Emperor Antoku

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Emperor Antoku

Emperor Antoku (???? Antoku-tenno) (December 22, 1178 – April 24, 1185) was the 81st emperor

Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185.

re his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne

Chrysanthemum Throne

File:Emperor Tenji.jpgThe Chrysanthemum Throne is the English language term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, as in the raised thrones constructed in the Shishin-den for Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun on November 10, 1928 ....
, his personal name (his imina) was Tokohito-shinno. He was also known as Kotohito-shinno.

His father was Emperor Takakura

Emperor Takakura

Emperor Takakura was the 80th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1168 through 1180....
.

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Emperor Antoku (???? Antoku-tenno) (December 22, 1178 – April 24, 1185) was the 81st emperor

Emperor of Japan

Japan

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne

Chrysanthemum Throne

Emperor Takakura

Emperor Takakura was the 80th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1168 through 1180....
. His mother, Taira no Tokuko

Taira no Tokuko

For the asteroid, see 5242 Kenreimonin , later known as , was the last Heike Imperial survivor from the modest vessel carrying the emperor in the great naval battle of Dan-no-ura....
, second daughter of Taira no Kiyomori

Taira no Kiyomori

was a general of the late Heian Period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the History of Japan.After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he had previously only held a minor post....
, was later referred to as Empress Dowager Kenrei (????, Kenrei-mon In).

Events of Antoku's life

Antoku was named crown prince

Crown Prince

A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
at around one month of age. He ascended the throne at one year of age. Naturally, he held no actual power, but rather his grandfather Taira no Kiyomori ruled in his name, though not officially, as sessho (regent).

Jisho
Jisho

was a after Angen and before Yowa. This period spanned the years from 1177 through 1181. The reigning emperors were and ....
4, on the 21st day of the 4th month (1180): In the 12th year of Takakura-tennos reign (????12?), the emperor was forced to abdicate; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his infant son, the grandson of Taira Kiyomori. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Antoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

In the year of his enthronement, the capital was moved to modern-day Kobe, Hyogo
Hyogo Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Kinki region on Honshu island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo....
, but it was soon moved back to Heian-kyo
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
.

Juei
Juei

was a after Yowa and before Genryaku. This period spanned the years from 1182 through 1184. The reigning emperors were Emperor Antoku -tenno and ....
2, on the 20th day of the 8th month (1183): Go-Toba is proclaimed emperor by the Genji; and consequently, there were two proclaimed emperors, one living in Heian-kyo and another in flight towards the south.

In 1183, when Minamoto no Yoshinaka
Minamoto no Yoshinaka

was a general of the late Heian Period of History of Japan. A member of the Minamoto samurai clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was his cousin and rival during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans....
entered the capital, the Taira clan
Taira clan

The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.In reference to History of Japan, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects....
fled with the young emperor and the sacred treasures to Yashima (the name of a place inside modern-day Takamatsu
Takamatsu, Kagawa

is located in central Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan, and is the seat of the prefectural government. It is designated a core city by the Japanese Government....
, Kagawa
Kagawa Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is Takamatsu.History Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province....
). Being defeated in the Battle of Yashima, they fled westward.

Genryaku
Genryaku

was a after Juei and before Bunji . This period spanned the years from 1184 through 1185. The reigning emperors were and ....
2, on the 24th day of the 3rd month (1185): The Taira and the Minamoto clashed in the Battle of Dan-no-ura
Battle of Dan-no-ura

The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshu. On April 25 1185, the Genji clan fleet, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the Heike clan fleet, during a half-day engagement....
.

The Taira were defeated. Antoku's grandmother, Taira no Tokiko
Taira no Tokiko

was the wife of Taira no Kiyomori, mother of Taira no Tokuko, as well as grandmother of Emperor Antoku. Buddhist name – Nii no Ama ???. According to the The Tale of the Heike, Taira no Tokiko drowned herself during the Battle of Dan-no-ura together with the boy-Emperor Antoku and the Kusanagi, i.e., one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan of J...
, the widow of Taira no Kiyomori, drowned herself along with the young emperor. His mother also drowned herself, but apparently, according to the The Tale of the Heike
The Tale of the Heike

is an Epic poetry account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War ....
(Heike Monogatari), she was pulled out with a rake
Rake (tool)

A rake is an agriculture and horticulture implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaf, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, and generally for purposes performed in agriculture by the harrow ....
by her long hair
Hair

Hair is a protein filament that epidermal growth from hair follicle deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats....
. According to legend, the sacred jewels and the sacred sword
Kusanagi

is a legendary Japanese sword as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is to Great Britain, and is one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi ....
(two of the three sacred treasures) sunk to the bottom of the sea, and although the sacred jewels were recovered, the sword was lost.

The story of Emperor Antoku and his mother's family became the subject of the Kamakura period
Kamakura period

The is a period of History of Japan that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
epic poem The Tale of the Heike

The Tale of the Heike

is an Epic poetry account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War ....
(Heike is an alternate reading of the Japanese characters
Kanji

are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese language logogram along with hiragana , katakana , Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet....
for "House of the Taira").

Kugyo

Kugyo is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
in pre-Meiji
Meiji period

The , or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running, in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912. During this time, Japan started its modernization and rose to world power status....
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 Antoku's reign, this apex of the Daijo-kan included:

Sessho, Konoe Motomichi
Konoe Motomichi

was a kugyo from the late Heian period to the early Kamakura period. His father was Konoe Motozane, the founder of Konoe family, and his mother was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tadataka....
, 1160-1233.
Udaijin
Udaijin

Udaijin , most commonly translated as the "Minister of the Right", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara period and Heian periods....
Nadaijin, Taira Munemori, 1147-1185.
Dainagon
Dainagon

, often translated as "Great Councillor," was a government post of the Japanese ritsuryo governmental system, which was in place for much of the classical and feudal periods....

Memorial site
After his drowning, in order to mourn the Bodhi
Bodhi

Bodhi is both the Pali and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English language as "enlightenment." The word "Buddhahood" means "one who has achieved bodhi." Bodhi is also frequently translated as "awakening."...
, the Amidaji Goeido was built. Later, Antoku was enshrined at the Kurume-Suitengu in Kurume
Kurume, Fukuoka

is a cities of Japan located in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan.The city has an estimated population of 306,140 and the population density of 1,332 persons per km?....
, Fukuoka
Fukuoka Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka, Fukuoka....
, and he came to be worshipped as Mizu-no-kami (???, lit. "water-god" or "god of water"), the god of easy delivery at Suitengu (???, lit. "water-heaven/emperor-shrine") everywhere.

With the establishment of Shinto
Shinto

is the former state religion of Japan and remains the most common name for the nation's non-Buddhist ethnic religion practices. It was formed from disparate local mythologies, beginning with the Kojiki of 712, into an imperial cult called State Shinto that solidified in the Meiji period....
as the state religion
State religion

A state religion is a religion body or creed officially endorsed by the state. Practically, a state without a state religion is called a secular state....
of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, the Amida was abandoned and the Akama Shrine
Akama Shrine

is a Shinto shrine in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is dedicated to Antoku, a Japanese emperor who died at a young age in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura , which occurred nearby in 1185....
was established in Shimonoseki
Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi

is a cities of Japan located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It is at the southwestern tip of Honshu, facing the Tsushima Strait and also Kitakyushu across the Kanmon Straits....
, Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi located in the center of the Prefecture: The largest city, by contrast, is Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi....
to celebrate Antoku.

Eras of Antoku's reign
The years of Antoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengo.

Jisho
Jisho

was a after Angen and before Yowa. This period spanned the years from 1177 through 1181. The reigning emperors were and ....
(1177-1181)
Yowa
Yowa

was a after Jisho and before Juei. This period spanned the years from 1181 through 1182. The reigning emperor was ....
(1181-1182)
Juei
Juei

was a after Yowa and before Genryaku. This period spanned the years from 1182 through 1184. The reigning emperors were Emperor Antoku -tenno and ....
(1182-1184)
Genryaku
Genryaku

was a after Juei and before Bunji . This period spanned the years from 1184 through 1185. The reigning emperors were and ....
(1184-1185)
Bunji
Bunji (Japanese era)

was a after Genryaku and before Kenkyu. This period spanned the years from 1185 through 1190. The reigning emperor was ....
(1185-1190)

Emperor Antoku

Genealogy

Events of Antoku's life

Kugyo

Memorial site

Eras of Antoku's reign

See also