When it comes to Japanese spirits with a grudge, nobody does it better than Sutoku Tenno – the ex-emperor who went from divine ruler to full-blown supernatural menace.

Today, we will explore this former emperor / political failure / Japan’s top-tier Onryo.

Sutoku Tenno (Emperor Sutoku / 崇徳天皇) was the 75th Emperor of Japan who was active in the 12th century. After all his dramas and his death full of grudge, he became an Onryo (vengeful spirit) and brought curses and misfortune upon the imperial court in Kyoto.

Now he is recognised as one of Japan’s Three Great Vengeful Spirits (日本三大怨霊), alongside Sugawara no Michizane and Taira no Masakado.

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Sutoku Tenno was born in 1119, and he landed the emperor at the ripe age of 3 (Yes, THREE… you didn’t misread that).

After reigning for nearly two decades (mostly under the thumb of retired emperors), he abdicated. Not out of humility or desire for a quiet retirement—but so that his son could take over. Naturally, that didn’t happen. The imperial court decided to give the throne to Goshirakawa Tenno (後白河天皇).

The Hōgen Rebellion: Because Family Drama Just Wasn’t Enough

In 1156, all that royal frustration exploded into the Hōgen Rebellion (保元の乱). Sutoku Tenno (Emperor Emeritus at the time, precisely) tried to wrest power back through a charming little civil war. But he lost badly.

His punishment? A one-way trip to Sanuki (modern-day Kagawa Prefecture).

So what does an ex-emperor with no throne, no allies, and no future do? He takes up copying Buddhist sutras, obviously—possibly in his own blood, depending on which version of the story you fancy.

Once he’d painstakingly finished these five glorious blood-soaked (or ink-soaked, if we’re being optimistic) masterpieces, he sent them to the imperial court as a gesture of repentance and prayer for the souls lost in the Hōgen Rebellion.

But what did the court do? Emperor Goshirakawa took one look and went, “Hmm… cursed, highly possibly” and sent them back. And that’s when Sutoku absolutely lost the plot.

Fuming with rage and rejection, he allegedly bit off his own tongue and scribbled an utterly chill message onto the sutras in blood:

“I shall become a great demon of Japan, reverse emperor and subject, and send these sutras down the path of darkness.”

He then let his hair and nails grow out to monstrous proportions, became so terrifying he was said to resemble a Yasha (夜叉 / a kind of demonic guardian), and when he finally died, people whispered that he had turned into a Tengu (天狗).

Oh, and let’s not forget the grand finale: apparently, his coffin leaked blood, despite being nailed shut…

Sutoku Tenno died in 1164, but his story didn’t end with a respectful funeral. Nope. Over the next few centuries, he gained a rep as one of Japan’s Three Great Vengeful Spirits (日本三大怨霊).

He was blamed for everything from devastating fires in Kyoto to plagues, political collapses, and maybe even your dodgy horoscope. People were so scared of him, they built him his own shrine in 1868—Shiramine Jingu (白峯神宮) in Kyoto.

Sutoku Tenno’s Legacy in modern day

Sutoku Tenno’s spirit didn’t just haunt Japan’s weather and politics. He became a cautionary tale. His story appears in kabuki plays (歌舞伎), literature, ghost stories, and even modern yokai lore.

They often featured him as “The emperor who became Tengu because of his ill-fated resentment” Well, considering all the information about him, you’ll see that it’s not just exaggerated lies, right?

From divine ruler to rage-fuelled Onryo, Sutoku Tenno is the historical equivalent of leaving someone on read—and then getting your entire capital city cursed in return.

Well played, Your Majesty. Well played.