Japan 13
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JAPANESE IMPERIAL
GENEALOGY
(The Late Heian Period)
1155 - 1158 Go-Shirakawa Tennō, Seventy-Sixth Emperor of Japan. Born Masahito Shinnō in 1127, he succeeded to the throne in 1155. The eras of his reign were Kyūju (1155-1156) and Hōgen (1156-1158). He was initially under the control of Cloistered Emperor Toba. When Toba died in 1156, Go-Shirakawa's brother Sutoku tried to become the new power behind the throne, leading the Hōgen rebellion which Go-Shirakawa's forces, under Minamoto no Yoshitomo defeated. His reign saw the reintroduction of the death penalty. He married (first) Ōimikado no Yoshiko, daughter of Ōimikado no Tsunezane (see OIMIKADO). He married (second) Lady Takakura. He married (third) Kenshunmon In, born Taira no Shigeko in 1142, also called Koben, she died of smallpox in 1176 (see TAIRA). He married in 1174 (fourth) Jōdoji, born Takashina no Eishi, beloved by the Emperor and the only one allowed to join him in his confinement after 1179, she used that affection in order to gain significant political power and died in 1216. He abdicated in 1158, becoming the Cloistered Emperor and a particularly diligent Buddhist priest with the name Gyōshin. His power was challenged by Minamoto no Yoshitomo's Heiji Rebellion in the name of Emperor Nijo in 1159, during which he was kidnapped and the Imperial Palace burnt down (again), but he was saved by the warlord Taira no Kiyomori, who then took supreme power for himself, leaving Go-Shirakawa powerless. He erected the Sanjūsangen-dō Hall, containing a thousand statues of Thousand-Armed Kannon, with Taira's help. The relationship with Taira soured, and he attempted to overthrow Taira in 1177 and in 1179, but failed and was confined to the Toba Palace with only a single retainer. He returned to Kyoto when the informal Taira military dictatorship was overthrown and replaced by the Minamoto Clan's formal military dictatorship, the Shogunate. He died in 1192. He had issue, including:
1) Nijō Tennō (son of Yoshiko), Seventy-Seventh Emperor of Japan - see below.
2) Shukaku Hosshinnō. Born 1150, he became a Buddhist Priest at Ninna-ji. When Minamoto no Yoshinaka attacked Go-Shirakawa's palace in 1183 he was the first to flee. He died in 1202.
3) Mochihito Shinnō (son of Takakura). Born 1151, he became a scholar. He was exiled in 1180, but fled towards Nara, becomin the figurehead of Minamoto no Yorimasa's plot to overthrow the Taira. He was killed by the Taira at Nieno Lake. It was this rebellion which sparked the Genpei War which overthrew the Taira Clan. He had issue, including:
a) Kiso Ō, who joined Minamoto no Yoritomo's ultimately successful rebellion against the Taira in 1180. He was the Minamoto candidate for Emperor after they seized the capital in 1183, but was ultimately passed over in favour of his cousin Go-Toba
4) Ene Hosshinnō. Born Hachijō Shinnō in 1152. He became a Buddhist Priest at Mii-dera, becoming Intendent of Shitennō Temple in 1168. He lost his position in 1180 when he tried to dissuade his brother Mochihito from rebelling. When Minamoto no Yoshinaka occupied Kyoto and attacked Go-Shira kawa's palace, Hachijo came to Go-Shirakawa's aid and was killed in battle (1183).
5) Takakura Tennō (son of Kenshunmon), Seventy-Ninth Emperor of Japan - see below.
6) Shōnin Hosshinnō. Born Kajii Shinnō in 1169. He became a Buddhist priest, and was Abbot of Kaiji before being appointed Tendai Abbot in 1196, as a result of political manoeuvring against the Regent. He died in 1197.
1) Senyōmon In. Born 1181, she was her father's favourite daughter and was therefore granted the title of Empress in 1191. She had a great deal of political influence leading up to the Jōkyō War (1221) and died in 1252.
1158 - 1165 Nijō Tennō (son of Yoshiko), Seventy-Seventh Emperor of Japan. Born Morihito Ō in 1143, he initially trained to be a Buddhist Priest, but became Crown Prince in 1155 and succeeded to the throne in 1158. The eras of his reign were Hōgen (1158-1159), Heiji (1159-1160), Eiryaku (1160-1161), Ōho (1161-1163), Chōkan (1162-1164) and Eiman (1164-1165). He was entirely under the control of the Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa until Minamoto no Yoshitomo overthrew him in the Heiji Rebellion (1159), during which he was Yoshitomo's puppet. In the middle of the night he was smuggled across town to Taira no Kiyomori's palace, leaving Yoshitomo without a puppet and ending the rebellion. He married Fujiwara no Ikushi Chūgū born 1146, daughter of Fujiwara no Kinyoshi, she reputedly had an affair with Iki no Munetō, she became Secondary Empress, but died in 1173, without issue. He abdicated in 1165 and was dead within a month. He had issue, including:
1) Rokujō Tennō (son of an unknown woman), Seventy-Eighth Emperor of Japan - see below.
1165 - 1168 Rokujō Tennō, Seventy-Eighth Emperor of Japan. Born Nobuhito Shinnō in 1164, his mother had had an affair, which made his legitimacy suspect, but he succeeded to the throne a year later. The eras of his reign were: Eiman (1165-1166) and Ninan (1166-1168). He was entirely under the control of the warlord Taira no Kiyomori. He abdicated in 1168 so that Taira's grandson could take the throne, and died in 1176, aged 12.
1168 - 1180 Takakura Tennō, Seventy-Ninth Emperor of Japan. Born Norihito Shinnō in 1161, he became Crown Prince in 1167, following the rise to power of his maternal relatives, the Taira after the Heiji Rebellion. The eras of his reign were: Ninan (1168-1169), Kaō (1169-1171), Shōan (1171-1175), Angen (1175-1177 cut short because of a disastrous fire in Kyoto) and Jishō (1177-1180). He was entirely under the control of his maternal uncle, the warlord Taira no Kiyomori. In his reign the Palace burnt down and Go-Shirakawa made a failed bid to regain control of Japan. He married (first) in 1171, Kenreimon In, born Taira no Tokuku in 1155, daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, defacto ruler of Japan, she was Secondary Empress from 1172 and died in 1213. He married (second) Shichijō In, born Fujiwara no Taneko, daughter of Fujiwara no Nobutaka (see FUJIWARA). He abdicated in 1180 and went to Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima. He was later taken to the Taira capital at Fukuhara, where he died in 1181. He had issue:
1) Antoku Tennō (son of Kenreimon), Eightieth Emperor of Japan - see below.
2) Morisada Shinnō, a Buddhist Lay-Priest. He was brought up by the warlord Taira no Kiyomori's wife and was therefore taken by the Taira Clan when they fled Kyoto in 1183. He was declared an honourary (ie.powerless) Cloistered Emperor in 1221, with the name Go-Takakura Tennō. He married Kita Shirakawa In, born Kujō no Nobuko in 1173, died 1238, a daughter of Kujō no Motoie (see KUJO). He died in 1223 but had issue, including:
a) Go-Horikawa Tennō (son of Kita Shirakawa), Eighty-Fifth Emperor of Japan - see below.
3?) Koreakira Shinnō (son of a Taira. Probably Kenreimon). He was a candidate to replace Antoku as Emperor in 1183, after the Minamoto Clan seized the capital. He was passed over because his mother was a Taira.
4) Go-Toba Tennō (son of Shichijō), Eighty-First Emperor of Japan - see below.
1180 - 1185 Antoku Tennō, Eightieth Emperor of Japan. Born Tokihito Shinnō in 1173, he became Crown Prince in 1178 and acceded to the throne in 1180. The eras of his reign were Jishō (1180-1181), Yōwa (1181-1182) and Juei (1182-1183). He was entirely under the control of his maternal grandfather, the warlord Taira no Kiyomori. In his reign the capital was briefly moved to Fukuhara (the base of the Taira Clan) and the Genpei War broke out in which the Taira Clan was destroyed and the Minamoto seized power for themselves, establishing the first Shogunate. The Taira fled west with Antoku, were defeated at sea at Dan no Ura in 1185, losing the Sacred Imperial Regalia in the process. Recognising the situation as hopeless, the remaining Taira drowned Antoku, then aged eight, and killed themselves in 1185.