Learning Japanese History with ChatGPT, Part 3: The Logic of Cloistered Rule Born from Manors and Personal Rule—Emperor Shirakawa's Strategy and Era

The 'Manor Consolidation Order by Emperor Go-Sanjo' returned to the origins of the system while simultaneously creating a new form of 'manors protected within the system.' The next ruler, Emperor Shirakawa, emerged as a beneficiary of this. In this article, we will carefully unravel the mechanisms and background of Emperor Shirakawa's political position and explain how he was able to hold 'more real power than the Emperor' from the position of a 'Retired Emperor.'

While maintaining the two pillars of 'logic of rule through moral authority' and 'enormous manor income' just like the Fujiwara regency, Retired Emperor Shirakawa 'reconstructed them under the leadership of the Imperial family.' This was not only a shift in political form from the regency to Cloistered Rule, but also a symbolic event in the major trend from 'matrilineal to patrilineal' succession.

Introduction: A Rough Recap

Last time, we looked roughly at the emergence of Emperor Go-Sanjo and its significance. Please believe me, even that was 'rough.' Regardless, as a '(probably) unintended side effect of the Manor Consolidation Order' that I touched on briefly in the second half of the article, I touched upon the establishment of regional manors. So this time, I would like to take a 'rough' look at 'Emperor (Retired Emperor) Shirakawa,' who is not unrelated to these regional manors.

Emperor Shirakawa's Accession and Political Position

As mentioned last time, 'Emperor Shirakawa' ascended to the throne (sensō) after his father, Emperor Go-Sanjo, 'abdicated' in his favor. Because of this 'abdication while alive' and subsequent historical facts, there has been a debate about whether 'Retired Emperor Go-Sanjo also planned to do something like Cloistered Rule,' but since he passed away due to illness the year after becoming a Retired Emperor, the truth remains a mystery (in recent years, there is also a view that the abdication was due to illness). Now, Emperor Shirakawa's mother was also from the Fujiwara clan of the Kan'in line, not the Mido line (the regency family). In other words, like his predecessor (his father), he was in a position where he was 'less susceptible to the constraints of the regency family (maternal relatives),' and although a Chancellor (Kanpaku) continued to be appointed, he conducted personal rule.

The Retreat of the Regency Family and the Transition to the Retired Emperor

And following the previous generation, he himself seems to have promoted manor consolidation. Furthermore, due to the deaths of important figures in the Mido line and internal succession disputes, the Fujiwara clan (the regency family) retreated significantly as a 'political force' during this period. As a result, Emperor Shirakawa, who was able to strengthen the power of the Emperor (the Imperial family), had his young biological son, Prince Taruhito, named Crown Prince (known as rittaishi) and abdicated on the same day, becoming 'Retired Emperor Shirakawa.'

The Institutional Positioning of 'Retired Emperor' and 'In'

Now, let's take a slight detour here. As I touched on briefly last time, the premise that 'the Emperor is the most important person institutionally' has generally remained unchanged throughout history. The 'Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians' (sonnō jōi) movement at the end of the Edo period is famous, but this ideology of 'revering the Emperor' has lived on throughout history (with exceptions like the Basara daimyo).
For this reason, in order to be 'officially recognized' as a 'Retired Emperor,' a procedure called 'Ingō Senge' (the proclamation of the title of Retired Emperor) by the Emperor was necessary. Through this procedure, he was officially recognized as 'Shirakawa-in,' but the fact that 'the Emperor is higher in principle' remained unchanged.
Then, why was Retired Emperor Shirakawa able to become a power holder who 'surpassed the Emperor'?
It is said that Emperor Horikawa (Prince Taruhito), who ascended to the throne at this time, was only 8 years old.
You might think, 'Wait? Can such a child perform a difficult task like Ingō Senge?' but it is fine. These procedures had 'already been systematized,' and the specific procedures were performed by subordinates, with the 'final settlement' only needing to be nominally arranged.
Simply put, I think it is probably fine to imagine it as 'just stamping documents prepared by subordinates.'

Moral Legitimacy and Commonalities with Regency Politics

Then, a 'justification' arises here. In other words, it is the logic of 'assisting (acting on behalf of) a young Emperor who cannot perform all important political rituals by himself, through the moral authority of being his biological father.' Moreover, a Retired Emperor is basically a 'former Emperor.' It is clear to everyone that there is no one more 'qualified' than him.
By the way, doesn't this story of 'assisting (acting on behalf of) through moral authority' sound familiar?
Yes, it is 'almost the same' as the power logic of 'regency politics.' The big difference is that in the case of regency politics, it was 'matrilineal emphasis,' while in the case of Cloistered Rule, it was 'patrilineal emphasis.' Although this abdication and Cloistered Rule of Emperor Shirakawa were not the 'trigger,' 'patrilineal succession' became common in the medieval period.
In other words, couldn't this Cloistered Rule be said to be one example within the major trend from 'matrilineal to patrilineal'?

Cloistered Rule that Gained Both 'Authority + Economic Power'

In this way, a '(seemingly) legitimate justification' was obtained. However, in this state, it is 'half missing.'
I would like you to recall the reason why Fujiwara no Michinaga thought, 'This world is my world.' One was 'power as a maternal relative,' and the other was 'enormous unearned income from numerous manors as the head of the family.'
In other words, being a 'super-rich' aristocrat supported half of his power. And this structure was the same in 'Cloistered Rule.'

Manors and the Value of 'Institutional Guarantee'

One of the things that became the 'wallet of the In' at this time was the 'regional manor.'
As we saw last time, Emperor Go-Sanjo's 'Manor Consolidation Order' returned to the origins of the 'Konden Einen Shizai Hō' (Law of Perpetual Ownership of Cultivated Lands), exposing 'manors with questionable legality' and reorganizing them into public lands or lands under the direct control of the Emperor.
As a result, as I have already mentioned, it is thought that 'manors recognized as legitimate' were finally able to exist 'institutionally,' and their territory and control were strengthened.
If you look at this from a slightly different perspective, while 'donated manors' were a system based on 'extra-institutional trust' through 'extra-legal protection,' 'regional manors' can be described as a system based on 'institutional guarantee.'
From this point of view, if you want to make a 'guarantee' stronger, the one you should seek it from is the 'most important existence institutionally.'
Isn't this one of the reasons why 'donations of manors flooded into the Imperial family'?

Advantages as a 'Retired Emperor' and the 'Flood of Donations'

To put it very crudely, this could be expressed as the 'number one head of the family' moving from the regency family to the Imperial family.
However, the 'Emperor' cannot hold 'private land' in principle. I am sorry to have you recall this many times, but the 'Ritsuryō system' was originally a 'public land and public citizen system,' and 'exceptionally permitted private land (manors)' is legally 'incompatible' with it.
Of course, as I have already mentioned, 'some of the confiscated manors were organized into lands under the direct control of the Emperor,' so it is not that he 'cannot hold anything like private land at all.'
However, this is treated as a 'part of the state' to the end, and is not considered the personal property of the Emperor.
Therefore, it is unreasonable for the Emperor to openly 'collect private wealth' as the 'number one head of the family.'
That is where the existence of the 'Retired Emperor' comes in. A former Emperor who has already finished his abdication is formally in the position of a 'private person who does not hold a government post.' However, on the other hand, as 'the person who continues to hold the highest authority institutionally,' he is also in a position to organize the In-no-chō (Office of the Retired Emperor) and be deeply involved in practical affairs.
Isn't the 'reason why donations flooded in' to be found in this exquisite position of being a 'private person closest to the system'?
And in fact, donations flooded in.
Here, 'Cloistered Rule' succeeded in securing for itself the two wheels of 'real power based on moral and blood-related authority' that Fujiwara no Michinaga once held, and 'enormous unearned income from manors.'

Summary: Cloistered Rule as a Complex of Authority and System

Since this has become quite a lot of text, I will end it here for now. The important point is, first, that Emperor Shirakawa was in a 'position to conduct personal rule.' This is also because he ascended to the throne after becoming an adult, so there was no 'Regent,' and he was not influenced by the regency family, which relied on the position of maternal relatives.
Furthermore, we confirmed that he secured the 'substance of power' by obtaining the same 'logic of authority' and 'structure of unearned income' as the regency system.
And I also touched on the fact that this can be seen as one of the flows changing from 'matrilineal succession to patrilineal succession.'

Next Episode Preview: The Reign of Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa and the Stirrings of the Medieval Period

In the next installment, I would like to take a bird's-eye view of the reign of this "Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa." Many things happened during this period, one of which was the "development" of the "Chigyo-kokusei" (system of provincial governorships). This would eventually become a factor in "destroying the financial foundation of the Imperial Court, including the Imperial family itself."
Also, one of the famous "three things that do not go as one wishes in the world" refers to the "mountain monks" (Yamahoshi) of temple forces like Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, and we have already seen that the "Konden Einen Shizai Ho" (Law of Perpetual Ownership of Cultivated Lands) was one of the triggers for this. This was not merely the emergence of "fighting monks"; beneath the surface, the "cries of a new era" were being raised quietly, ever so quietly.
Furthermore, the "Later Three-Year War" that occurred during this period was the beginning of the end for Cloistered Rule and, by extension, the "era of the court nobles." I am not sure if I will be able to touch upon all of these, but I look forward to enjoying the "What is this?" moments of history with you all again.

※ This text was created through a collaboration where I wrote the original draft, and ChatGPT performed fact-checking and rewriting (I have made some minor final manual corrections).