Empress Kōken

Empress Kōken (born Abe, known as Empress Shōtoku during her second reign; 718–770) was the 46th and 48th monarch of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. She was born to Crown Prince Obito (the future Emperor Shōmu) and his consort Fujiwara Asukabehime; seeking to protect the bloodline of Prince Kusakabe, her father proclaimed her the first crown princess in Japanese history in 738. She became the Empress Regnant in 749, after her father retired to become a Buddhist monk. With the backing of her mother (now Dowager Empress Kōmyō) and her mother's nephew Fujiwara no Nakamaro, she was able to outmaneuver a largely hostile Daijō-kan (Council of State). Her father died in 756, and named a cousin unrelated to the Fujiwara as her heir; this outraged Fujiwara supporters, and Kōken replaced him with Prince Ōi, a close ally of her mother and Nakamaro. In 757, she headed off a conspiracy to overthrow her by Tachibana no Naramaro, and resigned the following year to serve as empress emeritus (Daijō Tennō), while Ōi reigned as Emperor Junnin.

Nakamaro slowly consolidated his political power with the backing of dowager empress Kōmyō. After an illness, Kōken became close to a healer-monk named Dōkyō, who became one of her strongest allies, as well as potentially an intimate partner. After this, she became a bhikkhunī (Buddhist nun) and shaved her head. After her mother's death in 760, Kōken began to oppose Nakamaro. She proclaimed superiority over Emperor Junnin in state matters in 762, and allied with anti-Nakamaro leaders, including her childhood tutor Kibi no Makibi. In 764, political conflict grew violent after she attempted to take control of the royal seals; Nakamaro fought a brief rebellion against her, naming Prince Shioyaki as emperor, but both were captured and executed, and Kōken returned to the throne as Empress Shōtoku.

Shōtoku's second reign was marked by the promotion of Buddhist ideals and religious institutions, as well as the advancement of Dōkyō (who was promoted to the rank of Hō-ō, 'Prince of the Law' or 'Buddhist King') to oversee religious matters. She oversaw land reform which placed limits on land ownership for all except Buddhist temples—alienating aristocrats and courtisans, and ordered the foundation of a new capital. As part of her religious reforms, she placed monastic officials on the Council of State for the first time, and ordered the construction of one million miniature stupas housing printed prayers; these were distributed to major temples around Nara. She lost influence over the course of her second reign, as the Fujiwara gradually regained strength. In 769, she was the subject of an incident where an oracle of the Usa Shrine stated that the deity Hachiman sought for Dōkyō to become emperor. This was disputed by an emissary named Wake no Kiyomaro, and Dōkyō lost his political standing following her death several months later.