DOKYO (774)

Buddhist priest who attempted to usurp the Japanese Imperial throne.

Preaching at the Imperial temple in 761 he won the confidence of the former empress Koken who had occupied the throne from 749 to 758. He became the Empress lover and with her aid he began to exercise a dominant influence within the government. In 764 Dokyo succeeded in eliminating his major political rival the minister Oshikatsu who was the favourite of the emperor Junnin.

In the ensuing coup the Emperor was deposed and the former empress reascended the throne ruling as the empress Shotoku (764-770). Within a year Dokyo was named prime minister and in 766 he was also made archbishop. Not content with virtually ruling the country he persuaded an oracle to predict his ascension to the throne, a pretension that angered many important members of the government, especially those of the powerful Fujiwara family.

When the Empress died in 770 the Fujiwara had Dokyo banished from the capital.

As a result of this episode no woman was allowed accession to the Japanese throne for nearly a thousand years.