Empress Kōken

Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇 Shōtoku-tennō) (718 – August 28, 770 ) was both the 48th and the 46th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. The period in which she was the reigning sovereign stretched from 749 through the year of her death in 770.

Shōtoku initially ruled as Empress Kōken (孝謙天皇 Kōken-tennō) from 749 to 758. She abdicated in favor of her second cousin, Emperor Junnin; but six years later she took the crown from him and reascended the throne. She never renounced her Buddhist vows, setting a precedent. Her posthumous name for this second reign (764-770) was the Shōtoku Empress.

Genealogy
Before her ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, her personal name (her imina) was Abe-hime.

Events of Kōken's life

 * Tenpyō-kanpō 1, on the 2nd day of the 7th month (749): In the 25th year of Shōmu-tennō's reign (聖武天皇25年), the emperor died; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his daughter. Shortly thereafter, Empress Kōken is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

Kugyō
Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.

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 a life's career. During Kōken's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
 * Taihō, Emi no Oshikatsu (formerly Fujiwara Nakamaro)
 * Daijō-daijin
 * Sadaijin, Tachibana Moroe (formerly Katsuragi-shinnō)
 * Udaijin, Fujiwara Toyonari (son of Fujiwara Muchimaro)
 * Udaijin, Fujiwara Nakamaro (second son of Fujiwara Muchimaro)
 * Nadaijin
 * Dainagon

Eras of Kōken's reign
The years of Kōken's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.
 * Tenpyō-kanpō (749-749)
 * Tenpyō-shōhō (749-757)
 * Tenpyō-hōji (757-765)

Events of Shōtoku's life

 * Tenpyō-hōji 9, on the 1st day of the 1st month (765): In the 6th year of Junnin-tennō's reign (淳仁天皇6年), the emperor was deposed by his adoptive mother; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by former-Empress Kōken. Shortly thereafter, Empress Shōtoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

Today, she is remembered chiefly for her alleged affair with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō, a man upon whom she heaped titles and power. The affair illustrated the growing power of the Buddhist priesthood and was a prime factor in Emperor Kammu's decision to move the capital away from Nara in 784. After this affair, a law was introduced which forbade a woman to claim the throne of the Empress of Japan as ruler, not as consort.

Shōtoku died of smallpox, after which she was succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, Emperor Kōnin. She should not be confused with Prince Shōtoku (572-622), who was one of the first in Japan to sponsor Buddhism.

Kugyō
The kugyō during Shōtoku's reign included:
 * Daijō-daijin, Dōkyō
 * Sadaijin
 * Udaijin, Kibi Makibi
 * Nadaijin
 * Dainagon, Fujiwara Matate

Eras of Shōtoku's reign
The years of Shōtoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.
 * Tenpyō-hōji (757-765)
 * Tenpyō-jingo (765-767)
 * Jingo-keiun (767-770)