Shōmu Abdicates and Kōken Accedes

In the seventh month of 749, Emperor Shōmu transferred the throne to his daughter Princess Abe, who ruled as Empress Kōken. She had already been designated crown princess in 738. Shōmu became a retired emperor, while his wife Kōmyō, Kōken's mother, retained an important position in the imperial household.

The transfer took place during the construction of the Great Buddha and Tōdai-ji at Nara. The bronze body was completed later in 749; the eye-opening ceremony followed in 752. Kōken, Shōmu, and Kōmyō all attended that ceremony. Abdication changed the reigning sovereign, but did not remove Shōmu from the religious undertaking he had initiated.

Kōken now held the throne alongside a still-active retired emperor and influential imperial household. Shōmu lived until 756. His continuing presence and the work still under way at Tōdai-ji distinguish the 749 succession from the separate completion and dedication of the statue.