Emperor Shirakawa
Emperor Shirakawa (1053 –1129, reigned 1073 – 1087) was the 72nd Emperor of Japan. His personal name was Sadahito. He is remembered for his long role as Insei (Retired) Emperor, in which he formerly retired but held on to power for over 40 years.
Shirakawa was the first son of Emperor Go-Sanjo (1034 – 1073) and Nyogo (Court Lady) Fujiwara no Moshi/Shigeko. Moshi’s mother was Fujiwara Kaninryu, the adopted daughter of Fujiwara no Yoshinobu. Shirakawa was the grandson of Emperor Go-Suzaku.
Emperor Shirakawa’s father Emperor Go-Sanjo had little maternal relationship with the Fujiwara Five Regent Houses (Go-Sekke), which turned out to be critical. The relationship of the emperor and the Fujiwara was an important one. The Fujiwara traditionally furnished wives and consorts to emperors, imperial princes, and their sons, thereby cementing their place in court. During the Late Heian Era, sometimes called the Fujiwara Era, the Fujiwara controlled the emperor through a very simple but effective scheme. A Fujiwara Princess or Empress would give birth to a boy who would be designated Imperial Prince. The boy would be brought into the home of his maternal grandfather who would raise him. The Emperor would resign, the boy, still under the control of his Fujiwara grandfather, would be made emperor. The Fujiwara elder would rule as sessho (regent for a child) or kampaku (regent for an adult). It changed after the reign of Emperor Go-Reizei, for Emperor Go-Sanjo’s mother, Shirakawa’s grandmother, was not from the Go-Sekke and Go-Reizei’s consorts from kampaku Fujiwara no Yorimichi and kampaku Fujiwara no Norimichi produced no children who survived.
Emperor Reizei had no heirs, therefore, thanks to the efforts of Fujiwara no Yoshinobu (995 – 1065), Imperial Prince Takahito became emperor as Go-Sanjo breaking the chain of imperial mothers who were daughters of Fujiwara regents.
When Go-Sanjo became emperor, he proclaimed Sadahito (his son from Moshi, daughter of Yoshinobu) as Imperial Prince, who later become emperor at the age of 19, as Shirakawa.
Go-Sanjo and Shirakawa did not see eye-to-eye in many things, but Shirakawa definitely followed his father’s footsteps in asserting power.
A Kanpaku was assigned, but Shirakawa ruled directly like his father had done and like his father relied upon Yoshinaga for advice. Shirakawa also attempted to regulate the shoen (manor) system thereby trying to weaken the influence of the Regent Houses (sekkan lines).
There was a changing of the guard that worked well for Shirakawa. In 1074, Dainagon Minamoto no Takakune retired to Uji to write a history of Japan (sounds good to this author). The former kampaku Fujiwara no Yorimichi died at the age of 83. In this same period, his sister, the widow of Emperor Ichijō, Empress Jōtō-mon (Shōshi) died at the age of 87.
Shirakawa did not have a complete break with the Go-Sekke. After Yorimichi died his son Fujiwara no Morozane (1042 – 1101) became head of the Fujiwara. Morozane provided an adopted daughter Kenshi as a consort for Shirakawa, and their son would ascend to the throne as Emperor Horikawa. The sessho and kampuka offices continued to exist; however, Morozane was unable to enjoy the power that his father and grandfather had enjoyed.
Shirakawa and Buddhism
Shirakawa was a strict Buddhist. He used his Buddhist beliefs to his benefit and for building projects.
Shirakawa ordered the building of many temples and Buddhist statues including the Hossho-ji Temple, and he took advantage of getting finance from Juryo (governmental officials assigned to the provinces to make appointments and collect taxes). Hosshō-ji (dedicated to the “Superiority of Buddhist Law”) was ordered built by Shirakawa to fulfill a “sacred vow.” It was the first of several “sacred vow” temples. Hosshō-ji’s nine-storied pagoda would become the most elaborate Imperial-sponsored temple structure ever erected up to this time. It was built on the site of one of Emperor Shirakawa’s palaces. (It no longer exists, and the area is currently Ozaki Park and the Kyoto Zoo.) It proved to be an effective tool for protecting income, a royal lifestyle, and control over powerful kuge families.
Shirakawa made many pilgrimages to shrines and temples. Notable among them are: 1077 trip to the Kamo Shrines and Kiyomizu-dera; in 1079 he visited the Fushimi Inari-Taisha and the Yasaka Shrine; in 1088 Shirakawa visited the temples at Mt. Hiei and made another trip there in 1089 staying a week.
As mentioned, Shirakawa and his father did not always agree. Go-Sanjo wished for a succession of Shirakawa’s brothers. Shirakawa was to abdicate in favor of a younger brother, who, in turn would do the same for a third brother. Shirakawa opposed this and when his younger brother, the Imperial Prince died, he named his eight-year-old son Taruhito to be the Imperial Prince. Shirakawa immediately abdicated and his son became Emperor Horikawa.
Insei
Upon abdication Shirakawa took the title Daijō-tennō (an Emperor who abdicates the Chrysanthemum Throne in favor of a successor). With his son as Emperor Horikawa, Retired Emperor Shirakawa was the first to attempt cloistered rule (insei). He ostensibly retired to a monastery but continued to exert considerable influence over Horikawa. Shirakawa acted as the guardian of the young Emperor and ruled personally as Shirakawa-in (“White River Mansion”). Later when Horikawa had a son, he became his grandson’s guardian. He occupied the throne for 14 years and continued to rule for the next 41 years. In 1096, after the death of his daughter, he became a Cloistered Emperor with the Buddhist name of Yukan; and thus, he became a hō-ō, which is the title accorded to a former emperor who has become a monk.
Shirakawa continued to rule, even after Horikawa turned 20. He appointed aids from the juryo and samurai. He assigned soldiers to a special post, Hokumen no bushi. Up until this time, royal bodyguards had come from the governmental positions, especially aristocrats. However, the brothers Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Yoshiie brought on bodyguards from the warrior class, and this formed the basis of Hokumen no bushi (Imperial Palace Guards for the north side). Now professional warriors guarded retired emperors. When he needed muscle, he enlisted Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Yoshiie, “the claws and fangs of Emperor Shirakawa.”
Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa lamented that he could control all but the waters of the Kamo River; the roll of the dice; and the monks of Enryaku-ji. The monks from the Tendai temples of Enryaku-ji and Miidera had split and there was an intense rivalry between them, resulting in the burning of Miidera four times in the 11th century. In 1095, the monks of Enryaku-ji came from the Mt. Hiei to protest in a dispute with Minamoto no Yoshitsuna and ended up placing a curse on Daijō-daijin Fujiwara no Moromichi, which was blamed for his early death. There was trouble at Onji Temple that required the services of the Minamoto brothers as enforcers and bodyguards. Yoshiie and Yoshitsuna chased and captured warrior monks from Mount Hiei in October 1104.
Emperor Horikawa died in 1107 and was replaced by Shirakawa’s grandson who became Emperor Toba, the 74th emperor. Emperor Toba abdicated in favor of his son, who became Emperor Sutoku, the 75th emperor. During all this time, Shirakawa continued holding the reins of power and did so until his death in 1129, ruling through the reigns of three emperors who served in name only. This is given a special name: chiten no kimi.
Personal Relations
Shirakawa is known for his relationships with many women and was rumored to have fathered Emperor Sutoku and Taira no Kiyomori. Shirakawa officially had one Empress and one Imperial Consort and nine Imperial sons and daughters. Empress Fujiwara no Kenshi/Kataiko (1057 – 1084) was the daughter of Minamoto no Akifusa and the adopted daughter of Fujiwara no Morozane. Their son, Prince Taruhito (1079 – 1107) became Emperor Horikawa. Princess Yasuko, their first daughter had the rare appointment as Empress to her brother Emperor Horikawa; she had earlier been his nurse and adopted mother after their own mother died when the boy was five. Their second daughter, Princess Reishi, was appointed to serve as ceremonial empress to four-year-old Emperor Toba. Emperor Toba followed the example of Shirakawa abdicating, then ruling insei during the reigns of three emperors: Sutoku, Konoe, and Go-Shirakawa.