Kazunomiya

Princess Chikako. She was the eighth daughter of Emperor Ninko and wife of the 14th Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi. She was born on May 10th, leap year, 1281. Her mother was Keishi (Kangyoin), daughter of the Councillor Gon Dainagon Hashimoto Sanehisa, and she was raised at the Hashimoto residence after her birth. In July 1851 (Kaei 4), at the age of 6, she was engaged to Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. However, from 1858 (Ansei 5), with the aim of harmonizing relations between the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, the Chief Advisor Ii Naosuke and others began to plan a marriage to Edo. As a result, thanks to the efforts of the senior councilor Ando Nobumasa, her wedding with Shogun Iemochi took place in Edo on February 11, 62 (Bunkyu 2). The two were the same age. However, Shogun Iemochi died of an illness in Osaka Castle on July 20, 66 (Keio 2) when he went to Kyoto for the third time to attack Choshu for the second time. The 21-year-old Kazunomiya stayed in Edo Castle, and in December she shaved her head and took the name Seikan'in no Miya. When Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu succeeded to the position of Shogun, Kazunomiya suppressed the support of 4-year-old Tayasu Kamenosuke (later the 16th Shogun Iesato) and worked hard to settle the matter by making him Yoshinobu's successor. During the Boshin War in 1868 (Meiji 1), at the request of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, when Imperial Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition, departed, she sent her maid, Tsuchimikado Fujiko, to Tokyo to explain the Tokugawa's position as an "enemy of the court" and to plead for the preservation of the family name. After Edo Castle was surrendered, she moved to the Shimizu residence outside the castle, and returned to Kyoto in January 1869, where she stayed until June 1874, when she returned to Tokyo once again. From August 1877 (Meiji 10), she stayed at Tonosawa Onsen in Hakone to treat her chronic illness, beriberi, and died there on September 2nd. Her grave is in the same place as Iemochi's, within the grounds of Zojoji Temple in Shiba, Tokyo.

[Hachiro Kawachi]

"Princess Kazunomiya" by Toshio Takebe (1965, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

親子(ちかこ)内親王。仁孝(にんこう)天皇の第八皇女、14代将軍徳川家茂(いえもち)夫人。弘化(こうか)3年閏(うるう)5月10日生まれ。母は議奏(ぎそう)権大納言(ごんだいなごん)橋本実久(さねひさ)の女(むすめ)経子（観行院(かんぎょういん)）で、誕生後、橋本邸で養育された。1851年（嘉永4）7月、6歳で、有栖川宮熾仁(ありすがわのみやたるひと)親王と婚約した。しかし、58年（安政5）以降、公武関係融和を目ざして、大老井伊直弼(いいなおすけ)らを中心に江戸降嫁が画策され始めた。その結果、老中安藤信正(のぶまさ)の尽力によって、62年（文久2）2月11日には江戸で将軍家茂との婚儀が行われた。2人は同年齢である。しかし、将軍家茂は、第二次長州攻撃のため三度目の上洛(じょうらく)をしたとき66年（慶応2）7月20日、大坂城で病死した。21歳の和宮は江戸城にとどまり、12月に薙髪(ちはつ)して静寛院宮(せいかんいんのみや)と名のった。一橋慶喜(ひとつばしよしのぶ)の将軍襲職にあたって、和宮は、4歳の田安亀之助(たやすかめのすけ)（のち将軍家16代家達(いえさと)）の擁立派を抑え、彼を慶喜の継嗣(けいし)とすることで収めるように尽力した。68年（明治1）戊辰(ぼしん)の役では、東征大総督有栖川宮熾仁親王の進発にあたって、徳川慶喜の懇願を受けて、侍女の土御門(つちみかど)藤子を上京させ、徳川家の「朝敵」の立場を弁明し、家名存続を嘆願した。江戸城開城後、城外の清水邸に移り、69年正月に京都に戻って74年6月まで滞在、ふたたび東京に帰った。77年（明治10）8月から、持病の脚気(かっけ)治療のため、箱根塔ノ沢温泉に滞在、9月2日そこで病死した。墓所は、家茂と同じ、東京・芝の増上寺境内。

［河内八郎］

『武部敏夫著『和宮』（1965・吉川弘文館）』

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