Kōken (born 718, Nara, Japan—died Aug. 28, 770, Nara) was the last empress to rule Japan until the 17th century; she twice occupied the throne (749–758; 764–770). There had been a number of female rulers before Kōken, but the power achieved by the Buddhist monk Dōkyō during her second reign caused the Council of Ministers to preclude female succession to the throne thereafter.
Kōken was the daughter of the emperor Shōmu; she ascended the throne in August 749, as the empress Kōken, when her father abdicated. Nine years later she abdicated in favour of Prince Oi, who ruled as Emperor Junnin. In 761 she met Dōkyō when he was lecturing at the imperial palace. Her attempts to promote the career of the priest, who was presumably her lover, brought him into conflict with Junnin’s favourite minister, the powerful Oshikatsu.
In 764 the conflict erupted into a civil war in which Oshikatsu was killed and Junnin was deposed. Kōken then reascended the throne, ruling as the empress Shōtoku. Although Dōkyō attained virtual control of the government during her reign, his attempt to become emperor upon her death resulted in his banishment from the capital.