Emperor Goshirakawa

The 77th Emperor (reigned 1155-58). His given name was Masahito. His posthumous name was Gyōshin. He was the fourth son of Emperor Toba. His mother was Fujiwara no Kinzane's daughter, Shōshi (Taikenmon'in). He was born on September 11, 1155 (Daiji 2). He ascended to the throne in 1155 (Kūjū 2). In 1158 (Hōgen 3), he abdicated to Prince Morihito (Emperor Nijō). After he became a monk in 1169 (Kaō 1), he continued to rule as a retired emperor and a retired emperor for over 30 years until his death, for five generations of Emperors Nijō, Rokujō, Takakura, Antoku, and Gotoba.

Emperor Goshirakawa's accession to the throne was unusual, as he took over at the age of 29 after the death of his half-brother Emperor Konoe at the young age of 17. At that time, Emperor Toba wanted to pass on the throne to Prince Morihito, who was the adopted son of his favorite concubine Bifukumon'in (Fujiwara no Tokuko), and as a step towards this goal, he had the prince's father, Emperor Goshirakawa, ascend the throne. This completely denied the retired Emperor Sutoku's hopes of succession to the throne. As a result, when Emperor Toba died the following year in 1156, armed conflict broke out between the side of the retired Emperor Sutoku and the side of Emperor Goshirakawa, but the Emperor's side was victorious thanks to the efforts of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Taira no Kiyomori and others (the Hogen Rebellion). The Emperor favored Shinzei (Fujiwara Michinori) and had him manage the government. After the rebellion, he enacted the Seven Articles of the New Law, established a record office, reorganized the estates, and tried to reduce the influence of temples and shrines. After three years of direct rule, the Emperor abdicated in favor of Prince Morihito (Emperor Nijō) and began ruling as the retired emperor. The following year, 59 (Heiji 1), a coup d'état was staged by people who were hostile towards Shinzei (Heiji Rebellion). This was settled by Kiyomori's military force, and the retired emperor Goshirakawa was unable to take the lead. After this, Emperor Nijō also took his own stand, and did not necessarily follow the retired emperor's wishes. The retired emperor tried to promote Kiyomori to aristocratic society and use his influence, but as the power of the Taira clan grew, he began plotting to eliminate them instead. After he became a monk in 69 (Kao 1) and became a retired emperor, he tried to remove Kiyomori by strengthening his close aides and using the warrior monks of Enryaku-ji Temple and Todai-ji Temple. In 77 (Jisho 1), a plot to overthrow the Taira clan by the close aides was discovered, and several of them were punished by the Taira clan (Shishigatani Incident). However, the retired emperor did not let up on his pursuit of the Taira clan even after that, and when Kiyomori's daughter Moriko, who had married into the regent family, died, he confiscated the regent family's land that had been inherited by Moriko, and continued to ignore Kiyomori's wishes in personnel matters at the imperial court. As a result, in November 79, the retired emperor was imprisoned in Toba Palace by Kiyomori. However, the following year, the Minamoto clan from various provinces rose up in arms with the aim of overthrowing the Taira clan, and thereafter the capital was moved to Fukuhara (Kobe City) and then returned to Kyoto, the Taira clan fled the capital, Kiso Yoshinaka entered Kyoto but was defeated and killed, Minamoto no Yoshitsune entered Kyoto but fell, the Taira clan was destroyed and the Kamakura shogunate was established, and the situation changed rapidly. The Cloistered Emperor was released from imprisonment about a year later, but he skillfully handled the changing times and continued to hold the position of "Chiten no Kimi" until his death. When the Taira clan fled the capital, he quickly fled to Enryaku-ji Temple instead of accompanying them, and while he ordered Yoshinaka and MINAMOTO no Yukiie, who had entered Kyoto, to pursue and kill the Taira clan, he placed the achievements of MINAMOTO no Yoritomo first and encouraged him to come to Kyoto. The Emperor's cunning was so great that Yoritomo called him "Japan's greatest Tengu." During the Emperor's lifetime, Yoritomo was never able to obtain the title of Seii Taishogun, which he had most desired.

The cloistered government of Emperor Goshirakawa was a continuation of the cloistered government established by the retired emperors Shirakawa and Toba at the end of the 11th century, and also marked the final step. The Innocho (Cabinet Office) became a government institution on a par with the Daijokan (Grand Council of State), important matters of state affairs were thoroughly handled in a new format known as the Shinsei (New System), and a vast number of manors were concentrated around the cloistered emperor. At the same time, the Chiten no Kimi was positioned as an absolute monarch with supreme authority over all the manors. Shinzei, who was a close attendant to Emperor Goshirakawa, described the cloistered emperor's absolute character as "he dared not be bound by the laws of others, but always carried out his duties." Emperor Goshirakawa rebuilt the Daidairi, which had long been abandoned, and also constructed Rengeoin (Sanjusangendo) and Chokodo. He also frequently visited Mount Koya and Mount Hiei, and is said to have made 34 pilgrimages to Kumano. He also met with a Chinese visitor at Kiyomori's villa in Fukuhara, but this was criticized by the nobles of the time as the work of the devil. Furthermore, while he was a skilled flute player, he showed an extraordinary obsession with Imayo, the popular songs of the time. If he heard that someone was a skilled flute player, he would call in prostitutes and puppeteers, regardless of their status, and sing all night long, destroying their voices more than once. He himself wrote and compiled these songs in the 10 volumes of "Ryōjinhisō" and 10 volumes of "Ryōjinhisō Kudenshū". He passed away on March 13, 3rd year of Kenkyu. He was 66 years old. His tomb is in the Hojuji tomb in Sanjusangendo-mawari-chō, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto.

[Hiroya Yamamoto]

"Kawasaki Tsuneyuki, ed., "Japanese People's History Series 1" (1961, Asakura Publishing) " "Kyoto City, ed., "History of Kyoto Volume 2" (1971, Gakugei Shorin)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

第77代の天皇（在位1155～58）。名は雅仁(まさひと)。法名行真。鳥羽(とば)天皇の第4皇子。母は藤原公実(きんざね)の女(むすめ)璋子(しょうし)（待賢門院(たいけんもんいん)）。大治(だいじ)2年9月11日誕生。1155年（久寿2）即位。58年（保元3）守仁(もりひと)親王（二条(にじょう)天皇）に譲位。以後69年（嘉応1）の出家のあとも、上皇・法皇として、没するまでの30年余りの間、二条、六条(ろくじょう)、高倉(たかくら)、安徳(あんとく)、後鳥羽(ごとば)天皇の5代にわたって院政を行った。

　後白河天皇の即位は、異母弟の近衛(このえ)天皇が17歳の若さで没した後を受けて、29歳で即位するという異例のものであった。このとき鳥羽法皇は、寵姫(ちょうき)美福門院(びふくもんいん)（藤原得子）の猶子(ゆうし)となっていた守仁親王に皇位を伝えようとし、その手順として親王の父である後白河天皇を即位させたのである。このことは皇位継承についての崇徳(すとく)上皇の望みを完全に断つものであった。そのため翌1156年鳥羽法皇が没すると、崇徳上皇方と後白河天皇方との間に武力衝突が起こったが、天皇方は、源義朝(よしとも)、平清盛(きよもり)らの活躍で勝利を収めた（保元(ほうげん)の乱）。天皇は信西(しんぜい)（藤原通憲(みちのり)）を重用して政治を取り仕切らせ、乱後、新制七か条を制定し、記録所を設置して荘園(しょうえん)整理を行い、また寺社勢力の削減を図ろうとした。やがて親政3年にして天皇は守仁親王（二条天皇）に譲位し、上皇として院政を開始した。その翌59年（平治1）、信西に反感を抱く人々によるクーデターが起こった（平治(へいじ)の乱）。これは清盛の武力によって決着がつけられ、後白河上皇は主導権を握ることができなかった。こののち二条天皇も独自の立場を示して、かならずしも上皇の意のごとくにはならなかった。上皇は清盛を貴族社会に引き立ててその勢力を利用しようとしたが、やがて平氏の勢力が強大になると、今度は逆にその排除を企てるようになった。69年（嘉応1）出家して法皇となってからは、院近臣の強化、延暦(えんりゃく)寺や東大寺の僧兵の利用などにより清盛を除こうとした。77年（治承1）には、院近臣による平氏打倒の謀議が発覚、近臣数名が平氏によって処罰された（鹿ヶ谷(ししがたに)事件）。しかしその後も法皇は平氏追及の手を緩めず、摂関(せっかん)家に嫁していた清盛の女盛子が死ぬと、盛子の伝領していた摂関家領を没収し、また宮廷人事においても清盛の意向を無視したやり方を続けた。そのためついに79年11月、法皇は清盛によって鳥羽殿に幽閉された。しかし翌年には平家打倒を目ざして諸国の源氏が挙兵、以後、福原(ふくはら)（神戸市）遷都と京都還都、平氏の都落ち、木曽義仲(きそよしなか)の入京と敗死、源義経(よしつね)の入京と没落、平氏の滅亡と鎌倉幕府の成立と、時局はめまぐるしく変転する。約1年後に幽閉を解かれた法皇は、変転する時局に巧みに処して、没するまで「治天(ちてん)の君(きみ)」の地位を保持し続けた。平氏の都落ちに際してはいち早く延暦寺に逐電して同行せず、また入京した義仲と源行家(ゆきいえ)に平氏追討を命ずる一方で、源頼朝(よりとも)の功績を第一としてその上洛(じょうらく)を促すなど、法皇の老獪(ろうかい)さは、頼朝をして「日本第一の大天狗(てんぐ)」といわしめたほどであった。頼朝は法皇の生存中には、ついに彼のもっとも強く希求した征夷大将軍(せいいたいしょうぐん)の称号を得ることができなかったのである。

　後白河院による院政は、11世紀末以来の白河上皇および鳥羽上皇による院政の継承であると同時に総仕上げであった。院庁(いんのちょう)が太政官(だいじょうかん)と並ぶ国政機関となり、新制という新しい形式で国政上の重要事項の徹底が図られるようになり、院の周辺に膨大な荘園群が集積されると同時に、治天の君はすべての荘園本所に超越する高権をもつ専制君主として位置づけられた。後白河院に近侍した信西は、院の専制的性格を、「あえて人の制法に拘(かかわ)らず、必ずこれを遂ぐ」と評している。後白河院は、絶えて久しかった大内裏(だいだいり)造営を行い、また蓮華王院(れんげおういん)（三十三間堂）、長講堂(ちょうこうどう)などを造営し、あるいは高野山(こうやさん)、比叡(ひえい)山などにもしばしば行幸し、熊野参詣(さんけい)は34回に及んだと伝えられる。また院は、清盛の福原の別荘で宋(そう)人を引見したことがあったが、それは当時の貴族たちからは「天魔のしわざ」と非難されることであった。さらに、院は笛の名手でもあったが、当時の流行歌である今様(いまよう)に対して異常なほどの執心ぶりを示した。名人上手と聞けば、身分の高下を問わず、遊女、傀儡子(くぐつ)などをも召し出して、夜を徹して歌い、声をつぶしたことも一度ならずあったという。そしてその歌謡を分類集成した『梁塵秘抄(りょうじんひしょう)』10巻および『梁塵秘抄口伝(くでん)集』10巻を自ら撰述(せんじゅつ)している。建久(けんきゅう)3年3月13日没。66歳。御陵は京都市東山区三十三間堂廻(まわ)り町の法住寺陵。

［山本博也］

『川崎庸之編『日本人物史大系 1』（1961・朝倉書店）』▽『京都市編『京都の歴史　第2巻』（1971・学芸書林）』

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