＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Previously, I wrote an article introducing three unfortunate emperors: Emperor Kazan, Emperor Reizei, and Emperor Yozei. This time, I would like to introduce a female emperor, Empress Kōken (who re-enthroned as Emperor Shōtoku).
1. Who was Empress Kōken (who re-enthroned as Emperor Shōtoku)?
Empress Kōken (718-770) was the 46th Emperor of the Nara period (reigned 749-758), but was also a female emperor who ascended to the throne again as the 48th Emperor, Empress Shotoku (reigned 764-770). She was the second daughter of Emperor Shōmu (45th Emperor) (701-756, reigned 724-749), and her mother was Fujiwara no Fuhito’s daughter, Yasuyadohime (Empress Kōmyo).
She became crown prince in 738 (the only female crown prince in history), and ascended to the throne as Empress Kōken in 749 upon her father, Emperor Shōmu’s abdication. She initially studied Chinese classics under Kibi no Makibi, but as she grew older, she devoted her energy to the promotion of Buddhism. She also promoted the construction of the Great Buddha at Tōdaiji Temple, which was established by Emperor Shōmu.
During the early part of his reign, he was supervised by his mother, the Empress Dowager (Empress Komyo), but the power of the Empress Dowager’s nephew, Fujiwara no Nakamaro (706-764), rapidly expanded.
In 756, her father, Emperor Shomu, died, leaving a will that Prince Nittabe’s son, Prince Doso, be made Crown Prince. However, in 757, she conspired with Fujiwara no Nakamaro to depose Prince Doso, claiming that “Prince Doso’s actions were unbecoming of the Crown Prince,” and appointed Prince Oino, the son of Prince Toneri, as the new Crown Prince.
In response, Tachibana Naramaro and Otomo no Komaro, wary of Fujiwara no Nakamaro’s growing power, planned a coup d’état in 757 to depose Empress Kōken and install a new emperor (the Tachibana Naramaro Rebellion). However, Fujiwara no Nakamaro, having learned of the plot in advance, arrested those involved, purged them through torture, and suppressed the rebellion.
In 758, she abdicated the throne to Prince Ōi (the 47th Emperor Junnin) and became Retired Empress, citing her service to the ailing Empress Kōmyo.
After Empress Kōmyo’s death in 760, she, Fujiwara no Nakamaro, and Emperor Junnin gradually became at odds with each other. During this time, she became ill and developed a fondness for a monk named Yuge Dokyo, who performed religious services and cared for her.
She did not return to Heijo-kyō, but instead settled at Hokke-ji Temple. Since female emperors were not allowed to give birth to children or marry, this was a “forbidden love.”
In 764, Fujiwara no Nakamaro launched a rebellion (the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion) in an attempt to seize power by military force, but she had foreseen the rebellion and suppressed it, killing Fujiwara no Nakamaro and exiling Emperor Junnin.
In 769, the “Princess Fuwa Curse Incident” occurred. Princess Fuwa was the daughter of Emperor Shōmu and the half-sister of Empress Kōken. Her husband, Prince Shioya (son of Prince Nittabe and grandson of Emperor Tenmu), participated in the Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion and was killed, but Princess Fuwa and her son, Hikami Kawatsugu, escaped implicature.
Princess Fuwa then conspired with Prince Nittabe’s daughters to curse Empress Kōken and put her son on the throne. However, this case was a false accusation.
As an aside, she often gave “vulgar names” to those who rebelled against her. This was based on her belief that “each name and word is a spirit filled with thought and must be cherished” (“Kotodama Belief”).
In the Tachibana Naramaro Rebellion,
– King Doso (Funado-o) → Madohi (meaning “the confused one”)
– King Kibumio → Kunatabure (meaning “the fool”)
– Kamo no Tsunotari (Kamo no Tsunotari) → Noroshi (perhaps meaning “dull”)
In the case of the curse on Princess Fuwa
– Princess Fuwa (Funawa Shinnou) → Kuriyanomahito Kuriyame (perhaps meaning “kitchen maid”)
Higami no Kawatsugu (Higami no Kawatsugu) → Shike Shimaro (Shikeshi = defiled, desolate, etc.; according to Rikuro Hayashi)
In the Usa Hachiman Shrine Oracle Incident
Wake no Kiyomaro (Wake no Kiyomaro) → Wake no Kitanamaru
Wake no Hiromushi (Wake no Hiromushi) → Wake no Samushi
In 764, while still a nun, she effectively returned to the throne (re-enthroned) and became Empress Shotoku. She appointed Dōkyō as Grand Minister of State and Zen Master, and then as Pope, a position second only to the emperor. She and Dōkyō continued to run the government together for the next six years.
Then, in 769, the “Usa Hachiman Shrine Oracle Incident” occurred, in which Yuge Dōkyō attempted to usurp the throne.
2. The “Usa Hachiman Shrine Oracle Incident”
This incident occurred in 769 when Yuge Dokyo attempted to seize the throne.
The eccentric monk Yuge Dokyo, also known as the “Rasputin of the East,” attempted to gain favor with Empress Koken (who later ascended to the throne as Empress Shotoku) through prayer, and then become emperor himself. However, Dokyo’s ambitions were ultimately thwarted by Wake no Kiyomaro (733-799).
Dōkyō’s younger brother, Dazai no Suke Yuge Kiyōto, and others presented the oracle of Usa Hachiman Shrine, which stated, “If Dokyo is placed on the throne, the world will be at peace,” and Dokyo himself expressed his desire to ascend to the throne. Of course, Empress Shotoku also wanted Dokyo to become emperor.
Emperor Shotoku claimed that he had a dream in which Hachiman, the god Hachiman, asked him to send the nun Wake no Hiromushi to Usa Shrine, and so he tried to send her, but she declined, stating that she was too ill to endure the long journey, so he sent his younger brother, Wake no Kiyomaro, instead.
When Wake no Kiyomaro again asked the shrine maiden for an oracle, he received a prophecy confirming Dokyo’s unfitness, stating that “Dokyo is rebellious and immoral” and “the heir to the heavenly line must continue the imperial line.”
He presented this “oracle of Dokyo’s unfitness” to the Emperor, which enraged him and led to his exile to Osumi Province. However, given the oracle, the Emperor was forced to abandon plans to appoint Dokyo to the throne. After the Emperor’s death, Dokyo fell from grace.
3. About Yuge Dokyo
Yuge Dokyo (700?-772) was a monk from the Yuge clan, a branch of the Mononobe clan in Kawachi Province (present-day Yao City, Osaka Prefecture).
After attending and caring for his ill wife, he became a favorite and wielded great power, including over his entire family.
He was ousted in the “Usa Hachiman Shrine Oracle Incident” of 769, but upon her death in 770, he guarded her tomb in the hope of some good fortune. However, he was appointed head priest of Yakushi-ji Temple in Shimotsuke Province and moved to Shimotsuke Province, where he died in 772.
Although he himself was not punished due to his many years of distinguished service, four of his relatives were arrested and exiled to Tosa Province.