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Sadako Kujō (九条節子, Kujō Sadako, 25 June 1884 – 17 May 1951), posthumously honoured as Empress Teimei (貞明皇后, Teimei-kōgō), was the wife of Emperor Taishō and the mother of Emperor Shōwa of Japan. Her posthumous name, Teimei, means "enlightened constancy".
| Empress Teimei 貞明皇后 | |
|---|---|
 Formal portrait, 1912 | |
| Empress consort of Japan | |
| Tenure | 30 July 1912 – 25 December 1926 |
| Enthronement | 10 November 1915 |
| Empress dowager of Japan | |
| Tenure | 25 December 1926 – 17 May 1951 |
| Born | Sadako Kujō (九条節子) 25 June 1884 Nishikichō, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | 17 May 1951 (aged 66) Ōmiya Palace, Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Burial | 22 June 1951 |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Fujiwara clan (by birth) Imperial House of Japan (by marriage) |
| Father | Kujō Michitaka |
| Mother | Ikuko Noma (concubine) |
| Religion | Shinto and Nichiren Shōshū |
Biography
editSadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in Tokyo, as the fourth daughter of Duke Michitaka Kujō, head of Kujō branch of the Fujiwara clan. Her mother was Ikuko Noma (Concubinage).[1]
She married then-Crown Prince Yoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō) on 10 May 1900, at the age of 15. The couple lived in the newly constructed Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, outside of the main Tokyo Imperial Palace complex. When she gave birth to a son, Hirohito, Prince Michi (the future Emperor Shōwa) in 1901, she was the first official wife of a Crown Prince or Emperor to have given birth to the official heir to the throne since 1750.
She became empress consort (皇后, Kōgō) when her husband ascended to the throne on 30 July 1912 following death of her father-in-law, Emperor Meiji. Given her husband's weak physical and mental condition, she exerted a strong influence on imperial life, and was an active patron of Japanese Red Cross Society. The relations between the Emperor and Empress of Taishō period were very good, as evidenced by Emperor Taishō's lack of interest in taking concubines, thus breaking with hundreds of years of imperial tradition, and by her giving birth to four sons.
After the death of Emperor Taishō on 25 December 1926, her title became that of Dowager Empress (皇太后, Kōtaigō) (which means "widow of the former emperor"). She openly objected to Japan's involvement in World War II, which might have caused conflict with her eldest son, Emperor Hirohito. From 1943, she also worked behind the scenes with her third son Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu to bring about the downfall of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō.
She was a Buddhist adherent who had faith in Nichiren Shoshu and prayed with the Shinto ritual ceremonies of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
She died on 17 May 1951 at Omiya Palace in Tokyo, aged 66, and was buried near her husband, Emperor Taishō, in the Tama no higashi no misasagi (多摩東陵) at the Musashi Imperial Graveyard in Tokyo.[2]
Honours
editNational
edit- Grand Cordon of the Order of Meiji
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
Foreign
edit
Spain: The 1,060th Dame of the Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa
Issue
edit| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage | Their children | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Spouse | ||||
| Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito, Prince Michi) |
29 April 1901 | 7 January 1989 | 26 January 1924 | Princess Nagako of Kuni |
|
| Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito, Prince Atsu) |
25 June 1902 | 4 January 1953 | 28 September 1928 | Setsuko Matsudaira | none |
| Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu (Nobuhito, Prince Teru) |
3 January 1905 | 3 February 1987 | 4 February 1930 | Kikuko Tokugawa | none |
| Takahito, Prince Mikasa (Takahito, Prince Sumi) |
2 December 1915 | 27 October 2016 | 22 October 1941 | Yuriko Takagi |
|
Ancestry
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Gallery
edit-
Crown Princess Sadako on her wedding day in 1900 -
Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda, designated imperial personal emblem of Sadako -
The newly enthroned Empress Sadako in jūnihitoe, 1912 -
Empress Sadako participating cherry blossom viewing party with her eldest son, Crown Prince Hirohito and Edward, Prince of Wales at Shinjuku Gyo-en in 1922 -
Empress Sadako visiting survivors after the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake -
Empress Dowager Sadako with her grandson, Crown Prince Akihito in 1949 -
From left to right: Kazuko, Princess Taka (granddaughter), Toshimichi Takatsukasa (grandson-in-law), Emperor Hirohito (eldest son), Empress Nagako (daughter-in-law) and Empress Dowager Sadako in May 1950 -
State funeral of Empress Teimei, 22 June 1951 -
Empress Teimei's mausoleum in the Musashi Imperial Graveyard
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "Detail | Old Japanese Photographs in Bakumatsu-Meiji Period".
- ^ "The Mad Monarchist: Consort Profile: Empress Teimei of Japan". November 2010.
- ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
References
edit- Bix, Herbert P. (2000). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-019314-0; OCLC 247018161
- Fujitani, Takashi. (1998). Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan.. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20237-5; OCLC 246558189—Reprint edition, 1998. ISBN 0-520-21371-8
- Hoyt, Edwin P. (1992). Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man. New York: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0-275-94069-0; OCLC 23766658