TALES FROM HISTORY
Emperor Sutoku — Japan’s Three Most Infamous Vengeful Ghosts, part 2
Hell hath no fury like an emperor scorned
Japan loves threes. Three Great Beautiful Places. Three Great Night Views. Three Great Mountains. In this three article series, I introduce you to Japan’s Three Great Vengeful Ghosts.
Vengeful Ghost #2 — Emperor Sutoku
The central Heian government in Kyoto was beginning to fall apart by the 12th century. A succession dispute in 1156, known as the Hogen no Ran, turned into a fierce battle between the younger Emperor Go-Shirakawa and his older brother, the retired Emperor Sutoku.
This ended badly for Sutoku, and he was banished in disgrace as a criminal to Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture) on the island of Shikoku.
While under house arrest in Sanuki, Sutoku applied himself to Buddhist study. He made offerings for the souls of those who had died in battle. He reflected on his life and prayed for his rebirth in the Buddhist Pure Land. And he spent months diligently writing out the five main Buddhist texts, or sutras. Some accounts claim that these sutras were written in his blood, so dedicated was he to the purifying of his soul.
