Emperor Go-Shirakawa

Emperor Go-Shirakawa 後白河天皇
Emperor of Japan
Reign	August 23, 1155 – September 5, 1158
Enthronement	November 22, 1155
Predecessor	Konoe
Successor	Nijō
Born	October 18, 1127
Died	April 26, 1192(1192-04-26) (aged 64) Rokujō-den (六条殿), Heian-kyō
Burial	Hōjū-ji no Misasagi (Kyoto)
Spouse	Fujiwara no Kinshi ​ (m. 1155)​
Issue more...	Emperor Nijō Princess Sukeko Princess Shikishi Prince Mochihito Emperor Takakura
Posthumous name Tsuigō: Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河院 or 後白河天皇)
House	Imperial House of Japan
Father	Emperor Toba
Mother	Fujiwara no Tamako

Emperor Go-Shirakawa (後白河天皇, Go-Shirakawa-tennō, October 18, 1127 – April 26, 1192) was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the insei system – scholars differ as to whether his rule can be truly considered part of the insei system, given that the Hōgen Rebellion undermined the imperial position.^[1] However, it is broadly acknowledged that by politically outmaneuvering his opponents, he attained greater influence and power than the diminished authority of the emperor's position during this period would otherwise allow.

Posthumously, this 12th-century sovereign was named after the 11th-century Emperor Shirakawa. Go- (後), translates literally as "later"; and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Shirakawa", or in some older sources, may be identified as "Shirakawa, the second" or as "Shirakawa II".

Unusually, the years of Go-Shirakawa's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō; Kyūju (1154–1156) and Hōgen (1156–1159).^[2]

He was de facto the last true emperor, before the shogun became the actual head of the country after Go-Shirakawa's death in 1192 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.