Empress Nagako

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Expand Japanese Template:Expand Thai Template:Infobox royalty Template:Nihongo,<ref name="kunaicho1">Template:Cite web</ref> posthumously honoured as Template:Nihongo,<ref name="kunaicho1"/> was a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the wife of Emperor Hirohito and the mother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. She served as Empress of Japan from 1926 until her husband's death in 1989, making her the longest-serving empress consort in Japanese history.<ref name="guardian2000">Downer, Lesely. Obituary: "Nagako, Dowager Empress of Japan," The Guardian (London). 17 June 2000.</ref>

Early life

Princess Nagako in 1910 as a child

Princess Nagako (Template:Nihongo2, Template:Transliteration) was born on 6 March 1903 in the family residence of the Kuni-no-miya in Tokyo, Japan. She belonged to one of the Ōke cadet branches of the Imperial House of Japan, which were eligible to provide an heir to the Japanese throne by adoption. By birth she held the title of princess, as the daughter of Kuniyoshi, Prince Kuni (1873–1929) and his consort, Chikako (1879–1956). While her father was a scion of the imperial family, her mother descended from daimyō, the feudal military aristocracy.<ref>Large, Stephen S. Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan: A Political Biography, pp. 25–26</ref> Nagako would later be remembered as one of the last Japanese to have experienced life within the aristocracy prior to the Second World War.<ref name="nyt2000">Template:Cite web</ref>

As a child, Nagako attended the Girls' Department of the Peers' School in Tokyo (now Gakushūin), an institution established specifically for the daughters of the aristocracy and imperial family. Among her contemporaries was Yi Bangja, Crown Princess of Korea (then Princess Masako Nashimoto). At the age of fourteen, following her betrothal to the Crown Prince, Nagako was withdrawn from school and entered a six-year training program designed to cultivate the accomplishments considered essential for a future empress.<ref name="guardian2000"/>

Marriage and children

Nagako leaves her family home to marry Crown Prince Hirohito, 1924

Nagako was betrothed at a young age to her distant cousin, Crown Prince Hirohito, in a marriage arranged by their parents, which was common in Japanese society at the time.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web)</ref> Her lineage and her father's distinguished military career were the main factors considered. Breaking with tradition, Hirohito was allowed to choose his own bride, although Nagako herself had no say in the matter. In 1917, at the age of 14, she and several other candidates for betrothal took part in a tea ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the Crown Prince observed from behind a screen.<ref name="guardian2000"/> He ultimately chose Nagako.<ref>Connors, Leslie. (1987). The Emperor's Adviser: Saionji Kinmochi and Pre-war Japanese Politics, Books.google.com, pp. 79–80</ref>

Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo, a prince from a rival clan, was reportedly opposed to Hirohito's choice. He and other royal clans tried to dissuade him, claiming that Nagako's maternal relatives included individuals with colour-blindness.<ref name="guardian2000"/><ref name="nippon">Template:Cite web</ref> In January 1919, the engagement of Princess Nagako to Crown Prince Hirohito was officially announced. During their six-year engagement, they met only nine times, each under the supervision of a chaperone.<ref name="LA-times">Template:Cite web</ref>

Peach, designated imperial personal emblem of Nagako

Princess Nagako married Crown Prince Hirohito on 26 January 1924, becoming Crown Princess of Japan.<ref name="kunaicho1"/> The wedding was delayed due to the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and an assassination attempt on Hirohito's life.<ref name="nyt2000"/><ref name="nippon"/> Their union marked the last occasion on which a future empress was chosen from the minor princely families traditionally providing brides for the main imperial line.<ref name="guardian2000"/> She became Empress of Japan upon Hirohito's accession to the throne on 25 December 1926. Unlike his predecessors, Emperor Hirohito decided to abandon the long-standing practice of maintaining concubines, despite previously having 39 court concubines.<ref name="guardian2000"/>

Over the first decade of their marriage, Empress Nagako gave birth to four daughters (see Issue).<ref name="guardian2000"/> Since she had not produced a son, courtiers urged the Emperor to take concubines, but he remained monogamous.<ref name="nyt2000"/><ref name="guardian2000"/> Critics derisively nicknamed her onna bara, meaning “girl womb” or “girl tummy.”<ref name="LA-times"/> Nearly ten years after their wedding, on 23 December 1933, the couple finally had a son, Akihito, providing Japan with an heir.<ref name="guardian2000"/> The birth sparked nationwide celebrations, which Nagako later described as "the happiest moment in my life."<ref name="nippon"/><ref name="CBS-bio">Template:Cite news</ref> Hirohito and Nagako had seven children—two sons and five daughters—three of whom predeceased Nagako (see Issue).

Empress consort

Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako in 1946

Empress Nagako performed her ceremonial duties in a traditional manner. She initially came to live in the palace during the time when people there spoke an archaic imperial form of Japanese that has largely disappeared.<ref name="nyt2000"/> Her role required her to attend special ceremonies such as those for the 2600th anniversary of the legendary foundation of the Empire of Japan in 1940 or the conquest of Singapore in 1942.<ref>David C. Earhart, Certain Victory, 2008, pp.22, 23, 65</ref>

Empress Nagako in 1956

During the Second World War, Nagako was largely confined to palace grounds and her duties involved tending to wounded generals and writing to families who had lost loved ones during the war.<ref name="guardian2000"/> Their children were sent to the countryside,<ref name="LA-times"/> while she and Hirohito resided at the Obunko imperial air-raid shelter, which was built in the Fukiage Gardens on palace grounds.<ref name="nippon"/> Nagako also assisted with growing vegetables and raising poultry.<ref name="nippon"/>

Her personal views on the war are not well known, though she is reported to have described the war years as "the hardest time of my life".<ref name="nyt2000"/> NHK reported that "her heart was in pain when she saw the emperor deeply agitated every day during and immediately after World War II."<ref name="LA-times"/> After the occupation of Japan, the court became more accepting of Western and foreign traditions and Nagako took English lessons from two American tutors.<ref name="guardian2000"/><ref name="nyt2000"/><ref name="LA-times"/> She also toured different parts of Japan to meet orphans and families who had suffered loss.<ref name="LA-times"/>

It is not clear whether Nagako openly disapproved of her son Akihito's choice of a wife when he decided to marry commoner Michiko Shōda, but it was widely reported in the press that she and her daughter-in-law had a strained relationship.<ref name="nyt2000"/><ref name="guardian2000"/><ref name="AP-bio">Template:Cite web</ref> Nagako, who was tradition-conscious, sided with those who criticized Michiko for breastfeeding her children, carrying them in public, and raising them herself.<ref name="nyt2000"/> A senior chamberlain claimed in his memoir that Michiko once directly asked her mother-in-law why she disliked her.<ref name="nyt2000"/> Michiko also held suspicions about her chief lady-in-waiting, whom she believed to be spying on her on the orders of Nagako.<ref name="nyt2000"/> Her and Akihito's attempts at dismissing the servant were unsuccessful.<ref name="nyt2000"/> The rift between the two women caused Michiko to suffer a nervous breakdown in 1963.<ref name="nyt2000"/>

Empress Nagako, Emperor Hirohito, the U.S. President Gerald Ford, and the U.S. First Lady Betty Ford at the Red Room in 1975

Nagako was the first Japanese empress consort to travel overseas.<ref name="UPI">Template:Cite web</ref> She accompanied Hirohito on his European tour in 1971 and later on his state visit to the United States in 1975.<ref name="UPI"/> She also took care of him in later years and chose his attire for him.<ref name="LA-times"/> Hirohito was said to have described their union as a source of solace and contentment and Nagako reportedly "showed a subject's deference" to him.<ref name="UPI"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Their marriage lasted nearly 65 years, the longest of any Japanese imperial couple.<ref name="AP-bio"/>

A talented artist, two collections of Nagako's paintings, which she signed as Toen or Peach Garden, were published and she gifted the UK's Queen Elizabeth II with one of her pieces in 1971.<ref name="LA-times"/> She also wrote waka, a collection of which was published in 1974.<ref name="LA-times"/> She was reported to have enjoyed singing, and played the piano, violin and Japanese harp.<ref name="nyt2000"/> Nagako suffered a fall in July 1977, injuring her spine, and following another serious fall was confined to a wheelchair from 1980 for the remainder of her life.<ref name="CBS-bio"/> The last public ceremony she took part in was her husband's 86th birthday celebrations in April 1987.<ref name="LA-times"/><ref name="AP-bio"/>

Empress dowager

After the Emperor's death on 7 January 1989, she became empress dowager.<ref name="kunaicho1"/> At that time, she was in failing health herself and could not attend her husband's funeral.<ref name="nippon"/> She was confined to a wheelchair and remained in seclusion for the rest of her life. A video of her sitting in a wheelchair beside a window was published in 1993.<ref name="nyt2000"/> There were also persistent rumours that she was suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease.<ref name="guardian2000"/><ref name="nippon"/> In 1995, she became the longest-living empress dowager of Japan, breaking the record of Empress Kanshi, who had died 868 years earlier.<ref name="guardian2000"/>

Empress Kōjun's mausoleum in the Musashi Imperial Graveyard

At the time of her death at the age of 97 in 2000, Nagako had been an empress for 74 years. In her final days, the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) announced that she was suffering from breathing problems but that the illness was not serious and she was on a respirator.<ref name="nippon"/> On 15 June, the IHA director-general told certain segments of the press that her condition had taken a turn and it was reported that she had slipped into a coma on the next day after her blood pressure dropped.<ref name="nippon"/><ref name="LA-times"/><ref name="AP-bio"/>

Nagako died at 4:46 pm on 16 June 2000, with her family at her side.<ref name="nyt2000"/> Her son Akihito, who had been carrying out public engagements earlier in the day, immediately went to Fukiage Palace and reportedly held his mother's hand as she died.<ref name="nippon"/> At his request, no injections or intravenous fluids were administered to prevent any suffering.<ref name="nippon"/> The IHA announced her death at 6:30 pm and gave "old age" as the cause of death.<ref name="nyt2000"/><ref name="nippon"/>

Following the announcement, neon signs in Ginza and the lights in Tokyo Tower were turned off.<ref name="LA-times"/> The flags flew at half-mast on government buildings, and music and dance were excluded from public events for a day.<ref name="CBS-bio"/><ref name="UPI"/> People also gathered outside palace gates to pay their respects.<ref name="CBS-bio"/>

A mourning period of 150 days was declared by the imperial court.<ref name="LA-times"/><ref name="UPI"/> A team was set up by the IHA to organize her funeral, which largely followed the customs implemented at her mother-in-law Empress Teimei's funeral in 1951.<ref name="UPI"/> Her funeral was held at the Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery on 25 July 2000 and was attended by one thousand mourners, including members of the imperial family, government leaders and foreign diplomats.<ref name="BBC-report">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her son Akihito was the chief mourner during the service, which featured elements of the Shinto religion.<ref name="BBC-report"/> Hundreds of mourners also gathered outside cemetery gates.<ref name="BBC-report"/>

Emperor Akihito granted his mother the posthumous title of Empress Kōjun, which means "fragrant purity", drawing inspiration from the Kaifūsō.<ref name="kunaicho1"/><ref name="nippon"/> Her final resting place is in a mausoleum named Musashino no Higashi no Misasagi, near that of her husband within the Musashi Imperial Graveyard.<ref name="kunaicho1"/>

Honours

National

Foreign

Issue

Empress Kōjun and Emperor Shōwa had seven children (two sons and five daughters). Template:Clear

Name Birth Death Marriage Children
Date Spouse
Shigeko Higashikuni
(Shigeko, Princess Teru) 		9 December 1925 23 July 1961 10 October 1943 Prince Morihiro Higashikuni Template:Ubli
Sachiko, Princess Hisa 10 September 1927 8 March 1928 colspan="3" Template:N/a
Kazuko Takatsukasa
(Kazuko, Princess Taka) 		30 September 1929 26 May 1989 20 May 1950 Toshimichi Takatsukasa Naotake Takatsukasa (adopted)
Atsuko Ikeda
(Atsuko, Princess Yori) 		Template:Birth date and age 10 October 1952 Takamasa Ikeda Motohiro Ikeda (adopted)
Akihito, Emperor Emeritus of Japan
(Akihito, Prince Tsugu) 		Template:Birth date and age 10 April 1959 Michiko Shōda Template:Ubli
Masahito, Prince Hitachi
(Masahito, Prince Yoshi) 		Template:Birth date and age 30 September 1964 Hanako Tsugaru Template:N/a
Takako Shimazu
(Takako, Princess Suga) 		Template:Birth date and age 10 March 1960 Hisanaga Shimazu Yoshihisa Shimazu

See also

Notes

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Citations

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References

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