Fujiwara no Shoshi was only twelve years old when her father, Fujiwara no Michinaga, placed her in the harem of Japan's 66th emperor, Ichijo. The Fujiwara clan had dominated Japanese politics for decades, often by arranging strategic marriages for Fujiwara daughters. Since emperors in this era had little real power, serving only a ceremonial function, the real power rested with the court regent. And in the year 999 Michinaga was competing with his cousin, Fujiwara no Korechika, for that position. At first, it seemed Korechika had a distinct advantage, since his sister, Teishi, was Ichijo's wife and empress of Japan. But Michinaga still managed to arrange for his daughter to be introduced to the court on the very day that Teisha gave birth to Ichijo's son, a clear message that the game of political intrigue and oneupsmanship was on.
Sounds like a good plot for a television mini-series, doesn't it? Well, it just gets better. Ichijo was the son of Emperor En'yu and one of those Fujiwara daughters mentioned above, Fujiwara no Senshi. His uncle was Fujiwara no Michikata, who served as regent until his death in 995. His demise left the regency vacant -- and led to the competition between Michinaga and Korechika. That competition led Michinaga to pull strings and have his daughter named Empress in the year 1000, just a couple of months after her arrival at the court. For the first time Japan had two concurrent empresses, with Teishi holding the title of "Lustrous Heir-bearer" and Shoski that of "Inner Palatine." Ichijo was a very cultured youth who appreciated literature and music. For this reason Michinaga had to make sure his daughter's ladies-in-waiting were not just beautiful but educated and talented, so that her "court" could compete with Teisha's, which was already exalted with the presence of the writer Sei Shonagon, author of the highly popular The Pillow Book, a collection of short essays in which this witty and engaging young woman put down her observations of people, nature, culture, and life in court. To this end Michinaga brought in, among others, one Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji. Shoshi was 16 by this time, which means her rival, Teisha, had already died, while giving birth to Ichijo's third child in the winter of 1000 (or 1001, depending on the source). By this time her backer, her brother Korechika, had fallen out of favor at the court and been sent into exile. Her father, the former regent Michikata was already dead. It is said that Ichijo was so concerned about offending Michinaga that after the birth of their first child he did not even visit Teisha for some time. The speculation is that while he chafed under the control of Michinaga, Ichijo was boxed in; even his mother, Senshi, supported Michinaga as regent. She was, after all, Michinaga's sister. Shoshi gave the young emperor two more children by the age of 20. According to Murasaki, the empress was a very serious and dignified young woman who exorted her spirited ladies-in-waiting to behave with propriety. Murasaki was among those who complained, especially since Shoshi's brothers often brought their friends to her salon for them to be 'entertained' by said ladies. According to Murasaki, Shoshi's stern rules of behavior resulted in her court acquiring a reputation for being quite dull. That didn't stop Murasaki from exchanging flirtatious poems with the empress's father, the powerful regent Michinaga. Some speculate that they were lovers. So, what happened to these people? After Ichijo's death, Shoshi became a Buddhist nun at age 39. Her oldest son, Go-Ichijo, became emperor in 1016, while her youngest, Go-Suzaki, became crown prince. For many years Shoshi exerted great influence over the court, selecting women of the Fujiwara clan as consorts and filling court positions with friends and relatives. She was 86 when she died, in 1074. In the end, her father, Michinaga, was father-in-law to three emperors, grandfather to two emperors, and father of two regents. For many years he essentially ruled Japan. Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book and Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji remain essential sourcebooks for information on life around the Chrysanthemum Throne in the Heian Period. (Both books are available at Amazon.com.) Even though he was the first child Teisha gave Emperor Ichijo, Atsuyasu never became emperor, eclipsed not once but twice by his younger half-brothers, the children of Shoshi, the 12-year-old empress. |
THE TWELVE-YEAR-OLD EMPRESS
|