, also known as , was an Empress consort of

Emperor Toba was the 74th Emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 鳥羽天皇 (74)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Toba's reign spanned the years from 1107 through 1123. Genealogy Before his ascension to the C ...

of Japan, and mother of

Emperor Sutoku was the 75th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 崇徳天皇 (75)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chry ...

and

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...

. She was the eldest daughter of .

Life

Tamako's father died when she was seven years old, and she was raised by the retired

Emperor Shirakawa was the 72nd emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 白河天皇 (72)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shirakawa's reign lasted from 1073 to 1087. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Thr ...

and his favorite mistress (Gion no Nyogo was

Taira no Tadamori was the head of the Taira clan. He was son of Taira no Masamori, and father of Taira no Kiyomori. Tadamori was also governor of the provinces of Harima, Ise, Bizen, and Tajima. He consolidated the influence of the Taira clan at the Imperial Co ...

's wife also Mother 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 so ...

). Once she grew up, she was almost engaged to the heir of the regent

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until ...

Fujiwara no Tadamichi was the eldest son of the Japanese regent ('' Kampaku'') Fujiwara no Tadazane and a member of the politically powerful Fujiwara clan. He was the father of Fujiwara no Kanefusa and Jien. In the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156, Tadamichi sided with the ...

, but his father

Fujiwara no Tadazane was a Japanese noble, the son of Fujiwara no Moromichi and the grandson of Fujiwara no Morozane. He was the father of Fujiwara no Tadamichi. He built a villa, Fukedono, north of the Byōdō-in Temple in 1114. Marriage and Children * Minamoto N ...

incurred Shirakawa's displeasure by declining the offer due to rumors about Tamako's behavior. In early 1118, with Shirakawa as her godfather, Tamako entered the court of her cousin

. Just a month later, she was invested as Empress Consort ('' chūgū''). In mid-1119 she bore Toba's first child, Prince Akihito. In early 1123, Shirakawa had the five-year-old Prince Akihito ascend to the throne as

, and in 1124 Tamako was bestowed the title Taikenmon-in. Around this time Tamako also bore Princess Kishi, Prince Michihito, and Prince Kimihito, but these two princes were born handicapped. She bore Princess Muneko in 1126, and Prince Masahito less than a year later, in 1127. In 1129 she had her final child, Prince Motohito. Tamako bore Toba a total of seven children, and also accompanied him on a trip to the

Kumano shrine A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of ShintoKumano Shinkō accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its ...

s, but this was all during the lifetime of Shirakawa. When the long-governing retired emperor died in 1129, her life took a turn for the worse. The retired Emperor Toba inherited Shirakawa's reign, commanding the courtiers and isolating the young Emperor Sutoku. He reinstated the kampaku Shirakawa had dismissed,

, and married Tadazane's daughter Fujiwara no Yasuko to the young emperor, investing her as '' kōgō''. Furthermore, he transferred his affections from Tamako to another wife,

Fujiwara no Nariko , also known as , was an Empress consort of Emperor Toba of Japan and mother of Emperor Konoe. She was the daughter of the ''chūnagon'' and . Life Early years Born in 1117, Nariko grew up with her father Nagazane's doting affection. Acco ...

. In 1139, Toba appointed his three-month-old son with Nariko, Prince Narihito, as crown prince, and in 1141 pressed Sutoku to resign, letting Narihito take the throne as

Emperor Konoe was the 76th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 近衛天皇 (76)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Konoe's reign spanned the years from 1142 through 1155. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chry ...

. While this was going on and Nariko was invested as Toba's ''kōgō'', a series of incidents occurred in which someone appeared to be trying to curse Nariko, and a rumor spread that it was Tamako pulling the strings. The '' Kojidan'' further states that an additional rumor spread that Sutoku was actually Shirakawa's son, though this rumor is not recorded elsewhere. In 1142, with her power evaporated, Tamako cut her hair and became a nun at , which she had had built herself. Three years later, on September 10, 1145, Tamako died at the estate of her eldest brother . According to the diary entry of

Fujiwara no Yorinaga was a Japanese statesman and a member of the Fujiwara clan who was highly significant in determining the course of 12th century Japanese political history. Early life Born in 1120, Yorinaga had a turbulent youth. He later wrote that he did not ...

for that day, Toba came running to care for her, and on her deathbed wailed loudly while ringing a metal bell used in the reciting of sutras. In 1155, ten years after her death, Emperor Konoe died at the age of 17, and Tamako's son Prince Masahito was unexpectedly enthroned as

. The court split between supporters of Go-Shirakawa and supporters of Sutoku, culminating in the

Hōgen Rebellion In Japanese, Hōgen may refer to several words. Among them: * Hōgen (era) (保元, 1156–1159), an era in Japan * Hōgen rebellion, a short civil war in 1156 * dialect (方言) — for example: "eigo no hōgen" (English dialect) See also * ...

Issue

* 1119–1164 Imperial Prince Akihito (顕仁親王), later

* 1122–1133 Imperial Princess Kishi/Yoshiko (禧子内親王), Saiin * 1124–1129 Imperial Prince Michihito (通仁親王) * 1125–1143 Imperial Prince Kimihito (君仁親王) * 1126–1189 Imperial Princess Muneko (統子内親王), later Jōsaimon-in (上西門院) * 1127–1192 Imperial Prince Masahito (雅仁親王), later

* 1129–1169 Imperial Prince Motohito (本仁親王), later became a priest under the name Kakushō (覚性法親王)

Sources

* * *

External links

* http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/japan_heads.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara, Tamako Fujiwara clan Japanese empresses Japanese Buddhist nuns 12th-century Buddhist nuns 1101 births 1145 deaths Nyoin