For the asteroid, see 5242 Kenreimonin
Taira no Tokuko (平 徳子, 1155–1213),[1] later known as Empress Dowager Kenrei (建礼門院, Kenreimon-In), was the last Heike Imperial survivor from the modest vessel carrying the emperor in the great naval battle of Dan-no-ura.[2]
Her life became a compelling narrative which survives as both history and as literature.
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Tokuko-hime became the adopted daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河天皇, Go-Shirakawa-tennō), the 77th emperor of Japan who reigned from 1155 through 1158. In 1171, when Tokuko was adopted at age 17, the former-Emperor had abdicated the throne and entered the Buddhist priesthood, taking the Buddhist name of Gyōshin. Twelve days later, Gyōshin's new daughter was further elevated in the role of consort of Emperor Takakura, age 11.[3]
Tokuko-hime became the Empress consort (kugō) of Emperor Takakura (高倉天皇, Takakura-tennō), the 80th emperor of Japan, whose reign spanned the years from 1168 through 1180.[4]
She was the second daughter of Taira no Kiyomori (平清盛), and thus she was her Emperor husband's first cousin (as his mother and Tokuko's mother were half-sisters).
Emperor Takakura abdicated on the 21st day of the 2nd month of 1180; and when his son was enthroned, the mother of the emperor (kōdai-kugō) received the name Kenrei-mon In.[5] In this period, the names of the several gates in the walls surrounding the Imperial grounds refer not only to the wall-openings themselves; these names were also used to refer indirectly to a nearby residence of an empress whose husband had abdicated, or as an indirect way of referring to an empress dowager herself.
For example, Empress Dowager Kenrei (建礼門院, Kenrei-mon-In), whose official home, after the abdication and death of Emperor Takakura, was located near the Kenrei Gate.
Kenrei-mon In was the mother of Imperial Prince Tokihito (言仁親王, Tokihito-shinnō), who would later become Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇, Antoku-tennō), the 81st Emperor of Japan. The boy Emperor reigned from 1180 through 1185.[6]
Arguably, the most difficult moments in Kenreimon-In's life occurred near the close of the battle of Dan-no-ura, which took place near the southern tip of Honshū at in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi.
The Taira were defeated decisively. Many of the Taira samurai threw themselves into the waves rather than live to see their clan's ultimate defeat at the hands of the Minamoto. Antoku's grandmother, Taira no Tokiko, the widow of Taira no Kiyomori, leapt into the water with the young emperor clasped firmly in her arms.[8]
Kenrei-mon In also tried to drown herself; but according to the conventionally accepted accounts, she was pulled out with a rake by her long hair.[9]
This sometime daughter, wife, and mother of emperors became a recluse in her later years.
This once-pampered great lady is said to have composed this poem in her hermit's hut:
Many stories and works of art depict this period in Japanese history, and it is through these sources that the life of Tokuko-dono is best known. The Tale of the Heike (平家物語, Heike Monogatari) is the most famous of the sources from which we learn about this historical character, although many kabuki and bunraku plays reproduce events of the war as well.
The central theme of the Heike story—and the mirrored theme of Taira no Tokuko's life story—is a demonstration of the Buddhist law of impermanence. The theme of impermanence (mujō) is captured in the opening passage:
In this and other classic Japanese monogatari, the central figures are popularly well known, the major events are generally understood, and the stakes as they were understood at the time are conventionally accepted as elements in the foundation of Japanese culture. The accuracy of each of these historical records has become a compelling subject for further study; and some accounts have been shown to withstand close scrutiny, while other presumed “facts” have turned out to be inaccurate.[17]
In English-language literature, Tokuko's life and reign are depicted throughout the two-volume historical fiction narrative, White as Bone, Red as Blood, by Cerridwen Fallingstar, published in 2009 and 2011, respectively.[18]
| Japanese royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fujiwara no Ikushi |
Empress consort of Japan 1172–1181 |
Succeeded by Princess Sukeko |