Empress Koken

Empress Kōken (孝謙天皇 Kōken Tennō) also Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇 Shōtoku Tennō) (718 – August 28, 770August 28, 770 corresponds to the Fourth Day of the Eighth Month of the Fourth Year of Jingo-keiun of the traditional lunisolar calendar used in Japan until 1873.) was both the 46th and 48th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. She first ruled as Empress Kōken 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. Her posthumous name for her second reign (764-770) was Empress Shōtoku.

Today, she is remembered chiefly for her 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.

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.

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