Emperor Sutoku was the 75th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142.
February 25, 1123 : In the 16th year of Emperor Toba's reign, he abdicated; and the succession was received by his son, aged 3.
Hōan 4, in the 2nd month : Emperor Sutoku is said to have acceded to the throne.
1124 : Former-Emperor Shirakawa and former-Emperor Toba went in carriages to outside the city where they could all together enjoy contemplating the flowers. Taiken-mon'in , 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 Tadamichi then followed in a carriage, accompanied by bands of musicians and women who were to sing for the emperors.
1128 : 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" built by imperial command following a precedent established by Emperor Shirakawa's Hosshō-ji.
1128 : Fujiwara Tadamichi is relieved of his responsibilities and duties as sesshō ; and simultaneously, Tadamichi is named kampaku.
August 17, 1135 : Former-Emperor Shirakawa died at the age of 77.
1141 : The former emperor Toba accepted the tonsure in becoming a monk at the age of 39.
In 1151, Sutoko ordered Wakaimperial anthologyShika Wakashū. In 1156, after failing to put down the Hōgen Rebellion, he was exiled to Sanuki Province. Emperor Sutoku's reign lasted for 19 years: 2 years in the nengōTenji, 5 years in Daiji, 1 year in 'Tenshō, 3 years in Chōshō, 6 years in Hōen, and 1 year in Eiji. The site of Sutoku's grave is settled. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorialShinto shrine in Sakaide, Kagawa. He was also enshrined in Shiramine shrine, Kyoto and Kotohira-gū in Kagawa Prefecture. The former is also associated with the god of football, worshipped by Kuge clan Asukai in times of yore, while the latter enshrined Ō-mono-nushi-no-mikoto, a god known to have restored harmony in Yamato in exchange for worship and nepotism. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Sutoku's mausoleum. It is formally named Shiramine no misasagi.
''Kugyō''
Kugyō 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 Sutoku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:
Sesshō, Fujiwara Tadamichi, 1097–1164.
Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara Tadamichi.
Sadaijin
Udaijin
Nadaijin, Fujiwara 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
Tenji
Daiji
Tenshō
Chōshō
Hōen
Eiji
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. Everything from the subsequent fall in fortune of the Imperial court, the rise of the samurai powers, draughts 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.”.
