was the 77th

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

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''insei'' system – scholars differ as to whether his rule can be truly considered part of the ''insei'' system, given that the Hōgen Rebellion undermined the imperial position. However, it is broadly acknowledged that by politically outmaneuvering his opponents, he attained greater influence and power than the diminished authority of the emperor's position during this period would otherwise allow. Posthumously, this 12th-century sovereign was named after the 11th-century Emperor Shirakawa. ''Go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Shirakawa", or in some older sources, may be identified as "Shirakawa, the second" or as "Shirakawa II". Unusually, the years of Go-Shirakawa's reign are more specifically identified by more than one

era name A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...

or ''nengō''; ''

Kyūju was a after '' Ninpei'' and before '' Hōgen.'' This period spanned the years from October 1154 through April 1156. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * February 14, 1154 : The new era name was created to mark an event or a numbe ...

'' (1154–1156) and '' Hōgen'' (1156–1159). He was ''

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 ...

'' the last true emperor, before the

shogun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

became the actual head of the country from 1192, after his death, to 1868.

Political career

Accession

On August 22, 1155 (''

2, 23rd day of the 7th month''), Emperor Konoe died at the age of 17 years without leaving any heirs.Brown, p. 326. There was an ensuing succession dispute: Bifukumon-in pressed her daughter's claim, and two of

Toba Toba may refer to: Languages * Toba Sur language, spoken in South America * Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia People * Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America * Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from N ...

's sons were the other two candidates – Sutoku and Go-Shirakawa. The latter two were the only serious ones, given that

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

society was fundamentally opposed to the idea of a female ruler. The divide between Sutoku and Go-Shirakawa also divided the Fujiwara family – Fujiwara no Yorinaga sided with Sutoku, whereas Fujiwara no Tadamichi sided with Go-Shirakawa. It is likely Yorinaga took Sutoku's side as he was denied the tutorship of the Heir Apparent, and felt slighted. Toba had wanted Go-Shirakawa on the throne, as he was his favourite son, and so Go-Shirakawa acceded with his support, in addition to that of Tadamichi. In fairly short order, contemporary scholars asserted that the succession (''senso'') was received by the younger of the two, and Go-Shirakawa acceded to the throne (''sokui'').

Cementing Power

On July 20, 1156 ('' Hōgen 1, 2nd day of the 7th month''), the ex-Emperor Toba died at the age of 54.Keene, ; Kitagawa, p. 783; Brown, p. 327. Soon afterwards, the Hōgen Rebellion broke out – Yorinaga had mustered several hundred warriors to try to press Sutoku's claim and usurp Go-Shirakawa's title. However, Go-Shirakawa gained the support of the two most powerful warrior clans, the

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 divided ...

and the

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

, through their leaders, Minamoto no Yoshitomo and Taira no Kiyomori. Together, they easily defeated the armies of Sutoku leaving Go-Shirakawa as the sole imperial ruler. Historian George Sansom argues that because the course of the insurrection was dictated by the military clans, this moment represents a turning point in the nature of Japanese politics; the imperial clan had lost all authority and the military clans now controlled the political landscape. Sansom develops this point to assert that an intrinsic part of the ''insei'' system was the security it granted the emperors, as they often entered religion; the sacrosanctity of monks and priests was an intrinsic part of Japanese culture. Given that Sutoku was overthrown by the military clans and Go-Shirakawa, his position cannot truly be considered to have been secure, Sansom argues, and so the Hōgen Rebellion represents the end of the ''insei'' system.

In 1158 Go-Shirakawa abdicated to his son Nijō and became the cloistered emperor (the term used here out of practicality rather than as a validation of one point of view on the aforementioned issue), maintaining this position through the reigns of five emperors ( Nijō, Rokujō, Takakura, Antoku, and

Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; an ...

) until his death in 1192.

Rule of Kiyomori

Go-Shirakawa was initially an ally of Kiyomori – the latter began trade with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and supported Go-Shirakawa, not just militarily but also financially. The tension between the aforementioned foremost military clans, the Taira and Minamoto, led to the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. The Minamoto lost and the Taira attained ascendancy. As Kiyomori's power reached its zenith, the good relations between him and Go-Shirakawa ended – Kiyomori's reign became hubristic and indeed despotic, with the Taira showing unequivocal disrespect not only towards the imperial clan, but towards the other high-ranking families as well. For example, in 1170 Taira men humiliated the reigning Fujiwara Regent, Fujiwara no Motofusa, after his retinue and that of Kiyomori's son, Shigemori, collided. This meant that in 1169 ('' Kaō 1, 6th month'') Emperor Go-Shirakawa entered the Buddhist priesthood at the age of 42 – he felt he could no longer control Kiyomori. He took the Buddhist name of Gyōshin. ee above/ref> Furthermore, Kiyomori's behaviour caused Go-Shirakawa to support a planned '' coup d'etat'', known as the Shishigatani incident. The conspiracy was betrayed and all involved were punished; Go-Shirakawa was confined to Toba-in, the eponymous palace of Toba. It could be argued that Go-Shirakawa himself further increased Kiyomori's power even after their relationship fell apart. He deposed his son Rokujō in 1168 and elevated Takakura to the imperial throne. Takakura was the son of Kiyomori's sister-in-law, and so he attained a familial link to the imperial clan in a manner not dissimilar to that of the Fujiwara. Indeed, Kiyomori could have seized the power of Regent and Go-Shirakawa would have been powerless to stop him, due to this marital link.

Genpei War

Go-Shirakawa planned to regain power through the Taira's old rivals, the Minamoto. They had been steadily recovering their strength in the provinces following their defeat in 1160. In May 1180,

Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106 – 20 June 1180) was a prominent Japanese poet whose works appeared in various anthologies. He served eight different emperors in his long career, holding posts such as ''hyōgo no kami'' (head of the arsenal). He was also a warrior, le ...

sent a call to arms to his clan in the eastern and northern provinces. The call to arms was issued in the name of

Prince Mochihito (died June 1180), also known as the Takakura Prince, and as Minamoto no Mochimitsu (源以光), was a son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan. He is noted for his role in starting the Genpei War. Believing that Taira no Kiyomori was causing suffe ...

, Yorimasa's candidate for the imperial throne. Kiyomori became aware of this and subsequently confined Go-Shirakawa even more closely and called for the arrest of his son, Mochihito. Although the rebellion was defeated, it was the first of many and would eventually lead to the Taira's downfall. In short, the Minamoto won after a hard-fought war and with the continual support of Go-Shirakawa, who had been in contact with

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

since Kiyomori's death in 1181. In 1183 the army of Minamoto no Yoshinaka entered the capital, allowing for Go-Shirakawa's re-entry into the city – he had made a pilgrimage to various shrines, accompanied by armed monks, in order to avoid capture by the Taira. Go-Shirakawa then issued a mandate for Yoshinaka to join with Minamoto no Yukiie in "destroying Munemori and his army", as well as the entire Taira clan. The emperor bestowed upon Yoshinaka the title of ''Asahi Shōgun'' (旭将軍). Go-Shirakawa also contributed to the Taira's defeat by attempting to persuade them to lower their guard; in 1184 he promised that if the Taira returned the

Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Crown, the Imperial orb, the Imperial s ...

and the emperor he would facilitate a truce with the Minamoto. This meant that they were unprepared for the rapid attack of Minamoto no Noriyori and

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...

at the

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani was a Taira defensive position at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south. This made it quite defensible, but also made it difficult to m ...

, a decisive battle in the war. Throughout the entire war there were disagreements and struggles for power within the Minamoto clan, which was barely held together by

. When Yoritomo secured the support of Go-Shirakawa in this power struggle, Yoshinaka seized the cloistered emperor and burned his palace. After continued internal struggles within the Minamoto clan and fighting with the Taira, Yoshitsune finally destroyed the Taira clan entirely in 1185 at the naval

Battle of Dan-no-ura The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185 (or March 24, 1185 by the official page of Shimonoseki City), the fleet of the Minamoto clan ...

Later life and death

Although Yoritomo and Go-Shirakawa disagreed in the late 1180s, again related to internal Minamoto issues, after the death of Yoshitsune, Go-Shirakawa and Yoritomo reconciled. Go-Shirakawa allowed Yoritomo to form a shogunate – the imperial authority and validation was required to attain the position of Shogun. 後白河天皇陵

In 1192 ('' Kenkyū 3, 13th day of the 3rd month'') Go-Shirakawa died at the age of 66. He had been father to two emperors – Nijō, the 78th emperor; Takakura, the 80th emperor and grandfather to three emperors – Rokujō, the 79th emperor; Antoku, the 81st emperor; and Go-Toba, the 82nd emperor. The Imperial Household has designated Hōjū-ji no ''Misasagi'' at Kyoto as the emperor's official mausoleum.

Personality

Go-Shirakawa is usually characterised as manipulative and deceptive, as well as being inconstant and following whatever was the fashion of the day, whether politically or otherwise. Yoritomo called him "the biggest goblin of Japan". Furthermore, he was also criticized for excessively patronizing literature and religion, being an avid collector of ''imayo'' poetry since his youth, with these poems often being focused on

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

themes. He spent lavishly on restoring and expanding temples and shrines, such as his restoration of the Todai-ji after the Taira burned it down in 1180. He was also accused of encouraging the warrior monks of the great temples to attempt to wield even greater influence than they already possessed.

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was Masahito''-shinnō'' (雅仁親王). He was the fourth son 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 ...

.Titsingh, p. 190. His mother was Fujiwara no Tamako, Fujiwara no Kinzane‘s daughter. Major consorts and children: * Consort (''shinnō-hi''): Minamoto Yoshiko (源懿子; 1116-1143), Fujiwara no Tsunezane‘s daughter and Minamoto Arihito's adopted daughter ** First son: Imperial Prince Morihito (守仁親王) later Emperor Nijō * Empress (''chūgū''): Fujiwara Kinshi (藤原忻子), Tokudaiji Kinyoshi * Kōtaigō:

no Shigeko (平滋子; 1142-1176) later Kenshunmon’in (建春門院), Taira Tokinobu's daughter ** Seventh son: Imperial Prince Norihito (憲仁親王) later Emperor Takakura * Court Lady: Sanjō (Fujiwara) Sōko (三条（藤原）琮子; 1145-1231), Sanjō Kinnori's daughter * Lady-in-Waiting: Fujiwara Shigeko (藤原成子; d.1177), Fujiwara Suenari's daughter ** First Daughter: Imperial

Princess Sukeko Princess Sukeko (亮子内親王; 1147 – 27 April 1216), later Inpumon'in (殷富門院), was a princess and an Empress of Japan. Sukeko was empress as the Honorary Mother (准母) of her nephews Emperor Antoku and Emperor Go-Toba. Life She ...

(亮子内親王) later Inpumon'in (殷富門院) ** Second Daughter: Imperial princess Yoshiko (好子内親王;1148-1192） ** Third Daughter: Imperial Princess Shikishi (式子内親王) later Ōinomikado-saiin (大炊御門斎院) ** Second Son: Imperial Prince Priest Shukaku (守覚法親王; 1150-1202） ** Third son:

(以仁王) ** Fourth Daughter: Imperial Princess Kyūshi (休子内親王; 1157-1171） * Bomon-no-Tsubone (坊門局), Taira Nobushige's daughter ** Fourth Son: Imperial Prince Priest En'e (円恵法親王; 1152-1183） ** Fifth Son: Imperial Prince Priest Jōkei (定恵法親王; 1156-1196） ** Sixth Son: Go’e (恒恵; 1159-1206） * Bomon-dono (坊門殿), Tokudaiji Kin’yoshi's daughter ** Fifth Daughter: Imperial Princess Atsuko (惇子内親王; 1158-1172) * Sanjo-no-Tsubone (三条局), Priest's daughter ** Tenth Son: Imperial Prince Priest Dōhō (道法法親王; 1166-1214） ** Twelfth Son: Shinte (真禎; b.1169) * Tanba-no-Tsubone (丹波局), Priest's daughter ** Eighth Son: Imperial Prince Priest Jōe (静恵法親王; 1164-1203） ** Eleventh Son: Imperial Prince Priest Shōnin (承仁法親王; 1169-1197） * Uemonnosuke (右衛門佐), Fujiwara Suketaka's daughter ** Ninth Son: In no miko (院の御子; B.1165) * Omiya-no-Tsubone (大宮局), Fujiwara Korezane's daughter * Konoe-no-Tsubone (近衛局), Fujiwara Kinyasu's daughter * Miko no hime-gimi (御子姫君; 1164-1181), Taira no Kiyomori’s daughter * Takashina Eishi (高階栄子; 1151-1216), Priest's daughter ** Sixth Daughter: Imperial Princess Kinshi (覲子内親王; 1181-1252) later Sen'yōmon'in (宣陽門院)

Ancestry

Notes

References

* Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979)
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OCLC 251325323
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* 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.''
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OCLC 59145842
{{DEFAULTSORT:Go-Shirakawa Japanese emperors 1127 births 1192 deaths 12th-century Japanese monarchs People of Heian-period Japan People of Kamakura-period Japan Heian period Buddhist clergy Kamakura period Buddhist clergy Japanese Buddhist monarchs Japanese retired emperors