Emperor Antoku

Emperor Antoku (1178 – 1185) was the 81st emperor. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185. His personal name (imina) was Tokohito-shinnō or as Kotohito-shinnō. His father was Emperor Takakura, and thus a grandson of retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa. His mother, Taira no Tokuko, second daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, was later referred to as Empress Dowager Kenrei (Kenrei-mon In).

His short life was quite tragic through no fault of his own.

During this time, the Imperial family was involved in a bitter struggle between warring clans. Minamoto no Yoritomo with his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka, led a force from the Minamoto clan against the Taira, who controlled the emperor. During the climactic Battle of Dan-no-ura in April 1185, Antoku’s grandmother Taira no Tokiko took him and plunged with him into the water in the Shimonoseki Straits, drowning the child emperor rather than allowing him to be captured by the opposing forces. (See The Rise of the Warrior Class)

The conflict between the clans led to numerous legends and tales. The story of Emperor Antoku and his mother’s family became the subject of the Kamakura period epic poem The Tale of the Heike (Heike is an alternative reading of the Japanese characters for “House of the Taira”).