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Emperor Antoku

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Antoku
Emperor of Japan
Reign1180–1185
PredecessorTakakura
SuccessorGo-Toba
Born22 December 1178
Died25 April 1185 (aged 6)
Burial
Amida-ji no Misasagi (Shimonoseki)

Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇, Antoku-tennō, 22 December 1178–25 April 1185) was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.[1] His reign started in 1180 and ended in 1185.[2]

Traditional history

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Before he became the monarch, his personal name (imina) was Tokohito-shinnō (言仁親王).[3] or Kotohito-shinnō.[4] He was the son of Emperor Takakura.

Events of Antoku's life

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Antoku was named Crown Prince at around one month of age. He became emperor at one year of age.

The Taira were defeated; and Antoku died in the sea after the naval battle was lost.[11] Antoku's grandmother drowned herself by jumping into the sea with the young emperor in her arms.[12]

Account of the Battle of Dan-no-ura, 1185 AD

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There was a battle by an inland sea (Dan No Ura) on April 24th 1185, between two powerful Japanese clans .( The ruling Heike and another clan called Genji) Each asserted a superior claim to the throne . The Heike were badly outnumbered and out manoeuvered. Antoku`s guardian was his grandmother,( lady Ni) When it became clear the Heike had lost the battle, the boy emperor`s grandmother resolved not to be caught by the enemy alive. " Where are you to take me?" asked the boy emperor. Blinded by tears, the child emperor recited a Buddah prayer, then prayed to the east, then to the west to say farewell to the Buddah. Lady Ni took him in her arms, and with the words: " In the depths of the ocean is our capital." They jumped together into the sea and drowned. Then followed a frenzied mass suicide by the remaining Heike forces. Only 43 Heike survived, all women in waiting. They were reduced to selling flowers and other favours to the local fisher folk. Each year on April 24th a ceremony is held, at a shrine near the scene of the battle, to commemorate the child emperor`s short life.

After his death

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The story of Emperor Antoku and his mother's family is told in The Tale of the Heike.[8]

Amida-ji no misasagi near Akama Shrine at Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture is considered to be Antoku's symbolic tomb.[13]

Eras of Antoku's reign

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The years of Antoku's reign reign include more than one era name.[14]

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Notes and references

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The chrysanthemum symbol of the Japanese emperor and his family.
  1. Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), 安徳天皇 (81). Retrieved 2012-10-7.
  2. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon, pp. 200–207; Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 333–334; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. pp. 214–215.
  3. Brown, p. 333; Varley, p. 214.
  4. Titsingh, p. 200.
  5. Titsingh, p. 200; Varley, p. 44; a distinct act of senso is unrecognized prior to Emperor Tenji; and all sovereigns except Jitō, Yōzei, Go-Toba, and Fushimi have senso and sokui in the same year until the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami.
  6. Titsingh, p. 200; compare Imperial Household Agency (Kunaichō), Ceremony of Accession (Sokui-no-Rei). Retrieved 2012-10-7.
  7. Titsingh, p. 207.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Heike is another name for "House of the Taira".
  9. Genji is another name for "House of the Minamoto".
  10. Kitagawa, Hiroshi et al. (1975). The Tale of the Heike, p. 787; Titsingh, pp. 211–212.
  11. "Antoku," Encylopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2012-10-7.
  12. Kitagawa, pp. 676-677.
  13. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, p. 422.
  14. Titsingh, pp. 200–207; Brown, pp. 333–334.

Other websites

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Media related to Emperor Antoku at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Emperor Takakura
Emperor or Tennō:
Antoku

1180–1185
Succeeded by
Emperor Go-Toba