Mitsuko Thekla Maria, Countess of Coudenhove-Kalergi (german: Mitsuko Thekla Maria Gräfin von Coudenhove-Kalergi; 7 July 1874 27 August 1941), formerly known as , was one of the first

Japanese people The are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago."人類学上は，旧石器時代あるいは縄文時代以来，現在の北海道〜沖縄諸島（南西諸島）に住んだ集団を祖先にもつ人々。" () Jap ...

to immigrate to Europe, after becoming the wife of an Austro-Hungarian diplomat,

Heinrich von Coudenhove-Kalergi Heinrich Johann Maria von Coudenhove-Kalergi (12 October 1859 – 14 May 1906), also known as Heinrich Coudenhove-Kalergi (styled as Count of Coudenhove until 1903 and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi thereafter), was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat and ...

, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. She was the mother of

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972) was an Austrian-Japanese politician, philosopher and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of ...

and the Catholic author

Ida Friederike Görres Ida Friederike Görres (2 December 1901, in Schloss Ronsperg, Bohemia – 15 May 1971, in Frankfurt am Main), born Elisabeth Friederike, Reichsgräfin von Coudenhove-Kalergi, was a Catholic writer. From the Coudenhove-Kalergi family, she was the ...

(née Coudenhove).

Life

Heinrich Coudenhove-Kalergi Mitsuko Aoyama

Aoyama was the daughter of Kihachi Aoyama, an antiques and oil dealer in Tokyo. The Aoyama family was also a landowner of large estates. At the age of 17, she met the Austro-Hungarian diplomat Count Heinrich von Coudenhove (from 1903, Coudenhove-Kalergi) when she came to his aid after his horse slipped on ice (Heinrich often visited her father's shop, not far from the Austrian legation). Heinrich gained her father's permission for her to be employed as a parlour maid in the legation and then, after they fell in love, asked his permission for them to marry. The latter request was refused, but the couple defied him, and married on 16 March 1892 in Tokyo with the consent of the Austrian and Japanese foreign ministries. This left Aoyama disinherited and banned from her father's house. She converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was baptized by an anti-masonic

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, Francois A. Ligneul, in Japan. In 1896, she was received at an imperial reception for foreign diplomats' wives by

Empress Eishō was the empress consort of Emperor Kōmei of Japan. She is also known under the technically incorrect name . Early life As the daughter of Kujō Hisatada, who was a former '' kampaku,'' Kujō Asako could anticipate a life unfolding entirel ...

(as a commoner, Mitsuko would never have been granted such an audience, but as a

countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and ambassador's wife, she was) and again at the end of Heinrich's diplomatic work, shortly afterwards. The couple then returned to Europe, where Mitsuko and their two sons, Johannes and Richard, took over management of the family estates in Bohemian Ronsperg. Once established, Mitsuko learned French, German, Mathematics,

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

in an attempt to counter the hostility to Heinrich concerning his return with a foreign wife. Five more children would be born to Heinrich and Mitsuko. Heinrich died in 1906 and Mitsuko took over the estates and the children's upbringing and education, while studying

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

herself. When her second son Richard proposed to marry an actress, Ida Roland, Mitsuko became intensely angry and forbade their marriage. She disparaged Richard and his bride with the words "

beggar Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public plac ...

" and "

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

", because actresses were seen as a lowly occupation in Japan. She disinherited him in a certain period from 1916. Mitsuko never again returned to Japan. After she died in 1941 due to the second stroke she had suffered in her life, she was buried in the Hietzinger Cemetery.

Children and descendants

#Johann Evangelist Virgilio Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi (1893-1965), born in Tokyo # Richard Nikolaus Graf von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894-1972), born in Tokyo, founder of

Paneuropean Union The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi's manifesto ''P ...

# Gerolf Joseph Benedikt Maria Valentin Franz Coudenhove-Kalergi (1896-1978), born in Austria, father of the journalist

Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi Barbara Coudenhove-Kalergi (born 15 January 1932, Prague) is an Austrian journalist. A member of the Coudenhove-Kalergi family, she is the daughter of Gerolf von Coudenhove-Kalergi and thus the niece of Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi and of Ida ...

and the artist Michael Coudenhove-Kalergi #Elisabeth Maria Anna Coudenhove-Kalergi (1898-1936), born in Austria, secretary of

Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...

#Olga Marietta Henriette Maria Coudenhove-Kalergi (1900-1976), born in Austria #

(1901–1971), born in Austria, writer #Karl Heinrich Franz Maria Coudenhove-Kalergi (1903-1987), born in Austria

References

External links

Sotheby's auction detailsHer tombMemories of countess Mitsuko Coudenhofe-Kalergi

*
A report of the Austrian-Japanese Cooperation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoyama 1874 births 1941 deaths People of Meiji-period Japan People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Japanese Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Buddhism Coudenhove-Kalergi family Japanese emigrants to Austria-Hungary Austrian people of Japanese descent Czech people of Japanese descent People from Shinjuku People from Poběžovice