Emperor Sutoku

Genealogy

Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Akihito (顕仁). Sutoku was the eldest son of Emperor Toba. Some old texts say he was instead the son of Toba's grandfather, Emperor Shirakawa.

Chūgū: Fujiwara no Kiyoko (藤原 聖子) later Kōkamon'in (皇嘉門院), Fujiwara no Tadamichi's daughter

Hyounosuke-no-Tsubone (兵衛佐局), Minamoto no Masamune's adopted daughter

First son: Imperial Prince Shigehito (重仁親王) (1140–1162).

Mikawa-dono (三河), Minamoto no Morotsune's daughter

Fifth Son: Kakue (覚恵; 1151–1184)

Karasuma-no-Tsubone (烏丸局)

Events of Sutoku's life

February 25, 1123 (Hōan 4, 28th day of the 1st month): In the 16th year of Emperor Toba's reign (鳥羽天皇二十五年), he abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his son, aged 3.

Hōan 4, in the 2nd month (1123): Emperor Sutoku is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).

1124 (Tenji 1, 2nd month): Former Emperor Shirakawa and former-Emperor Toba went in carriages to the outside of the city, where they could all together enjoy contemplating the flowers. Fujiwara no Tamako (? – August 26, 1145), who was Toba's empress and Sutoku's mother, joined the procession along with many other women of the court. Their cortege was brilliant and colorful. A great many men of the court in hunting clothes followed the ladies in this parade. Fujiwara no Tadamichi then followed in a carriage, accompanied by bands of musicians and women who were to sing for the emperors.

1124 (Tenji 1, 10th month): Shirakawa visited Mount Kōya.

1125 (Tenji 2, 10th month): The emperor visited Iwashimizu Hachimangū and the Kamo shrines. Afterwards, he visited the Hirano, Ōharano, Mutsunoo, Kitano Tenman-gū, Yasaka (Gion), and several other shrines.

1128 (Daiji 3, 3rd month): Taiken-mon'in ordered the construction of Enshō-ji in fulfillment of a sacred vow. This was one in a series of "sacred vow temples" (gogan-ji) built by imperial command following a precedent established by Emperor Shirakawa's Hosshō-ji.

1128 (Daiji 3, 6th month): Fujiwara no Tadamichi is relieved of his responsibilities and duties as sesshō 'regent'; and simultaneously, Tadamichi is named kanpaku.

August 17, 1135 (Hōen 1, 7th day of the 7th month): Former-Emperor Shirakawa died at the age of 77.

1141 (Eiji 1, 3rd month): The former emperor Toba accepted the tonsure in becoming a monk at the age of 39.

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the imperial court.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of their careers. During Sutoku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

Sesshō, Fujiwara no Tadamichi, 1097–1164.

Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara no Tadamichi.

Sadaijin

Udaijin

Nadaijin, Fujiwara no Yorinaga, 1120–1156.

Dainagon

Eras of Sutoku's reign

The years of Sutoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

Hōan (1120–1124)

Tenji (1124–1126)

Daiji (1126–1131)

Tenshō (1131–1132)

Chōshō (1132–1135)

Hōen (1135–1141)

Eiji (1141–1142)

Legends

After Sutoku's abdication and exile, he devoted himself to monastic life. He copied numerous scriptures and offered them to the court. Fearing that the scriptures were cursed, the court refused to accept them. Snubbed, Sutoku was said to have resented the court and, upon his death, became an onryō (怨霊, vengeful spirit). Everything from the subsequent fall in fortune of the Imperial court, the rise of the samurai powers, droughts and internal unrests were blamed on his haunting.

Along with Sugawara no Michizane and Taira no Masakado, he is often called one of the “Three Great Onryō of Japan”.

Literary works from the Edo period such as Ugetsu Monogatari and Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (椿説弓張月) and ukiyo-e paintings by Utagawa Yoshitsuya depict Emperor Sutoku as an onryō.

In 2023, the heavy metal band Onmyo-Za produced the song Shiramine (白峯), about Emperor Sutoku as a onryō.