View source for Empress Teimei

{{Short description|Empress of Japan from 1912 to 1926}}
{{Eastern name order|Kujō Sadako}}
{{more footnotes|date = September 2013}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| name         = Empress Teimei<br>{{nobold|{{lang|ja|貞明皇后}}}}
| image        = Empress_Sadako-big-1912.jpg
| caption      = Formal portrait, 1912
| succession   = [[Empress consort of Japan]]
| reign        = 30 July 1912 –<br /> 25 December 1926
| coronation   = 10 November 1915
| cor-type     = Japan
| succession1  = [[Empress dowager of Japan]]
| reign1       = 25 December 1926 –<br /> 17 May 1951
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Emperor Taishō|Yoshihito, Emperor Taishō]]|10 May 1900|25 December 1926|reason=died}}
| issue        = {{plain list|
* [[Hirohito|Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa]]
* [[Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu]]
* [[Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu]]
* [[Takahito, Prince Mikasa]]
}}
| birth_name   = {{nihongo|Sadako Kujō|九条節子}}
| posthumous name = {{awrap|Empress Teimei ({{lang|ja|貞明皇后}})}}
| house        = [[Fujiwara clan]] (by birth) <br>[[Imperial House of Japan]] (by marriage)
| father       = [[Kujō Michitaka]]
| mother       = Ikuko Noma (concubine)
| religion     = [[Shinto]] and [[Nichiren Shōshū]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1884|6|25|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Nishikichō]], [[Tokyo Prefecture]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1951|5|17|1884|6|25|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Ōmiya Palace]], [[Minato, Tokyo]], Japan
| burial_date  = 22 June 1951
| burial_place = [[Musashi Imperial Graveyard]]|
}}
{{nihongo|'''Sadako Kujō'''|九条節子|Kujō Sadako|extra=25 June 1884 – 17 May 1951}}, posthumously honoured as {{nihongo|'''Empress Teimei'''|貞明皇后|''Teimei Kōgō''}}, was the wife of [[Emperor Taishō]] and the mother of [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]]. Her posthumous name, ''Teimei'', means "enlightened constancy". She was also the paternal grandmother of [[Emperor Emeritus Akihito]], and the paternal great-grandmother of [[Emperor Naruhito]].

==Biography==
Sadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in [[Tokyo]], as the fourth daughter of Duke [[Michitaka Kujō]], head of [[Kujō family|Kujō branch]] of the [[Fujiwara family|Fujiwara clan]]. Her mother was Ikuko Noma ([[Concubinage]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oldphoto.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/target.php?id=4861|title=Detail &#124; Old Japanese Photographs in Bakumatsu-Meiji Period}}</ref>

She married then-Crown Prince Yoshihito (the future [[Emperor Taishō]]) on 10 May 1900, at the age of 15. The couple lived in the newly constructed [[Akasaka Palace]] in Tokyo, outside of the main [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]] complex. When she gave birth to a son, [[Hirohito|Hirohito, Prince Michi]] (the future Emperor Shōwa) in 1901, she was the first official wife of a Crown Prince or Emperor to have given birth to the official heir to the throne since 1750.

She became {{nihongo|[[Empress of Japan#Empress consort|empress consort]]|皇后|Kōgō}} when her husband ascended to the throne on 30 July 1912 following the death of her father-in-law, [[Emperor Meiji]]. Given her husband's weak physical and mental condition, she exerted a strong influence on imperial life, and was an active patron of [[Japanese Red Cross Society]]. The relations between the Emperor and Empress of [[Taishō era|Taishō period]] were very good, as evidenced by Emperor Taishō's lack of interest in taking [[concubine]]s, thus breaking with hundreds of years of imperial tradition, and by her giving birth to four sons.

After the death of Emperor Taishō on 25 December 1926, her title became that of {{nihongo|[[Dowager Empress]]|皇太后|Kōtaigō}} (which means "widow of the former emperor"). She openly objected to Japan's involvement in [[World War II]], which might have caused conflict with her eldest son, emperor [[Hirohito]]. From 1943, she also worked behind the scenes with her third son [[Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu]] to bring about the downfall of [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Hideki Tōjō]].

She was a [[Buddhism in Japan|Buddhist]] adherent who had faith in [[Nichiren Shoshu]] and prayed with the [[Shinto]] ritual ceremonies of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

She died on 17 May 1951 at [[Omiya Palace]] in Tokyo, aged 66, and was buried near her husband, Emperor Taishō, in the ''Tama no higashi no misasagi'' (多摩東陵) at the [[Musashi Imperial Graveyard]] in Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://madmonarchist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/consort-profile-empress-teimei-of-japan.html|title = The Mad Monarchist: Consort Profile: Empress Teimei of Japan|date = November 2010}}</ref>

==Honours==
===National===
* Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Sacred Treasure|Order of Meiji]]
* Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Precious Crown]]

=== Foreign ===
* {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}}: The 1,060th [[knight|Dame]] of the [[Order of Queen Maria Luisa|Royal Order of Queen Maria Luisa]]

==Issue==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="col" | Name
! rowspan="2" scope="col" | Birth
! rowspan="2" scope="col" |Death
! colspan="2" scope="col" | Marriage
! rowspan="2" scope="col" | Their children
|-
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Spouse
|-
! scope="row" | [[Hirohito|Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa]]<br>(Hirohito, Prince Michi)
|29 April 1901
|7 January 1989
|26 January 1924
|[[Empress Kōjun|Princess Nagako of Kuni]]
|{{plainlist|
* [[Shigeko Higashikuni]] (Shigeko, Princess Teru)
* [[Sachiko, Princess Hisa]]
* [[Kazuko Takatsukasa]] (Kazuko, Princess Taka)
* [[Atsuko Ikeda]] (Atsuko, Princess Yori)
* [[Akihito|Emperor Emeritus Akihito]] (Akihito, Prince Tsugu)
* [[Masahito, Prince Hitachi]] (Masahito, Prince Yoshi)
* [[Takako Shimazu]] (Takako, Princess Suga)
}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu]]<br>(Yasuhito, Prince Atsu)
|25 June 1902
|4 January 1953
|28 September 1928
|[[Setsuko, Princess Chichibu|Setsuko Matsudaira]]
|{{n/a|none}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu]]<br>(Nobuhito, Prince Teru)
|3 January 1905
|3 February 1987
|4 February 1930
|[[Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu|Kikuko Tokugawa]]
|{{n/a|none}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Takahito, Prince Mikasa]]<br>(Takahito, Prince Sumi)
|2 December 1915
|27 October 2016
|22 October 1941
|[[Yuriko, Princess Mikasa|Yuriko Takagi]]
|{{plainlist|
* [[Yasuko Konoe]] (Princess Yasuko of Mikasa)
* [[Prince Tomohito of Mikasa]]
* [[Yoshihito, Prince Katsura]]
* [[Masako Sen]] (Princess Masako of Mikasa)
* [[Norihito, Prince Takamado]]
}}
|}

== Ancestry ==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center |ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reichsarchiv.jp/%e5%ae%b6%e7%b3%bb%e3%83%aa%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88/%e4%b9%9d%e6%9d%a1%ef%bc%88%e4%b9%9d%e6%a2%9d%ef%bc%89%e5%ae%b6%ef%bc%88%e6%91%82%e5%ae%b6%ef%bc%89#domititaka|title=Genealogy|website=Reichsarchiv|access-date=5 September 2017|language=ja}}</ref>
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Empress Teimei'''
|2= 2. Prince [[Kujō Michitaka]] (1839–1906)
|3= 3. Noma Ikuko
|4= 4. [[Kujō Hisatada]] (1798–1871)
|5= 5. Karahashi Meiko (1796–1881)
|6= 6. Noma Yorioki
|7= 7. Yamokushi Kairi
|8= 8. [[Nijō Harutaka]] (1754–1826)
|9= 9. Higuchi Nobuko (1751–1845)
|10= 10. Shōbai
|11= 
|12=  
|13=  
|14=  
|15=  
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
Image:Sadako Kujo wedding.jpg|Crown Princess Sadako on her wedding day in 1900
Image:Wisteria floribunda5.jpg|Japanese wisteria, ''[[Wisteria floribunda]]'', designated imperial personal emblem of Sadako
Image:Empress Teimei at enthronement in 1912.jpg|The newly enthroned Empress Sadako in ''[[jūnihitoe]]'', 1912
Image:Empress Sadako with Prince of Wales in 1922.jpg|Empress Sadako participating [[cherry blossom]] viewing party with her eldest son, Crown Prince Hirohito and [[Edward VIII|Edward, Prince of Wales]] at [[Shinjuku Gyo-en]] in 1922
File:HIM Empress Tenmei's personal visit.jpg|Empress Sadako visiting survivors after the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]]
File:Empress Teimei and Crown Prince Akihito.JPG|Empress Dowager Sadako with her grandson, Crown Prince [[Akihito]] in 1949
File:Takatsukasa Wedding 1950 5 20.jpg|From left to right: [[Kazuko Takatsukasa|Kazuko, Princess Taka]] (granddaughter), [[Toshimichi Takatsukasa]] (grandson-in-law), Emperor [[Hirohito]] (eldest son), [[Empress Kōjun|Empress Nagako]] (daughter-in-law) and Empress Dowager Sadako in May 1950
File:Funeral_of_Empress_Teimei.JPG|State funeral of Empress Teimei, 22 June 1951
File:Tama-higashi-no-misasagi.jpg|Empress Teimei's mausoleum in the [[Musashi Imperial Graveyard]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Empress of Japan]]
* [[Ōmiya Palace]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|1}}

==References==
* [[Herbert Bix|Bix, Herbert P.]] (2000). ''[[Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan]].'' New York: [[HarperCollins]]. {{ISBN|978-0-06-019314-0}}; {{OCLC|247018161}}
* Fujitani, Takashi. (1998). ''Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan.''. Berkeley: [[University of California Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-520-20237-5}}; {{OCLC|246558189}}—Reprint edition, 1998. {{ISBN|0-520-21371-8}}
* [[Edwin Palmer Hoyt|Hoyt]], Edwin P. (1992). ''Hirohito: The Emperor and the Man''. New York: [[Praeger Publishers]]. {{ISBN|978-0-275-94069-0}}; {{OCLC|23766658}}

{{s-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Imperial House of Japan]]|3=1884|5=1951|25 June|4=17 May}}
{{s-roy|jp}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Empress Shōken|Ichijō Masako]]
| title = [[Empress of Japan#Empress consort|Empress consort of Japan]]
| after = [[Empress Nagako|Princess Nagako of Kuni]]
| years = 1912–1926
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Empress Shōken|Ichijō Masako]]
| title = [[Empress of Japan|Empress dowager of Japan]]
| after = [[Empress Nagako|Princess Nagako of Kuni]]
| years = 1926–1951
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Consorts of Japan}}
{{Empress dowagers of Japan}}
{{Japanese princesses by marriage}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teimei, Empress}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Chiyoda, Tokyo]]
[[Category:Japanese empresses consort]]
[[Category:Kujō family]]
[[Category:Emperor Taishō]]
[[Category:Mothers of Japanese emperors]]
[[Category:Japanese Shintoists]]
[[Category:19th-century Shintoists]]
[[Category:20th-century Shintoists]]
[[Category:Japanese Buddhists]]
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[[Category:Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class]]
[[Category:Nichiren Buddhists]]
[[Category:Nichiren Shōshū]]
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