was the 80th
emperor of Japan
The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...
, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from
1168 through 1180.
Genealogy
Before his ascension to the
Chrysanthemum Throne
The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace.
Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...
, his personal name (his ''imina'') was Norihito''-shinnō'' (憲仁親王).
Takakura was the fourth son of
Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and thus uncle to his predecessor,
Emperor Rokujō. His mother was Empress Dowager
Taira no Shigeko, the younger sister of Taira no Tokiko, the concubine of
Taira no Kiyomori. 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
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"; ...
* 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.
* 30 March 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.
* 29 April 1168 (''Nin'an 3, 20th day of the 3rd 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.
Taira no Kiyomori, who was the father of the Empress, did whatever he pleased as ''
de facto'' Regent.
* 6 March 1172 (''
Jōan 2, 10th day of the 2nd month''): Taira Kiyomori's daughter, Tokuko, becomes Takakura's consort.
* 27 May 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.

* 22 December 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.
* 18 March 1180 (''Jisho 4, 21st day of the 2nd month''): Emperor Takakura abdicated.
[Kitagawa, p. 784.]
* 18 May 1180 (''Jisho 4, 22nd day of the 4th month''): Emperor Antoku's coronation ceremony.
* 26 June 1180 (''Jisho 4, 2nd day of the 6th month''): Former-
emperor Go-Shirakawa-in, former-emperor Takakura-in and Emperor Antoku leave
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
for
Fukuhara-kyō.
* 14 December 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, the capital.
* 30 January 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 hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...
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
was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century.
This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...
''
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'' (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
See also
*
Emperor of Japan
The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...
*
List of Emperors of Japan
*
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult (religious practice), Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejor ...
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 Bruce 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''; 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
Emperors of Japan
1161 births
1181 deaths
12th-century Japanese monarchs
People of the Heian period
Sons of Japanese emperors