Empress Shoken

Japanese: 昭憲皇太后 - しょうけんこうたいごう

Year of death: April 11, 1914
Year of birth: 17th April 1849 (9th May 1849)
Empress of Emperor Meiji. Daughter of the Minister of the Left, Ichijo Tadaka. Her birth mother was Tamiko, the daughter of the Ichijo family physician, Niihata Daizen. Her childhood name was Katsuko. She was called Fuki-no-kimi, and later changed to Sue-no-kimi. She was appointed Empress on June 28, 1867 (Keio 3). Prior to this, her birth year was changed to April 17, 1850 (May 28, 1850) because she was four years older than Emperor Meiji. On December 26, 1868 (Meiji 1), she changed her name to Yoshiko, and on the 28th she entered the Imperial Court and was proclaimed Empress. She was enthroned the same day. She loved learning from an early age, and even after entering the Imperial Court, she received lectures from samurai readers and sometimes attended lectures given to the Emperor. She excelled in waka poetry and calligraphy, and is famous for her poem on the Twelve Virtues, which was adapted from the teachings of U.S. President Franklin. She had a deep interest in women's education, and in 1893, she visited Tokyo Girls' School, Tokyo Women's Normal School, and Peerage Girls' School. In 1897, she provided the Peerage Girls' School with the song "Kongoseki." She was also active in charitable work, and contributed to the development of the Tokyo Jikei Hospital and the Japanese Red Cross Society. Other achievements she had included starting sericulture at the Imperial Court in 1891, working to reform the Imperial Court, such as introducing Western clothing, visiting army drills with Emperor Meiji several times around 1897, and attending the constitution promulgation ceremony in 1899. She symbolically participated in various projects to modernize Japan together with the Emperor. Her involvement with the Red Cross Society and sericulture set a model for the role of future empresses. Due to her frail nature, she was not blessed with children. After her death, she was posthumously named Empress Dowager Shoken, and was buried in the Fushimi Momoyama Eastern Tomb in Kyoto. <References> Imperial Household Agency, "Meiji Tenno Ki," Watanabe Ikujiro, "Empress Dowager Shoken's Gokontoku"

(Makoto Nishikawa)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：大正3.4.11(1914)
生年：嘉永2.4.17(1849.5.9)
明治天皇皇后。左大臣一条忠香の子。生母は一条家医師新畑大膳の娘民子。幼名勝子。富貴君と称し,のち寿栄君と改めた。慶応3(1867)年6月28日女御に治定。これに先立ち明治天皇より4歳年上であるのを忌むことから,生年を嘉永3年4月17日(1850.5.28)に改めている。明治1(1868)年12月26日美子と改名し,28日入内,女御宣下。即日皇后に冊立された。幼少より学問好きで,入内後も侍読らの進講を受け,天皇への進講に陪席することもあった。和歌,書道に秀で,アメリカ合衆国大統領フランクリンの教訓を翻案した十二徳の歌などが著名である。女子教育への関心が深く,6年東京女学校への行啓を始めとして,東京女子師範学校,華族女学校に行啓を重ねた。20年には華族女学校に「金剛石」の唱歌を与えている。慈善事業にも熱心で,東京慈恵医院,日本赤十字社の発展に貢献した。他に4年宮中で養蚕を始めたこと,洋装化など宮中の改革に努めたこと,20年前後陸軍演習に明治天皇と共に数回行啓したこと,22年憲法発布式典に参列したことなどの事績があり,天皇と共に日本近代化の諸事業に象徴的に参加している。また赤十字社,養蚕への関与などは,のちの皇后のあり方の範となっている。蒲柳の質で子には恵まれなかった。没後昭憲皇太后と追号,京都伏見桃山東陵に埋葬された。<参考文献>宮内庁『明治天皇紀』,渡辺幾治郎『昭憲皇太后の御坤徳』

(西川誠)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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