Emperor Takakura


Emperor Takakura was the 80th emperor of Japan, 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 was Norihito-shinnō.
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, the regent of Taira no Kiyomori, and thus his first cousin.
  • Empress consort: Taira no Tokuko – later Kenreimon-in
  • * First Son: Imperial Prince Tokihito – later Emperor Antoku
  • Lady-in-waiting: Bōmon Shokushi later Shichijō-in, Bomon Nobutaka's daughter
  • * Second son: Imperial Prince Morisada – later Go-Takakura In – father of Emperor Go-Horikawa
  • * Fourth son: Imperial Prince Takahira – later Emperor Go-Toba
  • Consort: Konoe Michiko or Rokujō-no-tsubone, Konoe Motozane’s daughter.
  • Lady-in-waiting: Horikawa Toyoko or Azechi-Naishi, Horikawa Yorisada’s daughter
  • * Third daughter: Imperial Princess Kiyoko – Saigū of Ise
  • Court Lady: Taira no Noriko or Shōshō-Naishi, Taira Yoshisuke’s daughter
  • * Third son: Imperial Prince Koreaki later Imperial Prince Priest Shōen
  • Court Lady: Fujiwara Kimiko or Sochi-no-Tsubone, Fujiwara no Kimishige’s daughter – former nanny of Takakura
  • * First daughter: Imperial Princess Isako – Saigū of Ise
  • Court Lady: Kogō-no-Tsubone, Fujiwara no Shigenori’s daughter
  • * Second daughter: Imperial Princess Hanshi/ Noriko later Empress Dowager Bōmon-in

    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 : In the 3rd year of Rokujō-tennōs reign, the emperor was deposed by his grandfather, and the succession was received by his cousin, the third son of the retired-Emperor Go-Shirakawa.
  • 29 April 1168 : Emperor Takakura is said to have acceded to the throne, and he is proclaimed emperor.
Takakura had his own views on the role of Emperor. He is said to have written:
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 : Taira Kiyomori's daughter, Tokuko, becomes Takakura's consort.
  • 27 May 1177 : A great fire in the capital was spread by high winds; and the palace was reduced to cinders.
  • 22 December 1178 : 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 : Emperor Takakura abdicated.
  • 18 May 1180 : Emperor Antoku's coronation ceremony.
  • 26 June 1180 : Former-emperor Go-Shirakawa-in, former-emperor Takakura-in and Emperor Antoku leave Kyoto for Fukuhara-kyō.
  • 14 December 1180 : The capital is moved back to Kyoto from Fukuhara.
  • 1180 : A devastating whirlwind causes havoc in Heian-kyō, the capital.
  • 30 January 1181 : 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 is a collective term for the most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan 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 included:
The years of Takakura's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.
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