Emperor Sutoku (July 7, 1119 – September 14, 1164) was the 75th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142. Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his imina) was Akihito.

Note: Although the Roman alphabet spelling of the name of this twelfth-century emperor is the same as that of the personal name of the current sovereign of Japan, the kanji are dissimilar.

Emperor Sutoku, formerly Prince Akihito (顕仁)

His Imperial Majesty, formerly Prince Akihito (明仁)

Sutoku was the eldest son of Emperor Toba. Some old texts say he was actually the son of Toba's grandfather, Emperor Shirakawa. The major events of his life are

• February 25, 1123 (Hōan 4, 28th day of the 1st month): In the 25th year of Emperor Toba's reign (鳥羽天皇25年), he abdicated; and the succession (‘‘senso’’) was received by his son, aged 5.
• Hōan 4, in the 2nd month (1123): Emperor Sutoku is said to have acceded to the throne (‘‘sokui’’).

• 1124 (Tenji 1, 2nd month): Former-Emperor Horikawa and former-Emperor Toba went in carriages to outside the city where they could all together enjoy contemplating the flowers. Taiken-mon In (formerly Fujiwara no Shōshi), who was Toba's empress and Sutoku's mother, joined the procession along with many other women of the court. Their cortege was brilliant and colorful. A great many men of the court in hunting clothes followed the ladies in this parade. Fujiwara Tadamichi then followed in a carriage, accompanied by bands of musicians and women who were to sing for the emperors.
• 1124 (Tenji 1, 10th month): Horikawa visited Mount Koya.
• 1125 (Tenji 2, 10th month): The emperor visited Iwashimizu Shrine and the Kamo Shrines; and afterwards, he also visited the shrines Hirano, Ōharano, Mutsunoo, Kitano, Gion and several others.

• 1128 (Daiji 3, 3rd month): Taiken-mon In ordered the construction of Enshō-ji in fulfillment of a sacred vow. This was one in a series of "sacred vow temples" (gogan-ji) built by imperial command following a precedent established by Emperor Shirakawa's Hosshō-ji.
• 1128 (Daiji 3, 6th month): Fujiwara Tadamichi is releaved of his responsibilities and duties as sesshō (regent); and simultaneously, Tadamichi is named kampaku.

• August 17, 1135 (Hōen 1, 7th day of the 7th month): Former-Emperor Shirakawa died at the age of 77.

• 1141 (Eiji 1, 3rd month): The former emperor Toba accepted the tonsure in becoming a monk at the age of 39 years.

In 1151, Sutoku ordered Waka imperial anthology Shika Wakashū.

In 1156, after failing to put down the Hōgen Rebellion, he was exiled to Sanuki Province (modern-day Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku). Emperor Sutoku's reign lasted for 18 years: two years in the nengō Tenji, 5 years in Daiji, 1 year in 'Tenshō, 3 years in Chōshō, 6 years in Hōen, and 1 year in Eiji.

The site of Sutoku's grave is settled. This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Kagawa.

The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Sutoku's mausoleum. It is formally named Shiramine no misasagi.

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 Sutoku's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Sesshō, Fujiwara Tadamichi, 1097 – 1164; Daijō-daijin, Fujiwara Tadamichi; Sadaijin; Udaijin; Nadaijin, Fujiwara Yorinaga, 1120 – 1156; Dainagon.

The years of Sutoku's reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō. Hōan (1120 – 1124); Tenji (1124 – 1126); Daiji (1126 – 1131); Tenshō (1131 – 1132); Chōshō (1132 – 1135); Hōen (1135 – 1141); Eiji (1141 – 1142).

After Sotoku's abdication and exile, he devoted himself to monastic life. He copied numerous scriptures and offered them to the court. Fearing that the scriptures were cursed, the court refused to accept them. Snubbed, Sotoku was said to have resented the court and, upon his death, became an onryō. Everything from the subsequent fall in fortune of the Imperial court, the rise of the samurai powers, draughts and internal unrests were blamed on his haunting. Alternatively, he was said to have transformed into an Ootengu (greater tengu), whom, along with the nine-tailed kitsune of Tamamo-no-Mae and the oni Shuten Dōji, are often called the three greatest yōkai of Japan.