Empress - Nyoin

The title given to the mother of an emperor, an empress, a consort, an imperial princess, etc. who was given the title of Nyoin. It can also be read as "nyoin", and is also called Mon'in because many of them were named after the gate names of palaces. In 991 (Shoreki 2), Empress Dowager Fujiwara Senshi, the birth mother of Emperor Ichijo, was given the title of Tosanjoin after becoming a nun, and then in 1026 (Manju 3), Grand Empress Dowager Fujiwara Shoshi, the birth mother of Emperor Goichijo, was given the title of Jotomon'in, which marked the beginning of the use of the title of Mon'in. Soon after, Nyoin titles began to be given regardless of whether the person had taken the nun's title, and were also given to the three empresses who were not the mother of an emperor, unmarried imperial princesses, consorts and harems who had not become empresses, and eventually there were unusual cases such as Kitayama-in, the wife of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and cases where titles were awarded posthumously, and there were a total of 107 Nyoin titles until the end of the system, with the last being Shintaikemon'in, the birth mother of Emperor Komei, who was appointed Nyoin in 1850 (Kaei 3). Nyoin were originally given treatment equivalent to that of retired emperors, but in reality there were large differences depending on the era and person, and in the Middle Ages, Nyoin with enormous estates appeared one after another, playing a part in the inheritance of imperial land.

[Yoshihiko Hashimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

天皇の母や皇后、後宮、皇女などで、女院号を宣下(せんげ)された者の称。「にょういん」とも読み、宮城の門号による命名が多かったので門院ともいう。991年（正暦2）一条(いちじょう)天皇の生母皇太后藤原詮子(せんし)が出家後、東三条院の号を授けられたのに始まり、ついで1026年（万寿3）後一条(ごいちじょう)天皇の生母太皇太后藤原彰子(しょうし)が上東門院(じょうとうもんいん)の号を宣下されて、門院号の例も開かれた。その後まもなく出家とは関係なく女院宣下が行われるようになり、さらに帝母でない三后、未婚の内親王、立后しない女御や後宮にも宣下され、ついには足利義満(あしかがよしみつ)の妻北山院(きたやまいん)のような特異な例や、没後追贈の例も生じ、1850年（嘉永3）宣下された孝明(こうめい)天皇の生母新待賢門院(しんたいけんもんいん)を最後として廃絶するまで、107人の女院を数えた。女院は本来太上(だいじょう)天皇に准ずる待遇を与えられたが、実際には時代により人によって大きな差異があり、また中世には莫大(ばくだい)な所領をもつ女院が相次いで現れ、皇室領の伝領に一役買った。

［橋本義彦］

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