Fujiwara no Nakamaro
Koken's reign was turbulent, and she survived coup attempts by both Tachibana no Naramaro and Fujiwara no Nakamaro. Today, she is remembered chiefly for her alleged affair with a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō (道鏡), a man she honored with titles and power. An oracle from Usa Shrine, the shrine of the kami in Usa, is said to have proclaimed that the monk should be made emperor; but when the empress sent to verify the pronouncement, Hachiman decreed that only one of imperial blood should ascend to the throne.