Emperor Antoku

Emperor of Japan

December 22, 1178

April 25, 1185(1185-04-25) (6) Dan-no-ura, Shimonoseki Strait, Japan

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 )

81st Emperor of Japan (reigned 1180 to 1185) Emperor of Japan Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇 , Antoku-tennō, December 22, 1178 – April 25, 1185) was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185. During this time, the Imperial family was involved in a bitter struggle between warring clans. Minamoto no Yoritomo with his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka, led a force from the Minamoto clan against the Taira, who controlled the emperor. During the climactic sea Battle of Dan-no-ura in April 1185, Antoku's grandmother Taira no Tokiko took him and plunged with him into the water in the Shimonoseki Straits, drowning the child emperor rather than allowing him to be captured by the opposing forces. The conflict between the clans led to numerous legends and tales. The story of Emperor Antoku and his mother's family became the subject of the Kamakura period epic poem The Tale of the Heike (Heike is an alternative reading of the Japanese characters for "House of the Taira"). Antoku's tomb is said to be located in a number of places around western Japan, including the island of Iwo Jima, a result of the spreading of legends about the emperor and the battle.