Kogo Komyo was the consort of Emperor Shomu, politician and Empress. During her life she was also known as Asukabehime, Komyoshi, and Tosanjo.
Background
Kogo Komyo was born in 701. A member of the Fujiwara clan. Her father was Fujiwara no Fuhito, the son of Fujiwara no Nakatomi, the statesman who played a crucial role in the carrying out of the Taika Reforms. Her mother, Tachibana no Michiyo, was originally married to Prince Minu and bore him a son who later was named Tachibana no Moroe, subsequently she became the wife of Fujiwara no Fuhito.
Career
Kogo Komyo married Emperor Shomu at the age of 16 and gave birth to the princess Abe at the age of 18. She gave birth to her first son at the age of 27. He died soon after birth. The Fujiwara clan insisted that Prince Nagaya had killed the prince by a curse. Kogo Komyo became an empress at the age of 29. She was the first to be raised to the rank of kogo in historical times.. It may be noted that the action took place just at the time when Prince Nagaya, who had previously dominated the government, fell from power and was replaced by the empress’s brothers of the Fujiwara family. This marks the point where the reins of power were lost by the imperial family and taken up by the Fujiwara family.
In 749, Emperor Shomu abdicated in favor of his daughter, Empress Koken, and the Kogo Gushiki was given the Chinese style name Shibi Chudai. At this time Empress Komyo’s nephew Fujiwara no Nakamaro, later known as Emi no Oshikatsu, was appointed to head it, a move that led to his eventual rise to power. After the death of Emperor Shomu in 756, Empress Komyo, now Empress Dowager, was said to have exercised the actual power of government in the name of her daughter, Empress Koken.
Personality
The empress was said to have been a highly intelligent and cultured woman and an ardent Buddhist. Empress Komyo was a skilled calligrapher, and examples of her calligraphy are preserved among the treasures of the Shoso-in.