Empress Shōken

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(Redirected from
Empress Haruko
)
The native form of this personal name is Ichijō Masako. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Empress Dowager Shōken
昭憲皇太后
Numazu, Japan
Burial
Fushimi Momoyama no Higashi no Misasagi, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto
, Japan
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1869; died 1912)​
HouseImperial House of Japan (by marriage)
FatherTadayoshi Ichijō
MotherTamiko Niihata

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[1], 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.

Early life

Masako Ichijō was born on 9 May 1849, in

finances, ikebana and Japanese tea ceremony.[2]

Masako in traditional clothes (1865)

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.[2] 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

ryō in gold for the wedding and assigned her an annual income of 500 koku, but as the Meiji Restoration 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, for her brother Saneyoshi, and the political disturbances around Kyoto between 1867 and 1868.[2]

Empress of Japan

Haruko and Emperor Meiji's wedding was finally officially celebrated on 11 January 1869.

Yanagihara Naruko, who became Crown Prince. On 8 November 1869, the Imperial House departed from Kyoto for the new capital of Tokyo.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

The Imperial Family in 1900. From left to right: Princess Fusako, Crown Princess Sadako, Princess Nobuko, Emperor Mutsuhito, Princess Toshiko, Empress Haruko, Crown Prince Yoshihito and Princess Masako

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 on the subject: traditional Japanese dress was not only unsuited to modern life, but Western-style dress was closer than the kimono to clothes worn by Japanese women in ancient times.[6]

In the diplomatic field, Empress Haruko hosted the wife of former

George V), who presented her with a pair of pet wallabies from Australia.[7]

The Emperor and the Empress ride a horse-drawn carriage to attend the constitutional celebration on 11 February 1889.

On 26 November 1886, Empress Haruko accompanied her husband to

Nara to worship at the principal Shinto shrines.[10]

Known throughout her tenure for her support of charity work and women's education during the

International Red Cross. Renamed "The Empress Shōken Fund", it is presently used for international welfare activities. After Emperor Meiji moved his military headquarters from Tokyo to Hiroshima 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.[11]

Death

After Emperor Meiji's death in 1912, Empress Haruko was granted the title

Aichi prefecture
.

Honours

National

Foreign

She received the following orders and decorations:[13]

Ancestry

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b 大正3年宮内省告示第9号 (Imperial Household Ministry's 9th announcement in 1914)
  2. ^ a b c d Keene, Donald. (2005). Emperor of Japan:Meiji and His World, pp. 106–108.
  3. ^ Keene, p. 188.
  4. ^ Keene, p. 202.
  5. ^ Donald Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912, 2010
  6. ^ Keene, p. 404.
  7. ^ Keene, pp. 350–351.
  8. ^ Keene, p. 411.
  9. ^ Keene, p. 416.
  10. ^ Keene, p. 433.
  11. ^ Keene, p. 502.
  12. ISBN 9789004290594
    .
  13. ^ 刑部芳則 (2017). 明治時代の勲章外交儀礼 (PDF) (in Japanese). 明治聖徳記念学会紀要. p. 141.
  14. Royal Thai Government Gazette (11 February 1900). "บอกอรรคราชทูตสยาม เรื่องเฝ้าถวายเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์เอมเปรสกรุงญี่ปุ่นถวายเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ บรมมหาจักรีวงษ์ฝ่ายใน ซึ่งสมเด็จพระบรมราชินีนารถมีพระราชเสาวณีย์โปรดเกล้า ฯ ให้เชิญมาถวายเอมเปรสญี่ปุ่น" (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-08. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  15. ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 October 2017.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Empress Shōken.
Japanese royalty
Preceded by
Takatsukasa Tsunako
(title granted posthumously)
Empress consort of Japan

1869–1912 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Empress dowager of Japan

1912–1914 		Succeeded by
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