Antoku’s Accession and the Temporary Capital at Fukuhara

Prince Tokihito, born in 1178 to Emperor Takakura and Taira no Tokuko, became Emperor Antoku in 1180. His maternal grandfather Kiyomori had already confined retired emperor Go-Shirakawa and forced changes in court personnel. Antoku’s accession gave the Taira leader a close family connection to the reigning sovereign, who was too young to direct government himself.

In the sixth month, Kiyomori moved the court from Kyoto to Fukuhara, in the area of present-day Kobe. Antoku went with retired emperors Takakura and Go-Shirakawa and their households. Fukuhara lay beside the Taira’s maritime base and the Ōwada harbor area, linking the proposed capital to western sea transport. Moving the sovereigns required residences and space for officials as well as the transfer of court activity.

The new capital did not acquire Kyoto’s full institutional and residential fabric during its short life. War was spreading after Prince Mochihito’s call to oppose the Taira, and Kiyomori’s position faced both military and court pressure. In the eleventh month the court returned to Kyoto, ending the relocation after roughly five months.

Antoku continued to reign after the return. In 1183 the retreating Taira carried him and the regalia westward once more, this time as a court accompanying an army and fleet. The move of 1180 had been a planned capital relocation, with an eventual return to Kyoto; the later departure arose from military defeat.