former- emperor Go-Shirakawa-in, former-emperor Takakura-in and Emperor Antoku leave

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

for

Fukuhara-kyō Fukuhara-kyō (福原京, Capital of Fukuhara) was the seat of Japan's Imperial Court, and therefore the capital of the country, for roughly six months in 1180. It was also the center of Taira no Kiyomori's power and the site of his retirement pala ...

. * 1180 (''Jisho 4, 26th day of the 11th month''): The capital is moved back to Kyoto from Fukuhara. * 1180 (''Jisho 4''): A devastating whirlwind causes havoc in

Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, m ...

, the capital. * 1181 (''Jisho 5, 14th day of the 1st month''): Emperor Takakura died. 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 The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

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 The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

'' included: * '' Sesshō'', Matsuo Motofusa, 1144–1230.Brown, p. 331. * '' Kampaku'', Konoe Motomichi, 1160–1233. * '' Daijō-daijin'', Fujiwara Tadamasa. * '' Daijō-daijin'', Fujiwara Moronaga, 1137–1192. * '' Sadaijin'', Ōimikado Tsunemune, 1119–1189. * '' Udaijin'', Kujō Kanezane, 1149–1207. * '' Nadaijin'', Konoe Motomichi. * '' Nadaijin'', Minamoto Masamichi, died 1175. * '' Nadaijin'', Taira Shigemori, 1138–1179. * '' Dainagon''

Eras of Takakura's reign

The years of Takakura's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or '' nengō''.Titsingh, p. 195; Brown, pp. 330–331. * '' Nin'an'' (1166–1169) * ''

Kaō A ''huaya'' ("Flower Print"; ; ko, 화압, Hwaap; ja, 花押, Kaō) is a stylized signature or mark used in East Asian cultures in place of a true signature. Originating from China, the ''huaya'' was historically used by prominent figures such ...

'' (1169–1171) * '' Jōan'' (1171–1175) * '' Angen'' (1175–1177) * '' Jishō'' (1177–1181)

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".

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
''Gukanshō: The Future and the Past.''
Berkeley: University of California Press.
OCLC 251325323
* Helmolt, Hans Ferdinand and James Bryce Bryce. (1907)
''The World's History: A Survey of Man's Progress.''
Vol. 2. London: William Heineman
OCLC 20279012
* Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Burce T. Tsuchida, ed. (1975). The Tale of the Heike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
OCLC 164803926
* Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Odai Ichiran Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
* Varley, H. Paul. (1980)
''Jinnō Shōtōki: A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns.''
New York: Columbia University Press.
OCLC 59145842
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takakura Japanese emperors 1161 births 1181 deaths 12th-century Japanese monarchs People of Heian-period Japan