Shōtoku - The Last Empress of Japan
Tidbit: History
In the late 20th century, the strict agnatic primogeniture in the imperial family - put into formal law in 1947 - led to a succession crisis. When it appeared clear that there might not be a male heir in the imperial family, tentative steps to chance the law to absolute primogeniture were taken, just to be shelved immediately upon the birth of Prince Hisahito in 2006.
But where does this reluctance to have a female ruler come from?
Obviously, there are a number of explanations. The argument to maintain the unbroken male line all the way back where history meets myth, is a strong one. But there is another reason, buried among intrigues at the court in Nara, when Japan was indeed ruled by a woman for the last time.1
The first crown princess
In 718, a little princess called Abe was born to Shōmu, the 45th emperor of Japan. So far, so ordinary. But when her younger brother, the heir apparent died, Shōmu did the unexpected: in 738, he proclaimed Princess Abe as the first crown princess in Japan’s history, and when he retired in 749, she ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne as Empress Kōken.
First reign as Empress Kōken and retirement
This reign of 9 years was fairly uneventful, until her father changed his mind about the succession on his deathbed. After the expected internal struggles led to a full-blown failed coup, Kōken was eventually forced to retire in favour of her father’s ultimate choice, Emperor Junnin.
Now, two things happened that would sour the court’s taste for female rulers until today. The first: the retired empress got religion, Buddhism, to be precise, which had only come to Japan some 200 years earlier. In fact, she became so devout that she took the tonsure and became a nun.
The second: probably due to the stress leading up to her “retirement”, she got ill and moved to the countryside to recuperate. This is when she met Dōkyō, healer and monk.
Meeting the monk Dōkyō
Dōkyō was born in 700 into the local gentry of Kawachi Province (now Eastern Osaka). He became a monk where he also learned medical techniques. He was able to cure the retired empress and, most likely because of their shared faith, they became close. How close is not known with certainty, however, the Shoku Nihongi, an 8th century history text, states that
Dōkyō received the affection of the empress.
In any case, Emperor Junnin and his court reproached the affectionate empress for her conduct, which was not taken well. And when she decreed that Junnin would be allowed to deal only with ceremonial matters while she herself would handle the real affairs of state, it came to a rebellion.
Junnin lost and was exiled, and in 764, the empress once more took the throne, now as Empress Shōtoku, and, of course, with Dōkyō as her faithful advisor at her side.
Dōkyō’s lust for power
At first, it was spiritual advice, then Dōkyō gave political advice as well. Slowly but surely, he climbed the ranks at court. He became daijo-daijin zenji, a special rank created just for him, where he had authority over religious and civil affairs. Eventually, in 766, he was promoted to Hō-ō, (“Prince of the Law” or “Buddhist King”), a position that placed him on equal footing with Empress Shōtoku.
Together, they promoted Buddhism top-down, so to speak. Huge donations of money and land were heaped on temples in Nara. Shōtoku had one million mini wooden stupas with sutras inside created (Hyakumantō Darani) and donated them to temples as well. In Yao, Osaka, she built a new temple for Dōkyō.
Dōkyō in his turn made sure that Buddhist rites were held at court even on days significant to Shinto, like New Year. He had temples built nearby important Shinto shrines like Ise. And by and by, he managed to have members of his own extended family appointed to high-ranking positions at court.
But Dōkyō wanted more. And the fact that Empress Shōtoku never formally appointed an heir, helped him with his next move.
In 768, Dōkyō contrived to have an oracle from the Hachiman Shrine in Usa (coincidentally led by a member of his family) proclaim peace throughout the realm, should Dōkyō become emperor. Dōkyō was ecstatic.
How Empress Shōtoku reacted to the oracle we do not know. But since she was very much under the monk’s spell, it is possible that she was just as pleased as he himself or may even have had a hand in obtaining the oracle. The court, however, was skeptical and demanded a second opinion.
Shōtoku relented, sent a new messenger to the shrine, and after due time was presented with the following:
Since the establishment of our state, the distinction between lord and subject has been fixed. Never has there been an occasion when a subject was made lord. The throne of the Heavenly Sun Succession shall be given to one of the imperial lineage; wicked persons should immediately be swept away.
The hapless messenger was promptly exiled, but even an empress has to bow to the wishes of the gods and Dōkyō’s ambitions were brought to an end.
The aftermath
When Shōtoku died in 770, Dōkyō lost all his influence at the court in Nara and died in exile in Shimotsuke Province (today’s Tochigi Prefecture) two years later. Because of his disloyalty to the throne, he is today known as one of Japan’s Three Great Villains.
And although Empress Shōtoku does not appear to be as weak-willed (or minded) as this story suggests, it is often cited as the reason whey there was never again a female ruler of Japan. Instead, a male heir was adopted from a side branch of the imperial family whenever necessary.
But maybe now, more than 1250 years after the last empress of Japan, the time might finally be ripe for the next one.
In fact, there were two more empresses of Japan in the Edo period (the 109th and 117th ruler of Japan), however, at the time, the real power lay with the Tokugawa shoguns rather than the emperors.