Emperor Go-Shirakawa

Emperor of Japan

October 18, 1127

April 26, 1192(1192-04-26) (64) Rokujō-den (六条殿), Heian-kyō

Posthumous nameJapanese style: Yamato-neko-amatsumishirushi-toyosato no Mikoto (日本根子天璽豊聡慧尊 ), also Fukakusa no Mikado (深草帝 ) Chinese style: Emperor Ninmyō (天武天皇 )

77th Emperor of Japan (1155-58) Emperor of Japan Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河天皇 , Go-Shirakawa-tennō, October 18, 1127 – April 26, 1192) was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the insei system - scholars differ as to whether his rule can be truly considered part of the insei system, given that the Hōgen Rebellion undermined the imperial position. However, it is broadly acknowledged that by politically outmaneuvering his opponents, he attained greater influence and power than the diminished authority of the emperor's position during this period would otherwise allow. Posthumously, this 12th-century sovereign was named after the 11th-century Emperor Shirakawa. Go- (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Shirakawa", or, in some older sources, may be identified as "Shirakawa, the second" or as "Shirakawa II". Unusually, the years of Go-Shirakawa's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō; Kyūju (1154–1156) and Hōgen (1156–1159). He was de facto the last absolute monarch, before the shogun became the actual head of the country for almost seven centuries, until 1868.