Emperor Goshirakawa
An Emperor who developed a powerful cloistered government over the more than thirty years in the tempestuous period around the time of the founding of the Kamakura Shogunate
1127–1192
Emperor Goshirakawa reigned from 1155 to 1158. His personal name was Masahito, his Buddhist name Gyoshin. The fourth son of Emperor Toba. His mother was Shoshi (Taikenmon-in), the daughter of Kinzane Fujiwara. With the death of Emperor Konoe, he succeeded to the throne. A little over three years later, he abdicated the throne to Morihito Shinno (Emperor Nijo). Subsequently, over the thirty-plus years from when he entered the Buddhist priesthood in 1169 until his death, he established a system of cloistered rule spanning the five reigns of emperors Nijo, Rokujo, Takakura, Antoku, and Gotoba and retained power as a cloistered emperor. In the Hogen rebellion that occurred in the year following his succession to the throne, he summoned Kiyomori Taira and Yoshitomo Minamoto and prevailed against Emperor Sutoku’s side. During his cloistered rule, he responded to drastically changing circumstances, from the Heiji Rebellion to the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate, with bold Machiavellian actions attempting to perpetuate the authority of the Imperial Court. During his life, he also worked to construct temples and have Buddhist statues made, as well as to augment the number of imperial estates. He made the Kumano Pilgrimage 34 times. A fan of Imayo (contemporary-style) songs, he compiled an anthology of songs called the Ryojin hisho (Songs to Make the Dust Dance). Shunzei, who served him in key posts, appraised Goshirakawa as having the will to push an agenda through “regardless of the law”; Kanezane Kujo, his rival, called him unable to distinguish black from white; and Yoritomo Minamoto described him as “the greatest tengu [long-nosed goblin; troublemaker] in Japan.” He is entombed in the mausoleum located at Hoju Temple in Sanjusangen-do Mawari-cho in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward.
Related People, Things and Events
Books
Books by Emperor Goshirakawa
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Cultural Properties of Japan
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See "Kohitsugire (Pieces of excellent classical calligraphy)" of Emperor Goshirakawa
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References
- サンプルページ「後白河天皇」の項。
- サンプルページ「後白河天皇」の項。
- サンプルページ「後白河天皇」の項。