, also known as Kazu-ko, was the

Empress consort of Japan The Empress of Japan is the title given to the wife of the Emperor of Japan or a female ruler in her own right. In Japanese, the empress consort is called . The current empress consort is Empress Masako, who ascended the throne with her husband o ...

as wife of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. She was a prominent and influential figure the Imperial-shogunate ties and relations, because of her collaboration with her parents

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a prominently-placed female figure in the Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during ...

and

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

, the second ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

History

* 1620 (''

Genna was a coming after '' Keichō'' and before ''Kan'ei.'' This period spanned the years from July 1615 to February 1624. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1615 : The era name was changed to mark the enthronement of Go-Mizunuoo and bec ...

6''): Masako entered the palace as a

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

of the

Emperor Go-Mizunoo was the 108th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Mizunoo's reign spanned the years from 1611 through 1629, and was the first emperor to reign entirely during the Edo period. This 17th-century sovereign was n ...

. Although there was already a concubine for Go-Mizunoo, the marriage to Masako was celebrated with great pomp. * 1624: Masako is granted the title of chūgū (中宮), indicating she was a second legitimate wife and therefore an established Empress Consort. She is the first consort to hold this title since the reign of

Emperor Go-Hanazono (July 10, 1418 – January 18, 1471) was the 102nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後花園天皇 (102) retrieved 2013-8-28. His reign spanned the years from 1428 throu ...

. * 1629: When the Emperor Go-Mizunoo abdicated in 1629, Masako took the title and name of .Ponsonby-Fane, p. 115. Masako's daughter, Imperial Princess Onna-Ichi-no-miya Okiko, succeeded her father. She ascended the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions, ...

Empress Meishō was the 109th monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')明正天皇 (108)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 115. Her reign lasted from 1629 ...

.Ponsonby-Fane, p. 115. Meishō would be succeeded by two of her half-brothers, who would later become known as

Emperor Go-Kōmyō was the 110th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 後光明天皇 (110)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Kōmyō's reign spanned the years from 1643 through 1654. This 17th-century sovereign was n ...

and

Emperor Go-Sai , also known as , was the 111th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 後西天皇 (111)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', pp. 116. Go-Sai ...

. Both had been brought up by Masako as if they were her own sons.Ponsonby-Fane, pp. 115–116. Masako had two younger daughters were Princess Teruko (1625-1651) who married

Konoe Hisatsugu , son of regent Nobuhiro, was a '' kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He held a regent position kampaku from 1651 to 1653. His mother was not recorded. His sister was the consort of Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the daimyō ...

, and Princess Akiko (1629-1675), also known as the Third Princess.

Achievements

She used her wealth to bring together Edo and

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and also to help maintain the high standards of the court. She also used it to restore significant buildings that had been damaged in the previous years of warring. Many of these restorations were originally credited to her brother

Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

, or her husband, but have recently been properly credited to her. Another important way she used her money is as a representation of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. When Masako and

Lady Kasuga was a Japanese noble lady and politician from a prominent Japanese samurai family of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. Born Saitō Fuku (斉藤福), she was a daughter of Saitō Toshimitsu (who was a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide). She was t ...

broke a

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

by visiting the imperial court as a commoner, Emperor Go-Mizunoo abdicated, embarrassed, and Meisho became

empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. The ''shōgun,''

Tokugawa Iemitsu Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...

'','' was now the uncle of the sitting

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

Family

* Father:

(1581-1632) * Mother:

(1573-1626) * Husband:

(1596-1680) * Children: **, became

** married

** ** ** ** married

Nijō Mitsuhira , son of Nijō Yasumichi, was a Japanese ''kugyō'' (court noble) of the early Edo period. He held regent positions kampaku from 1653 to 1663 and sesshō from 1663 to 1664. Nijō Tsunahira was his adopted son. With Imperial Fifth Princess Yoshiko ...

** * Adopted: **

Interests

* Empress Masako was a patron of the arts. She collected antiques as well as contemporary art. She was also skilled at calligraphy and dabbled in poetry.

Notes

References

*Lillehoj, Elizabeth. "Tōfukumon'in: Empress, Patron and Artist". ''Woman's Art Journal'' 17(1996):28–34. * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887
* Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''

Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , ', is a 17th-century chronicle of the serial reigns of Japanese emperors with brief notes about some of the noteworthy events or other happenings. According to the 1871 edition of the ''American Cyclopaedia'', the 1834 French translation of ...

''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon''.
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
Japanese empresses 1607 births 1678 deaths People of Edo-period Japan Samurai Tokugawa clan 1620s in Japan 17th-century Japanese people 17th-century Japanese women {{japan-royal-stub