Kōken

Japanese empress (r. 749-758, r. 764-770)

• Born: 718
• Birthplace: Nara, Japan
• Died: August 28, 0770
• Place of death: Nara, Japan

The last of the female monarchs of early Japan, Kōken was an ardent sponsor of Buddhism. Her two reigns are characterized by increased state patronage of Buddhist temples, as evidenced by the immensely expensive construction of the bronze Great Buddha statue in Nara’s Tōdaiji.

Early Life

Kōken (koh-kehn), the woman who would occupy the throne of Japan twice over the course of the Nara period (710-784), was born to the future emperor Shōmu (r. 724-749) and Lady Asuka. Princess Abe, as she was known before ascending the throne, was uniquely qualified in the eyes of her contemporaries at court to become empress one day because she boasted an impressive bloodline. On her father’s side, her grandfather was Emperor Mommu (r. 697-707); her great-grandmother, Empress Gemmei (r. 707-715), had been instrumental in the construction of Nara, the grandest capital Japan had ever known. At the time of Princess Abe’s birth, her aunt occupied the throne as Empress Genshō (r. 715-724), and at the age of six, the princess saw her father become Emperor Shōmu. Her mother, Lady Asuka, was the daughter of Fujiwara Fubito, the powerful founder of the Fujiwara clan. It was Fubito who established the custom of selecting the principal consorts of the emperor exclusively from the Fujiwara family.

According to the official chronicles compiled at the behest of Empresses Gemmei and Genshō, the Kojiki (712 c.e.; Records of Ancient Matters, 1883; best known as Kojiki) and the Nihon shoki (compiled 720 c.e.; Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, 1896; best known as Nihon shoki), the imperial family was directly descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu. The chronicles record that this goddess had entrusted the Japanese archipelago into the care of her great-great-grandson, the emperor Jimmu, in 660 b.c.e., and that ever since, Japan had been ruled by Jimmu’s line alone. The imperial institution and the dynasty itself were thus products of a claim made on the basis of religious concepts rooted in Shintō , Japan’s native religion.

In reality, the imperial dynasty was about two hundred years old by the time of Kōken’s birth (the first historical emperor was Kimmei, r. 539-571). The early years of the dynasty had seen the introduction of Buddhism and the establishment of a political and administrative system based on the Chinese model. Since the reign of Suiko (r. 593-628), Buddhism had been considered an important part of the life of the imperial court. Patronage of temples had become nothing short of an obligation for the aristocratic families who intended to remain part of the courtly culture. The move of the capital to Nara in 710 was probably influenced by the fact that several major temples already had been erected there.

There was an inherent contradiction in basing the integrity of the imperial dynasty on a set of native myths while relying on foreign inspirations (in particular Buddhism and Confucianism) for the functioning of the court as an institution and for the ordering of the polity. Emperors routinely promoted Buddhism while serving as high priests of the politically most important religion, Shintō. This conflict was apparent throughout the Nara period, but it would be especially noticeable in the events involving Kōken’s two reigns as empress.

Several historical precedents existed for women occupying the throne. Before Kōken, five women had ruled as empresses regnant, one of them ruling twice. However, they had all been compromise candidates promoted to forestall succession disputes and, with one exception, had all been widows of previous emperors. Kōken’s case would be remarkably different.

Her father ascended the throne as Emperor Shōmu in 724, after his aunt, Empress Genshō, abdicated in his favor. Five years later, he elevated his consort Lady Asuka, Kōken’s mother, to the position of empress. Lady Asuka was of Fujiwara stock, and thus her promotion was designed to enhance the standing of this powerful clan. Up to that point, only women of the imperial bloodline had been elevated to that position. Emperors had routinely married their paternal half sisters or cousins, as such endogamous arrangements were considered permissible and even desirable to strengthen the coherence of the dynasty. The former Lady Asuka, now Empress Kōmyō, set out to make a name for herself as an ardent supporter of Buddhism. She also had a tremendous influence on her daughter, whose education she oversaw. She might also have had a hand in suggesting that her firstborn daughter be the first woman in Japanese history to be installed as heir apparent to the throne in 738. Kōken was thus groomed to become empress regnant from an early age.

Princess Abe’s official tutor was the scholar Kibi no Makibi (695-775), who had spent eighteen years in China and was consequently exceedingly knowledgeable in matters of Confucian statecraft. He would remain her faithful adviser for the rest of her life. Kibi was known for his involvement in the construction of Tōdaiji, the most impressive religious construction project sponsored by the imperial court. Emperor Shōmu had decreed in 743 that no resources be spared to erect a giant gilded bronze statue of the cosmic Vairocana Buddha in a fitting temple environment.

Historical evidence suggests that Shōmu’s sponsorship of Buddhist clergy might have upset parts of court society. In 749, he abdicated in favor of his daughter after expressing the wish to devote himself exclusively to the study of the Buddhist doctrine. As a result, the former Princess Abe ascended the throne as Empress Kōken.

Life’s Work

During her reign, Kōken presided over the completion of the Great Buddha statue commissioned by her father. The official account of the ceremony inaugurating the image states that a monk traveled to Japan from India just to paint the statue’s eyes. However, it appears that this grandiose ceremony had been preceded by infighting between political factions at court, some of which were intent on limiting the imperial involvement with Buddhism. Evidently Kōken felt compelled to consult the oracle of the Shintō deity Hachiman on whether to proceed with her father’s endeavor. The answer was affirmative, an indication of the waning powers of opponents of Buddhism at the court.

Some historians suggest that Kōken, even as empress regnant, was dominated by her mother, Kōmyō. Even more intriguing is the story of her relationship with Fujiwara Nakamaro (706-764), who was elevated to the usually vacant post of grand minister of state in 757. Being Kōmyō’s nephew, and thus Kōken’s cousin, Nakamaro had enjoyed significant power even earlier, but his sudden promotion in the wake of an unsuccessful plot against him led many contemporaries to assume that he was indeed romantically involved with his sovereign. It remains unclear what role he played in Kōken’s abdication in 758 and in the selection of her successor. One scenario has Nakamaro pulling all the strings; another suggests Kōken chose a successor herself (overriding her late father’s wishes in the process) and abdicated in order to end her affair with Nakamaro.

In any event, Kōken retired to the country in 758 after passing the throne to an imperial prince (and Nakamaro’s son-in-law), who ruled as Emperor Junnin (r. 758-764). Nakamaro acted as virtual dictator during Junnin’s reign.

In 761, news reached the court that the former empress Kōken had fallen ill in her country residence. It was decided that the Buddhist monk Dōkyō be sent to look after her because he had a reputation as an expert healer. Moreover, as Kōken had taken monastic vows on her retirement, Dōkyō was the logical choice. He did indeed succeed in healing the empress, who, according to most accounts, fell under his spell.

Kōken’s relationship with Dōkyō appears to have put her on a collision course with Emperor Junnin and Fujiwara Nakamaro. Kōken soon let it be known that as retired empress she would actively participate in making decisions of major political significance, a move clearly calculated to rein in Nakamaro, her erstwhile lover in the eyes of many. Ostensibly, the conflict arose over the question of whether to attack the Korean state of Silla.

By 764, Nakamaro was in open revolt, but Kōken’s forces defeated him soundly in battle. Nakamaro’s puppet Junnin was forced to abdicate and was sent into exile to Awaji Island in the Inland Sea, where he died soon thereafter under mysterious circumstances. Intent on taking control of the court, Kōken announced her decision to return to the throne under the name Shōtoku. Although this peculiar comeback was not without precedent, another fact about the new empress regnant was: For the first time in history, an ordained Buddhist priest was occupying the throne supposedly bequeathed by the sun goddess to her descendants.

This peculiar situation would dominate her second reign to a large extent. She apparently felt compelled to set an example by stressing the compatibility of native Shintō beliefs with Buddhism. In particular, she ordered that a Buddhist temple be constructed on the grounds of the Ise Shrine, the most sacred place in the Shintō religion. This early attempt at religious syncretism doubtlessly enraged some Shintō purists, but a scandal of even graver political significance was already in the making.

In 764, Empress Shōtoku bestowed on her faithful adviser Dōkyō the title of grand minister of state and spiritual master. Two years later, on the miraculous discovery of relics of the Buddha himself, the empress announced that because of this clear sign of divine endorsement of Dōkyō’s power, he would henceforth be known as king of the Buddhist law. A pronouncement of the empress’s chosen oracle in 769 suggested that Dōkyō himself should ascend the imperial throne. It is not clear what role, if any, the empress had in this last pronouncement.

In any event, the empress soon felt compelled to check the validity of the oracle by sending a courtier to investigate. A new pronouncement was obtained from the oracle that flatly contradicted the previous one. The whole affair caused enough of a scandal to prompt the empress to temporarily leave the capital, but she did not dismiss Dōkyō. The monk’s attempt to seize the throne shook the very foundations of the imperial institution, threatening an end of the dynasty that claimed descent from the sun goddess. However, the monk’s ambition was thwarted by a sudden illness that struck Empress Shōtoku in 770. She died in September of that year, and Dōkyō was banished from the capital.

Significance

The rather tumultuous reigns of the empress known to history as both Kōken and Shōtoku can be considered the height of the Nara period, a time when Japan was still actively emulating Chinese culture. The empress made a great contribution to the development of Buddhism in Japan, both by sponsoring new temple construction and by setting early examples for religious syncretism. In doing so, she had to overcome the sometimes pronounced opposition of some parts of court society. Posterity remembers her mostly for her affair with Dōkyō, which in the eyes of many historians prompted the move of the imperial capital to Heian-kyō (present-day Kyoto) to put some distance between the court and the Buddhist monasteries. More important, however, she set the stage for integrating Buddhism and Shintō. Centuries later, Japanese Buddhists developed a concept identifying the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythical progenitor of the imperial dynasty, as an avatar of Vairocana Buddha, whose great statue Kōken had completed.

Major Emperors of the Nara Period, 710-784

Reign

• Ruler

707-715

• Gemmei (f)

715-724

• Genshō (f)

724-749

• Shōmu

749-758

• Kōken (f)

758-764

• Junnin

764-770

• Shōtoku (Kōken, f)

770-781

• Kōnin

781-806

• Kammu

Note: (f) indicates an empress.

Bibliography

Brown, Delmer, ed. Ancient Japan. Vol. 1 in The Cambridge Histry of Japan. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Contains a comprehensive, up-to-date account of the Nara period.

Martin, Peter. The Chrysanthemum Throne: A History of the Emperors of Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997. A collection of short biographical sketches of all emperors and empresses.

Mulhern, Chieko I., ed. Heroic with Grace: Legendary Women of Japan. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 1991. Includes two chapters on all empresses of Japan. A valuable source of information on the question of female rulership.

Piggott, Joan R. The Emergence of Japanese Kingship. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1997. Contains a detailed chapter on Shōmu, Kōken’s father, including information on the Tōdaiji and the Great Buddha statue.