Empress Kōmyō
Empress Kōmyō 光明皇后 | |
---|---|
Nara City, Japan | |
Spouse | Emperor Shōmu |
Issue | Empress Kōken Prince Motoi |
Clan | Fujiwara |
Father | Fujiwara no Fuhito |
Mother | Agatainukai-no-Tachimana no Michiyo |
Empress Kōmyō (光明皇后) (701 – 23 July 760), born Fujiwara Asukabehime (藤原 安宿媛), was the
Life
A member of the
In 716, Kōmyō married the future Emperor Shōmu when he was still the crown prince. Two years later, she gave birth to her daughter, Princess Abe, who would later rule as Empress Kōken and Empress Shōtoku. Her son was born in 727 and was soon named crown prince, but he died as an infant. Rumors circulated that Prince Nagaya cursed the infant prince using black magic, and Nagaya was forced to commit suicide in response.[3]
Kōmyō was named queens-consort or "kōgō" in 729, a position that prioritized her offspring as heir to the throne.[4] An extra-codal office was created for the queen-consort, the Kōgōgūshiki; this bureaucratic innovation continued into the Heian period.[5] She was an influential political figure in her own right and helped balance tensions between Fujiwara and non-Fujiwara factions at court.
She is buried in Nara Prefecture's Hōrenji-cho in the mausoleum Sahoyama no Higashi no Misasagi 佐保山東陵 near Emperor Shōmu in the southern mausoleum.
Buddhist Faith
Kōmyō grew up surrounded by Buddhist influence. Her father was a key figure in developing
Kōmyō's own faith appears in the historical record from 727, when she began copying sutras for the safe birth of her son. She was likely the most active patron of sutra copying in the eighth-century, operating a prolific scriptorium first tied to her household and then connected to
Legacy
Artifacts connected with Kōmyō and Shōmu are among the treasures housed at the
(Nara).In the medieval period, Kōmyō became an object of worship and numerous legends started to circulate about her. She was seen as a bodhisattva in human form and a protector of nuns. She was especially important at Hokkeji, where pilgrims traveled to see an image of
While most stories were positive, some medieval and early modern authors criticized her. Kokan Shiren thought the story of her bathing the leper was inappropriate conduct for a wife.[11] In another story, she is said to have broke the gates of Tōdaiji trying to enter as a woman and ended up in hell for doing so.[12][13]
Kōmyōike Station in southern Osaka Prefecture takes its name from a nearby artificial lake named after Empress Kōmyō. This toponym comes from a supposed association with the empress's birthplace in Izumi Province.
Genealogy
Asukabehime (安宿媛) was the daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito and his fourth wife, Agatainukai-no-Tachimana no Michiyo. She had one younger sister born by the same mother and sixth half siblings among which one become Empress consort of Emperor Monmu, mother of Emperor Shōmu.
Lady Fujiwara married Crown Prince Obito and became one of his multiple wives. In 718 she gave birth Imperial Princess Abe (阿倍内親王). On 3 March 724, Crown Prince Obito ascended the throne and became emperor. Lady Fujiwara was awarded the rank of Madame (Fujin)(夫人). In 727 she gave birth to prince who died prematurely. On 10 August 729, she became Empress Consort (Kōgō).
Her Daughter, Imperial Princess Abe was the only woman named crown prince in the history of Japan. Princess Abe succeeded her father and became empress regnant.
Empress Fujiwara became Empress Dowager.
See also
- Japanese empresses
Notes
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 57-58.
- ^ Brown, Delmer. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 274.
- ISBN 9780824832353.
- ISBN 9780824859435.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Piggott, Joan R. (1997). The Emergence of Japanese Kingship, p. 308.
- ISBN 9781929280155.
- ISBN 9780824859435.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 9781929280155.
- ISBN 9780824833947.
- ISBN 9781400825615.
- ISBN 9781400825615.
- ISBN 9781929280155.
- ISBN 9781400825615.
References
- Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Faure, Bernard. (2003). The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender, Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press.
- Groner, Paul. (2002). “Vicissitudes in the Ordination of Japanese ‘Nuns’ during the Eighth through the Tenth Centuries.” In Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan, edited by Barbara Ruch, 65–108. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2002.
- Lowe, Bryan. (2017). Ritualized Writing: Buddhist Practice and Scriptural Cultures in Ancient Japan.Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
- Lowe, Bryan and Monica Bethe. (2019). "Kōmyō." In Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism, volume II: Lives, edited by Jonathan Silk, 1020–1024. Leiden: Brill.
- Meeks, Lori. (2010). Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan, Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
- Mikoshiba Daisuke “Empress Kōmyō’s Buddhist Faith: Her Role in the Founding of the State Temple and Convent System.” In Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan, edited by Barbara Ruch, 21–40. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2002.
- Ooms, Herman. (2009). Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan The Tenmu Dynasty, 650-800.'Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
- Piggott, Joan R. (19970. The Emergence of Japanese Kingship. Stanford: ISBN 9780804728324; OCLC 247691704
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
- Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
- Ury, Marian “Nuns and Other Female Devotees in Genkō shakusho (1322), Japan’s First History of Buddhism,” In Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan, edited by Barbara Ruch, 189–207. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2002.