The Empress Dowager - Kitanomandokoro

It is an honorific title for the wife of a regent, but in the narrow sense it refers to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's lawful wife, Oe (1548-1624). She was from Owari (Aichi Prefecture). She was the daughter of Sugihara Sadatsugu and the adopted daughter of Asano Nagakatsu. She married Hideyoshi at the age of 14 in 1561 (Eiroku 4). On April 19, 1588 (Tensho 16), she was promoted to the rank of Juichii. As a faithful wife, she was a great supporter of Hideyoshi and was filial to his birth mother. After Hideyoshi's death, she became a nun and took the name Kodaiin. In 1606 (Keicho 11), she built Kodaiji Temple in Higashiyama, Kyoto, and prayed for Hideyoshi's soul. The Tokugawa clan provided Kawachi (Osaka Prefecture) with 13,000 koku as a cosmetic allowance.

[Masanobu Hashimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

摂政関白(せっしょうかんぱく)の妻の尊称であるが、狭義には豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の正室おね（1548―1624）をいう。尾張(おわり)（愛知県）の人。杉原定利の女(むすめ)で浅野長勝の養女。1561年（永禄4）14歳で秀吉と結婚。88年（天正16）4月19日従(じゅ)一位に上る。糟糠(そうこう)の妻として内助の功あり、秀吉生母にもよく孝養を尽くした。秀吉の死後落飾して高台院(こうだいいん)と号す。1606年（慶長11）京都東山に高台寺を建て、秀吉の菩提(ぼだい)を弔った。徳川氏より化粧料として河内(かわち)（大阪府）に1万3000石を支給された。

［橋本政宣］

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