Topic summary
Empress Shōken
Masako Ichijō (一条勝子, Ichijō Masako; 9 May 1849 – 9 April 1914), who adopted the imperial given name Haruko (美子) in 1867 and was posthumously honoured as Empress Dowager Shōken (昭憲皇太后, Shōken Kōtaigō), was the wife of Emperor Meiji of Japan. She was one of the founders of the Japanese Red Cross Society, whose charity work was known throughout the First Sino-Japanese War.