Emperor Takakura (高倉天皇, Takakura-tennō, 20 September 1161 – 30 January 1181) was the 80th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1168 through 1180.[1]
Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina)[2] was Norihito-shinnō (憲仁親王).[3]
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
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.[4]
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.[5]
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."[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
Only extant letter by Emperor Takakura
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.[9]
18 March 1180 (Jisho 4, 21st day of the 2nd month): Emperor Takakura abdicated.[10]
18 May 1180 (Jisho 4, 22nd day of the 4th month): Emperor Antoku's coronation ceremony.[10]
Kugyō (公卿) 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:
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".
^Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 195–200; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 330–333; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 212–214.
^Brown, pp. 264; n.b., up until the time of Emperor Jomei, the personal names of the emperors (their imina) were very long and people did not generally use them. The number of characters in each name diminished after Jomei's reign.
^Brown, p. 330; Varley, p. 44; n.b., a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
