Empress Kōken

Japanese: 孝謙天皇 - こうけんてんのう

Year of death: Hōki 1.8.4 (770.8.28)
Year of birth: Yoro 2 (718)
The last female emperor of ancient times, during the Nara period. She ascended to the throne twice. She reigned from July 749 to August 758, and the second time as Empress Shotoku, from October 764 to August 770. Her name was Abe. She was also called Empress Koya. She was the only daughter of Emperor Shomu and Empress Komyo. She was made crown prince at the age of 21 in 738. She was the first female crown prince, but her half-brother, Prince Asaka, was an unstable position until his sudden death in 749. She ascended to the throne at the age of 32 after Emperor Shomu abdicated in 749. Her reign was supervised by her mother, Komyo-shi, who became the empress dowager, and a new Shibichudai was established for the empress dowager. The empress dowager's nephew, Fujiwara no Nakamaro, was also appointed as its chief. In the fourth year, the Great Buddha was opened to the public. The Tenpyo culture was in its heyday, but in the political world, Nakamaro's influence, backed by the empress dowager, expanded rapidly, surpassing that of the Daijokan. In 758, the retired emperor Shomu died. Worried about the issue of succession for the unmarried emperor, Shomu named Prince Doso as crown prince in his will. However, the following year, when the Minister of the Left, Tachibana Moroe, also passed away, Prince Doso was deposed and Prince Oi, under the guardianship of Nakamaro, became crown prince in his place. Dissatisfied with these developments, the nobles plotted a coup d'état in July, led by Tachibana Naramaro, but it was discovered and many were killed. The following year, in 758, Kōken abdicated. However, Prince Oi (Emperor Junnin), who ascended to the throne, was a puppet of Nakamaro, and power was held by Nakamaro (Emi no Oshikatsu), the empress dowager, and the retired emperor. In 759, Empress Kōmyo died. The relationship between Kōken, who had left her mother's guardianship and become independent, and Nakamaro, who wielded power as Daishi, changed subtly from then on. In 765, Kōken, who was ill, favored the monk Dokyō who was caring for her, and came into conflict with Junnin, who criticized this, declaring that he would take away the authority to "important national matters and rewards and punishments" from the Emperor, based on the direct line of the Kusakabe line. Nakamaro, alarmed by this movement, finally raised an army in September of 768 (the Emi no Oshikatsu Rebellion). The battle ended with Kōken's victory, and in October Junnin was exiled, after which Kōken ascended to the throne again (as Empress Shōtoku). Shōtoku, who had left her home as a monk, appointed Dokyō as Grand Minister of State and Zen Master, and in 766 as Pope, governing in an autocratic manner. However, with years of famine and no successor in sight, the political situation was unstable and conspiracies were frequent. In 769, Shotoku tried to use the oracle of Usa Hachiman to make Dokyo the Imperial heir, but failed. He died the following year.

(Yukiko Nishino)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：宝亀1.8.4(770.8.28)
生年：養老2(718)
奈良時代,古代最後の女帝。2度即位した。在位は天平勝宝1(749)年7月から天平宝字2(758)年8月まで,2度目は称徳天皇として天平宝字8(764)年10月から宝亀1(770)年8月まで。名前は阿倍。高野天皇とも呼ばれる。聖武天皇と光明皇后の唯一の娘。天平10(738)年21歳で立太子。初の女性皇太子であるが異母弟に安積親王が存在,そのため16年の彼の急死までその地位は不安定であった。天平勝宝1(749)年聖武の譲位により32歳で即位。その治世は皇太后となった母光明子に後見され,皇太后のために新たに紫微中台が設置された。またその長官には皇太后の甥藤原仲麻呂が任じられた。4年大仏開眼。天平文化は盛時を迎えるが,政界では皇太后をバックとする仲麻呂の勢力が急速に拡大,太政官をしのぐほどになった。8年聖武上皇死去。未婚の天皇の後継者問題を心配した聖武は,遺言で道祖王を皇太子に指名した。しかし翌年前左大臣橘諸兄もなくなると道祖王は廃され,代わって仲麻呂が後見する大炊王が皇太子となる。こうした動きに不満を持つ貴族たちは7月橘奈良麻呂を中心にクーデタを企てるが発覚,多数が殺された。翌天平宝字2(758)年孝謙退位。しかし即位した大炊王(淳仁天皇)は仲麻呂の傀儡であり,権力は仲麻呂(恵美押勝),皇太后,上皇が握っていた。 4年光明皇太后死去。母の後見を離れ独立した孝謙と,大師として権力をふるう仲麻呂の間は以後微妙に変化する。5年,病にふせった孝謙は看病の僧道鏡を寵愛しそれを批判した淳仁と対立,草壁嫡系を根拠に「国家の大事・賞罰」の権限を天皇からとり上げると宣言した。この動きにあせりを感じた仲麻呂は8年9月ついに挙兵した(恵美押勝の乱)。戦いは孝謙の勝利に終わり,10月淳仁を追放,孝謙が再度即位(称徳天皇)した。出家していた称徳は道鏡を太政大臣禅師,天平神護2(766)年には法王とし専政的政治を行った。しかし連年の飢饉の中,後継者が定まらないことから政情は不安定で,陰謀事件があいついだ。神護景雲3(769)年称徳は道鏡を皇嗣とするために宇佐八幡の神託を利用しようとするが失敗。翌年亡くなる。

(西野悠紀子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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