Emperor Sutoku

was the 75th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Along with Sugawara no Michizane and Taira no Masakado, he is known as one of the "".

Sutoku's reign in the late Heian period spanned 1123-1142.

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Akihito (顕仁). Sutoku was the eldest son of Emperor Toba. Some old texts say he was instead the son of Toba's grandfather, Emperor Shirakawa.

Chūgū: Fujiwara no Kiyoko (藤原聖子) later Kōkamon'in (皇嘉門院), Fujiwara no Tadamichi's daughter
Hyounosuke-no-Tsubone (兵衛佐局), Minamoto no Masamune's adopted daughter
First son: Imperial (1140–1162).
Mikawa-dono (三河), Minamoto no Morotsune's daughter
Fifth Son: Kakue (覚恵; 1151–1184)
Karasuma-no-Tsubone (烏丸局)

Events of Sutoku's life

February 25, 1123 (Hōan 4, 28th day of the 1st month): In the 16th year of Emperor Toba's reign (鳥羽天皇二十五年), he abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his son, aged 3.
Hōan 4, in the 2nd month (1123): Emperor Sutoku is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).
1124 (Tenji 1, 2nd month): Former Emperor Shirakawa and former-Emperor Toba went in carriages to the outside of the city, where they could all together enjoy contemplating the flowers. Fujiwara no Tamako (? – August 26, 1145), who was Toba's empress and Sutoku's mother, joined the procession along with many other women of the court. Their cortege was brilliant and colorful. A great many men of the court in hunting clothes followed the ladies in this parade. Fujiwara no Tadamichi then followed in a carriage, accompanied by bands of musicians and women who were to sing for the emperors.
1124 (Tenji 1, 10th month): Shirakawa visited Mount Kōya.
1125 (Tenji 2, 10th month): The emperor visited Iwashimizu Hachimangū and the Kamo shrines. Afterwards, he visited the Hirano, Ōharano, Mutsunoo, Kitano Tenman-gū, Yasaka (Gion), and several other shrines. This was one in a series of "sacred vow temples" (gogan-ji) built by imperial command following a precedent established by Emperor Shirakawa's Hosshō-ji.
1128 (Daiji 3, 6th month): Fujiwara no Tadamichi is relieved of his responsibilities and duties as sesshō 'regent'; and simultaneously, Tadamichi is named kanpaku. He was also enshrined in Shiramine Shrine in Kyoto and Kotohira-gū in Kagawa Prefecture. The former is also associated with the god of kemari ('football') worshipped by the kuge-rank Asukai family in times of yore, while the latter enshrined Ōmononushi, a god known to have restored harmony in the Yamato Kingdom (or blackmailed Emperor Sujin) in exchange for worship and nepotism.

The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Sutoku's mausoleum. It is formally named Shiramine no misasagi.

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the imperial court.

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 their careers. During Sutoku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

Sesshō, Fujiwara no Tadamichi, 1097–1164.
Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara no Tadamichi.
Hōan (1120–1124)
Tenji (1124–1126)
Daiji (1126–1131)
Tenshō (1131–1132)
Chōshō (1132–1135)
Hōen (1135–1141)
Eiji (1141–1142)

Legends

400px|thumb|Sutoku becoming , by [[Utagawa Yoshitsuya]]

After Sutoku's abdication and exile, he devoted himself to monastic life. He copied numerous scriptures and offered them to the court. Fearing that the scriptures were cursed, the court refused to accept them. Snubbed, Sutoku was said to have resented the court and, upon his death, became an . Everything from the subsequent fall in fortune of the Imperial court, the rise of the samurai powers, droughts and internal unrests were blamed on his haunting.

Along with Sugawara no Michizane and Taira no Masakado, he is often called one of the “”.

Literary works from the Edo period such as and and ukiyo-e paintings by Utagawa Yoshitsuya depict Emperor Sutoku as an .

In 2023, the heavy metal band Onmyo-Za produced the song , about Emperor Sutoku as a .

Ancestry

Notes

thumb|right|120px|[[Imperial Seal of Japan|Japanese Imperial kamon — a stylized chrysanthemum blossom]]

References

Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ; OCLC 251325323
Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
_____________. (1963). Vicissitudes of Shinto. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 36655
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