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, who adopted the imperial given name in 1867 and was posthumously honoured as , was the wife of
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. She was one of the founders of the Japanese Red Cross Society, whose charity work was known throughout the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
.


Early life

Masako Ichijō was born on 9 May 1849, in
Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, mo ...
, Japan. She was the third daughter of Tadayoshi Ichijō, former Minister of the Left and head of the
Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...
's Ichijō branch. Her adoptive mother was one of
Prince Fushimi Kuniie was Japanese royalty. He was the 20th/23rd prince head of the House of Fushimi and the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Sadayuki (1776–1841) and his concubine Seiko, which made him the 11th cousin of Emperor Sakuramachi. Despite being merely a d ...
's daughters, but her biological mother was Tamiko Niihata, the daughter of a doctor from the Ichijō family. Unusual for the time, she had been
vaccinated A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
against
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
. As a child, Masako was somewhat of a prodigy: she was able to read poetry from the ''
Kokin Wakashū The , commonly abbreviated as , is an early anthology of the '' waka'' form of Japanese poetry, dating from the Heian period. An imperial anthology, it was conceived by Emperor Uda () and published by order of his son Emperor Daigo () in abou ...
'' by the age of 4 and had composed some '' waka'' verses of her own by the age of 5. By age seven, she was able to read some texts in
classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...
with some assistance and was studying
Japanese calligraphy , also called , is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. Japanese writing system, Written Japanese was originally based on Man'yōgana, Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japane ...
. By the age of 12, she had studied the '' koto'' and was fond of '' Noh'' drama. She excelled in the studies of
finances Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and discipline of money, currency, assets and liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business Administration wich study the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of an o ...
, ''
ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The origin of ikebana can be traced back to the ancient Japanese custom of erecting Evergreen, evergreen trees and decorating them with flowers as yorishiro () to invite the go ...
'' and
Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Culture of Japan, Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japa ...
.Keene, Donald. (2005). ''Emperor of Japan:Meiji and His World,'' pp. 106–108. The major obstacle to Masako's eligibility to become empress consort was the fact that she was 3 years older than Emperor Meiji, but this issue was resolved by changing her official birth date from 1849 to 1850. They became engaged on 2 September 1867, when she adopted the given name ''Haruko'', which was intended to reflect her serene beauty and diminutive size. The
Tokugawa Bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
promised 15,000
ryō The was a gold currency unit in the shakkanhō system in pre- Meiji Japan. It was eventually replaced with a system based on the '' yen''. Origins The ''ryō'' was originally a unit of weight from China, the ''tael.'' It came into use in Ja ...
in gold for the wedding and assigned her an annual
income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...
of 500 ''
koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. One koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about of rice. It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1,000 gō. One ''gō'' is the traditional volume of a single serving of rice (before co ...
'', but as the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
occurred before the wedding could be completed, the promised amounts were never delivered. The wedding was delayed partly due to periods of mourning for
Emperor Kōmei Osahito (22 July 1831 – 30 January 1867), posthumously honored as Emperor Kōmei, was the 121st emperor of Japan, according to the List of Emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 ...
, for her brother Saneyoshi, and the political disturbances around
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
between 1867 and 1868.


Empress of Japan

Haruko and Emperor Meiji's wedding was finally officially celebrated on 11 January 1869. She was the first imperial consort to receive the title of both ''nyōgō'' and of ''kōgō'' (literally, the emperor's wife, translated as "empress consort"), in several hundred years. However, it soon became clear that she was unable to bear children. Emperor Meiji already had 12 children by 5 concubines, though: as custom in Japanese monarchy, Empress Haruko adopted Yoshihito, her husband's eldest son by Yanagihara Naruko, who became Crown Prince. On 8 November 1869, the Imperial House departed from Kyoto for the new capital of
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. In a break from tradition, Emperor Meiji insisted that the Empress and the senior ladies-in-waiting should attend the educational lectures given to the Emperor on a regular basis about national conditions and developments in foreign nations.


Influence

On 30 July 1886, Empress Haruko attended the Peeresses School's graduation ceremony in Western clothing. On 10 August, the imperial couple received foreign guests in Western clothing for the first time when hosting a Western Music concert. From this point onward, the Empress' entourage wore only Western-style clothes in public, to the point that in January 1887 Empress Haruko issued a
memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...
on the subject: traditional Japanese dress was not only unsuited to modern life, but Western-style dress was closer than the
kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...
to clothes worn by Japanese women in ancient times. In the diplomatic field, Empress Haruko hosted the wife of former
US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
during his visit to Japan. She was also present for her husband's meetings with Hawaiian King
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
in 1881. Later that same year, she helped host the visit of the sons of future British
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
: Princes Albert Victor and George (future
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
), who presented her with a pair of pet
wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...
from
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. On 26 November 1886, Empress Haruko accompanied her husband to
Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is ...
to observe the new
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s ''Naniwa'' and ''Takachiho'' firing
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es and performing other maneuvers. From 1887, the Empress was often at the Emperor's side in official visits to army maneuvers. When Emperor Meiji fell ill in 1888, Empress Haruko took his place in welcoming envoys from
Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, launching warships and visiting
Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
. In 1889, Empress Haruko accompanied Emperor Meiji on his official visit to
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
and Kyoto. While he continued on to visit naval bases at Kure and
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...
, she went to
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
to worship at the principal
Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...
s. Known throughout her tenure for her support of charity work and women's education during the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...
(1894–95), Empress Haruko worked for the establishment of the
Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan has traditionally supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters ...
Society. She participated in the organization's administration, especially in their peacetime activities in which she created a
money fund A money market fund (also called a money market mutual fund) is an open-end mutual fund that invests in short-term debt securities such as US Treasury bills and commercial paper. Money market funds are managed with the goal of maintaining a hig ...
for the
International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...
. Renamed "The Empress Shōken Fund", it is presently used for international welfare activities. After Emperor Meiji moved his military headquarters from Tokyo to
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
to be closer to the lines of communications with his troops, Empress Haruko joined her husband in March 1895. While in Hiroshima, she insisted on visiting hospitals full of wounded soldiers every other day of her stay.


Death

After Emperor Meiji's death in 1912, Empress Haruko was granted the title by her adoptive son,
Emperor Taishō , posthumously honored as , was the 123rd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. His reign, known as the Taishō era, was characterized by a liberal and democratic shift in ...
. She died in 1914 at the Imperial Villa in
Numazu, Shizuoka is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the n ...
and was buried in the East Mound of the ''Fushimi Momoyama Ryo'' in
Fushimi, Kyoto is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Famous places in Fushimi include the Fushimi Inari Shrine, with thousands of torii lining the paths up and down a mountain; Fushimi Castle, originally built by Toyotom ...
, next to her husband. The
Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-ku, Kyoto#Sights, Fushimi-momoyama, south ...
in Tokyo was dedicated to her and her late husband. On 9 May 1914, she received the posthumous name "Empress Dowager Shōken" (昭憲皇太后, ''Shōken Kōtaigō''). Her railway-carriage can be seen today in the Meiji Mura Museum, in Inuyama,
Aichi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...
.


Honours


National

* Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...
, ''1 November 1888''


Foreign

She received the following orders and decorations: * : Grand Cross of the Order of St. Catherine, ''13 December 1887'' * : Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, ''29 November 1889'' * : Dame of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, ''12 October 1899'' * : Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Class, ''19 May 1903'' ** : Dame of Honour of the Order of Theresa, ''29 February 1904'' * : Grand Cordon of the Order of the Auspicious Phoenix, ''27 July 1908''


Ancestry


See also

*
Empress 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. The current empress consort is Empress Masako, who ascended the throne with her husband on 1 May 2019. Empress regnant Titles * ...
* Ōmiya Palace


Notes


References

* Fujitani, Takashi (1998). ''Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan.'' Berkeley:
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
. ; * Hoyt, Edwin P. (1992). ''Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man''. New York: Praeger Publishers. ; * Keene, Donald (2002). ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852–1912''. New York:
Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...
. ; * Lebra, Sugiyama Takie (1996). ''Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility.'' Berkeley: University of California Press. ;


External links


The Empress Shoken Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoken, Empress 1849 births 1914 deaths Nobility from Kyoto Japanese empresses consort People of the Meiji era Emperor Meiji Ichijō family Japanese philanthropists Japanese women philanthropists 19th-century Japanese women Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown Recipients of the Order of Saint Catherine