Tōshōin (洞松院, born in the 1460s) or Akamatsu Tōshōin was a Japanese noble who acted as the

power behind the throne The phrase "power behind the throne" refers to a person or group that informally exercises the real power of a high-ranking office, such as a head of state. In politics, it most commonly refers to a relative, aide, or nominal subordinate of a poli ...

or ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

of the

Akamatsu clan is a Japanese samurai family of direct descent from Minamoto no Morifusa of the Murakami-Genji. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Akamatsu" at ''Nobiliare du Japon' ...

during the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. She was the daughter of

Hosokawa Katsumoto was one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shōgun, during Japan's Muromachi period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked the 1 ...

, sister of

Hosokawa Masamoto was a deputy-''shōgun'' of the Hosokawa clan of Japan, and son of Hosokawa Katsumoto. Masamoto was appointed to this rank during 1486. For a brief period this title was lost by Hatakeyama Masanaga but was regained in time. When Ashikaga Yosh ...

, and wife of

Akamatsu Masanori was one of the chief generals of the Hosokawa clan in the Ōnin War. Early life Masanori was a son of Akamatsu Masamoto. Daimyo Masanori succeeded his father as head of the Akamatsu clan. In 1458, Masanori was appointed governor or constable ...

. Tōshōin was a ''de facto''

Daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

who supported the

as a guardian of Akamatsu Yoshimura. She took explicit control of the clan as the leader in 1521, after Yoshimura was assassinated. *

References

1460s births Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown Keichō-Hosokawa clan Daimyo People of Sengoku-period Japan 16th-century women rulers 16th-century women politicians Japanese women in politics 15th-century Japanese people 15th-century Japanese women 16th-century Japanese people 16th-century Japanese women Women of medieval Japan Samurai {{Japan-mil-bio-stub

See also

References