Ken

Griffey, Ken, Jr. (George Kenneth Griffey, Jr.), 1969-, American baseball player, b. Donora, Pa. The son of a veteran outfielder, he joined the Seattle Mariners of the American League in 1989, played with the National League's Cincinnati Reds beginning in 2000, and returned to Seattle in 2009. In 1990 "Junior" and his father, Ken Griffey, Sr., 1950-, appeared in the same outfield, an event unique in major league history. The younger Griffey has been called the best all-around player of the 1990s. He led the American League in home runs in 1994 and 1997-99, hitting 56 homers in 1997 and 1998, and hit his 600th in 2008.

Burns, Ken (Kenneth Lauren Burns), 1953-, American documentary filmmaker, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Hampshire College (1975). Acting as producer, director, and cinematographer, Burns typically explores themes from American history, blending period photographs, works of art, film, and music with narration, remarks by historians and other scholars, contemporaneous written materials read by actors, and authentic sound effects. His first full-length film, The Brooklyn Bridge (1980), was, like his subsequent works, shown on public television. Burns won particular acclaim for his nine-part Civil War (1990), a re-creation and analysis of the conflict that won an Emmy and numerous other awards and was public broadcasting's highest-rated series. His other films include The Statue of Liberty (1985), Lewis and Clark (1997), various biographies, and the multipart Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), about Americans at war and at home during World War II, and The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009).

Livingstone, Ken, 1945-, British politician. Elected to the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1973 as a Labour member, he became GLC leader in 1981. His use of the local office to promote leftist policies earned him the nickname "Red Ken" and was a major factor in Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's successful campaign to abolish the GLC in 1986. He was elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1987 and became a candidate for mayor of London in 1999 after a new, Labour-controlled Parliament established an elected London mayoralty. When he was denied the Labour party nomination, Livingstone declared himself an independent candidate for the office and subsequently won the election, becoming the city's first popularly elected mayor. He was suspended (2000-2004) from the Labour party because of his maverick mayoral campaign. He was reelected in 2004, but lost his bid for a third term in 2008.. Livingstone has written If Voting Changed Anything They'd Abolish It (1987) and Livingstone's Labour (1989).

Ken, Thomas, 1637-1711, English prelate and hymn writer, prominent among the nonjuring bishops. He became chaplain to Charles II in 1680 and was nominated by that monarch to the bishopric of Bath and Wells in 1684. Under James II, Ken refused to publish the Declaration of Indulgence in accordance with the king's order; for this he was sent to the Tower with six other bishops in 1688. On the accession of William of Orange (William III) Bishop Ken would not take the oath of allegiance to him after having given it to the Stuarts, and in 1691 his see was taken from him as a nonjuror. Most noted of his hymns is the doxology, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."

(born Sept. 17, 1935, La Junta, Colo., U.S.—died Nov. 10. 2001, Eugene, Ore.) U.S. writer. He attended Stanford University and later served as an experimental subject and aide in a hospital, an experience that led to his novel One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962; film, 1975), which in the U.S. became one of the most widely read books of the 1960s. It was followed by Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) and several works of nonfiction that detailed Kesey's transformation from novelist to guru of the hippie generation. They recount psychedelic, fancy-free travels on a brightly painted bus with a group of friends, relatives, and fans who called themselves the Merry Pranksters. Their story is recounted in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), itself a minor classic of the era.

Learn more about Kesey, Ken (Elton) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. George Kenneth Griffey, Jr.

(born Nov. 21, 1969, Donora, Pa., U.S.) U.S. baseball player. Griffey began his professional career in 1987. As a left-handed centre fielder for the Seattle Mariners from 1989, he averaged .300 or better in hitting in seven of his first nine seasons and hit 40 or more home runs in four of those seasons, reaching 56 in 1997 and 1998. His father, Ken Griffey, Sr. (b. April 10, 1950, Donora), was also an outstanding professional baseball player.

Learn more about Griffey, Ken with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Sept. 17, 1935, La Junta, Colo., U.S.—died Nov. 10. 2001, Eugene, Ore.) U.S. writer. He attended Stanford University and later served as an experimental subject and aide in a hospital, an experience that led to his novel One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962; film, 1975), which in the U.S. became one of the most widely read books of the 1960s. It was followed by Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) and several works of nonfiction that detailed Kesey's transformation from novelist to guru of the hippie generation. They recount psychedelic, fancy-free travels on a brightly painted bus with a group of friends, relatives, and fans who called themselves the Merry Pranksters. Their story is recounted in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), itself a minor classic of the era.

Learn more about Kesey, Ken (Elton) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. George Kenneth Griffey, Jr.

(born Nov. 21, 1969, Donora, Pa., U.S.) U.S. baseball player. Griffey began his professional career in 1987. As a left-handed centre fielder for the Seattle Mariners from 1989, he averaged .300 or better in hitting in seven of his first nine seasons and hit 40 or more home runs in four of those seasons, reaching 56 in 1997 and 1998. His father, Ken Griffey, Sr. (b. April 10, 1950, Donora), was also an outstanding professional baseball player.

Learn more about Griffey, Ken with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Empress Shōtoku (称徳天皇 Shōtoku-tennō) (718 – August 28, 770) was both the 46th and the 48th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. The period in which she was the reigning sovereign stretched from 749 through the year of her death in 770.

Shōtoku initially ruled as Empress Kōken (孝謙天皇 Kōken-tennō) from 749 to 758. She abdicated in favor of her second cousin, Emperor Junnin; but six years later she took the crown from him and reascended the throne. She never renounced her Buddhist vows, setting a precedent. Her posthumous name for this second reign (764-770) was known as Empress Shōtoku.

Genealogy

Before her ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, her personal name (her imina) was Abe-hime.

Events of Kōken's life

• Tenpyō-kanpō 1, on the 2nd day of the 7th month (749): In the 25th year of Shōmu-tennō's reign (聖武天皇25年), the emperor died; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his daughter. Shortly thereafter, Empress Kōken is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

Empress Kōken reigned for ten years. Although there were seven other reigning empresses, their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Empress Gemmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, Empress Genshō, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kōken's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included:

• Taihō, Emi no Oshikatsu (formerly Fujiwara Nakamaro).
• Daijō-daijin
• Sadaijin, Tachibana no Moroe (formerly Katsuragi-ō, Prince Katsuragi) (half brother of Empress Kōmyō).
• Udaijin, Fujiwara no Toyonari (first son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro).
• Udaijin, Fujiwara no Nakamaro (second son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro).
• Nadaijin
• Dainagon

Eras of Kōken's reign

The years of Kōken's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

• Tenpyō-kanpō (749-749)
• Tenpyō-shōhō (749-757)
• Tenpyō-hōji (757-765)

Events of Shōtoku's life

• Tenpyō-hōji 9, on the 1st day of the 1st month (765): In the 6th year of Junnin-tennō's reign (淳仁天皇6年), the emperor was deposed by his adoptive mother; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by former-Empress Kōken. Shortly thereafter, Empress Shōtoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

Kōken/Shōtoku's reign was exceedingly turbulent, and she survived coup attempts by both Tachibana Naramaro and Fujiwara no Nakamaro.

Today, she is remembered chiefly for her alleged affair with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō (道鏡), a man upon whom she heaped titles and power. An oracle from the Hachiman (八幡) shrine in Usa pronounced that the monk should be made emperor. But when the empress sent Wake no Kiyomaro (和気清麻呂) to verify the pronouncement, Hachiman decreed that only one of imperial blood should ascend to the throne. The affair illustrated the growing power of the Buddhist priesthood and was a prime factor in Emperor Kammu's decision to move the capital away from Nara in 784.

• Jingo-keiun 3, on the 4th day of the 8th month (769): Empress Shōtoku died at age 57.

Empress Shōtoku rule for ten years. As with the seven other reigning empresses whose successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline, she was followed on the throne by a male cousin, which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women's reigns were temporary and that male-only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century. Empress Gemmei, who was followed on the throne by her daughter, remains the sole exception to this conventional argument.

Shōtoku died of smallpox, after which she was succeeded by her first cousin twice removed, Emperor Kōnin. She should not be confused with Prince Shōtoku (572-622), who was one of the first in Japan to sponsor Buddhism. Shōtoku's Imperial misasagi or tomb can be visited today in Misasagi-cho, Nara City.

Kugyō

The kugyō during Shōtoku's reign included:

• Daijō-daijin, Dōkyō.
• Sadaijin
• Udaijin, Kibi Makibi.
• Nadaijin
• Dainagon, Fujiwara Matate.

Eras of Shōtoku's reign

The years of Shōtoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.

• Tenpyō-hōji (757-765)
• Tenpyō-jingo (765-767)
• Jingo-keiun (767-770)

Further reading

• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). [Jien, c. 1220], Gukanshō (The Future and the Past, a translation and study of the Gukanshō, an interpretative history of Japan written in 1219). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-03460-0
• Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). [Siyun-sai Rin-siyo/Hayashi Gahō, 1652], Nipon o daï itsi ran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Click link for digitized, full-text copy of this book (in French)
• Varley, H. Paul, ed. (1980). [Kitabatake Chikafusa, 1359], Jinnō Shōtōki ("A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa" translated by H. Paul Varley). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04940-4

See also

• Japanese empresses

References