Shōken

Empress Haruko in traditional Japanese garb (1872), photograph by Uchida Kuichi

Empress Shoken dressed according to western fashion.

Empress Shōken ( Japanese 昭憲皇 后 Shōken-kōgō ; * May 9, 1849 ; † April 9, 1914 ), also known as Shōken-kōtaigō ( Japanese 昭憲皇 太后 ; German Empress Dowager Shōken ), was the imperial wife of Meiji - Tennō .

Life until marriage

Born as Ichijō Masako ( Japanese 一条 勝 子 ), the future Empress Shōken was the third daughter of Ichijō Tadaka , the former Chancellor on the left ( Sadaijin ) and head of the Ichijō branch of the Fujiwara family . Her mother was a daughter of Prince Fushimi Kuniies .

In early childhood, Princess Masako was almost seen as a child prodigy. As a four-year-old she could read poems from the Kokin-wakashū and wrote her own waka verses when she was only five years old. As a seven-year-old she was able to read classical Chinese texts with little support, and studied Shodō , Japanese calligraphy . At the age of twelve she dealt with playing the koto and was enthusiastic about the Nō theater. She also learned Ikebana and the Japanese tea ceremony . A major obstacle to her eligibility as Imperial Wife was that she was three years older than the Meiji-Tenno. However, the matter was resolved by changing her official date of birth from 1849 to 1850.

On September 2, 1867, she was engaged to the Meiji-Tenno and took the name Haruko ( Japanese 美 子 ), which should allude to her small body size and quiet beauty. The Tokugawa - Bakufu (shogunate military government) offered 15,000 ryō in gold for the wedding and assigned her an annual income of 500 koku . However, since the Tokugawa military government was overthrown by the Meiji Restoration before the marriage was concluded, the promised amounts were not paid out. The wedding was delayed, partly because of the mourning periods for the Kōmei -Tennō and her brother Ichijō Saneyoshi, partly because of the political unrest around Kyoto during 1867 and 1868. The wedding was finally officially celebrated on January 11, 1869.

She was the first imperial wife after several centuries to receive the two titles nyōgō and kōgō (literally the emperor's wife , translated as the emperor's wife).

Although she was the first Japanese imperial wife to play a public role, it soon became clear that it was impossible for her to bear children. The Meiji-Tennō, however, had 15 children with five official chambermaids . As was the tradition of the Japanese monarchy, Haruko Yoshihito adopted her husband's eldest son with concubine Yanagiwara Naruko. Yoshihito became the official heir to the throne and ascended the throne as Taishō-Tennō after the death of his father.

Empress consort

On November 8, 1869, the Empress left Kyoto for the new Japanese capital, Tokyo . Breaking with tradition, the Meiji-Tenno insisted that she and the women of the Upper Chamber be present at the regular lectures on conditions in Japan and on events and developments abroad.

From 1886 onwards, the empress and her court only wore western-style clothing to public appearances. In 1887, she even published a memorandum on the subject, in which she argued not only that traditional Japanese garments were unsuitable for modern life, but also that Western clothes (than kimono ) were more like clothes worn by women in Japan's prehistoric times .

In the diplomatic field she acted as hostess for the wife of the US-American ex-president Ulysses S. Grant during his visit to Japan in 1881 . She was also present during his talks with the Hawaiian King Kalākaua . In the same year she took part in the reception of the sons of the English King Edward VII , Prince Albert and George, who later became King George V , to whom she presented a pair of tamed wallabies .

On November 26th, 1886 the Empress accompanied her husband to Yokosuka to watch the new cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Naniwa and Takachiho fire torpedoes and perform other maneuvers. From 1887 she was often on official visits to schools, factories and army maneuvers at the side of the Tennō. When the Tennō fell ill in 1888, she took his place at the reception of the ambassadors from Siam , when launching warships and when visiting the Imperial University of Tokyo .

In 1889 she accompanied the Meiji-Tennō on his official visits to Nagoya and Kyōto. While the Tennō drove to the naval bases at Kure and Sasebo , she looked for the most important Shinto shrines in Nara .

During her reign, she was known for supporting charities and promoting educational institutions for women. During the First Sino-Japanese War , she was committed to founding the Japanese Red Cross . Since the work of the Red Cross was of particular concern to her, even during peacetime, she set up a fund for the International Red Cross , which was later named in her honor "The Empress Shoken Fund". This fund is used today for international welfare activities. During the war, after the Tennō had moved the military headquarters from Tokyo to Hiroshima in order to shorten the lines of communication to his troops, the Empress visited him there in March together with his two favorite concubines. While in Hiroshima, she insisted on visiting hospitals regularly where injured soldiers were treated.

Empress widow

With the death of Meiji-Tennō in 1912, the Taishō-Tennō gave her the title Kōtaigō ( 皇太后 dt. Empress Dowager ). She died on April 9, 1914 in the imperial villa in Numazu and was buried in the east hill of Fushimi Momoyama-ryō in Fushimi next to the Meiji-Tennō. On May 9, 1914, she was given the posthumous name Shōken-kōtaigō . Together with the Meiji Tenno, she is remembered in the Meiji Shrine to this day .

swell

• Fujitani, T. Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan . University of California Press; Reprint edition (1998). ISBN 0-520-21371-8
• Hoyt, Edwin P. Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man . Praeger Publishers (1992). ISBN 0-275-94069-1
• Keane, Donald. Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912 . Columbia University Press (2005). ISBN 0-231-12341-8
• Lebra, Sugiyama Takie. Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility . University of California Press (1995). ISBN 0-520-07602-8

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 106-108.
2. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 188.
3. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 202.
4. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 404.
5. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 350-351.
6. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 411.
7. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 416.
8. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 433.
9. ^ Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World . page 502.
10. ↑ 大 正 3 年 宮内 省 告示 第 9 号 (Imperial Household Ministry's 9th announcement in 1914)