Empress Kōjun

Empress Kōjun 香淳皇后
Empress consort of Japan
Tenure	25 December 1926 – 7 January 1989
Enthronement	10 November 1928
Born	(1903-03-06)6 March 1903 Tokyo, Japan
Died	Fukiage Ōmiya Palace, Tokyo, Japan
Burial	25 July 2000 Musashi Imperial Graveyard, Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan
Spouse	Emperor Shōwa
Issue	Shigeko, Princess Teru Sachiko, Princess Hisa Kazuko, Princess Taka Atsuko, Princess Yori Akihito, Emperor of Japan Masahito, Prince Hitachi Takako, Princess Suga
Full name Nagako (良子)
House	Imperial House of Japan
Father	Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni
Mother	Chikako Shimazui
Religion	Shinto

Empress Kōjun (香淳皇后, Kōjun-kōgō), born Princess Nagako (良子女王, Nagako Joō, 6 March 1903 – 16 June 2000), was empress consort of Emperor Shōwa of Japan. She was the mother of the present emperor, Akihito.

Her posthumous name is Kōjun, which means "fragrant purity". Empress Kōjun was empress consort (kōgō) from 25 December 1926 to 7 January 1989, making her the longest lived empress consort in Japanese history.

Early life

Princess Nagako of Kuni in 1910 as a child

Princess Nagako was born in Tokyo, Japan. She was the daughter of Chikako (1879–1956) and Kuniyoshi, Prince Kuni (1873–1929). She would become one of the last Japanese who could remember what life was like inside the aristocracy early in the 20th century.

Nagako attended the Girls' Department of Peers' School in Tokyo (now Gakushuin) with Crown Princess Bangja of Korea (then known as Princess Masako Nashimoto). Following her betrothal, she began a six-year training program in order to develop the accomplishments deemed necessary for an empress.

Marriage and children

In January 1919, the engagement of Princess Nagako to her distant cousin, the then-Crown Prince Hirohito (later the Shōwa Emperor; 1901–1989), was announced. Unusually, Princess Nagako's father was an offshoot of the Imperial family, while her mother descended from daimyo, the feudal or military aristocracy.

In a small step away from tradition, Hirohito was allowed to choose his own bride. Nagako herself had no choice in the matter. At the age of 14, she and other eligible women participated in a tea ceremony at the Imperial Palace while the Crown Prince watched unseen through a peephole and eventually selected Nagako.

Empress Kōjun with her first son, Prince Akihito, in 1934

Princess Nagako married Crown Prince Hirohito on 26 January 1924 and became Crown Princess of Japan. She became Empress upon Hirohito's accession to the throne on 25 December 1926. Unlike his royal predecessors, Emperor Hirohito decided to abandon his 39 court concubines. After nearly 10 years of marriage, Nagako produced four daughters. On December 23, 1933, Nagako gave birth to their first son, Akihito (明仁), who became the present emperor. The Imperial couple had seven children, five daughters and two sons. (see Issue)

Life as empress

Empress Nagako, First Lady Betty Ford, Emperor Hirohito and President Gerald Ford walking down the Cross Hall towards the East Room prior to a state dinner held at the White House in honor of the Japanese head of state. (1975)

Empress Kōjun's mausoleum in the Musashi Imperial Graveyard

Empress Nagako performed her ceremonial duties in a traditional manner. She initially came to live in the palace during the time when people spoke an archaic imperial form of Japanese that has largely disappeared. Her role required her to attend special ceremonies such as those for the 2600th anniversary of the legendary foundation of the Empire of Japan in 1940 or the conquest of Singapore in 1942.

The Empress was the first Japanese Imperial Consort to travel abroad. She accompanied Emperor Hirohito on his European tour in 1971 and later on his state visit to the United States in 1975. She became known as the "smiling Empress".

After the Emperor's death on 7 January 1989, she assumed the title of Empress Dowager. At that time, she was in failing health herself and did not attend her husband's funeral; and she remained in seclusion for the rest of her life. In 1995, she became the longest-living dowager empress of Japan, breaking the record of Empress Kanshi, who died 868 years prior.

At the time of her death at the age of 97 in 2000, Nagako had been an empress for 74 years. In her final days, the Imperial Household Agency announced that she was suffering breathing problems but that the illness was not serious. Nagako died the next day, with her family at her side.

Emperor Akihito granted his mother the posthumous title of Empress Kōjun. Her final resting place is in a mausoleum named Musashino no Higashi no Misasagi, near that of her husband within the Musashi Imperial Graveyard.

Titles and styles

Styles of Empress Kōjun
Reference style	Her Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Ma'am

Standard of the Empress Dowager

Across the arc of her life and death, Empress Kōjun has been known by number of related, but distinct titles:

• 6 March 1903 – 26 January 1924: Her Imperial Highness Princess Nagako of Kuni
• 26 January 1924 – 25 December 1926: Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess
• 25 December 1926 – 7 January 1989: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress
• 7 January 1989 – 16 June 2000: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Dowager
• Posthumous name: Her Imperial Majesty Empress Kōjun

Honours

National honours

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure

Foreign honours

• Belgium : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
• Germany : Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Sweden : Member of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (25 March 1980)
• Greece : Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer
• Denmark : Knight of the Order of the Elephant
• Spain : Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (20 January 1972)
• Thailand : Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri (8 April 1931)
• Nepal : Member of the Order of Ojaswi Rajanya (19 April 1960)

Issue

Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun with their children in 1941

Name	Birth	Marriage		Issue
Shigeko, Princess Teru	9 December 1925 died, 23 July 1961	10 October 1943	Prince Morihiro Higashikuni	Prince Nobuhiko Higashikuni Princess Fumiko Higashikuni Naohiko Higashikuni Hidehiko Higashikuni Yūko Higashikuni
Sachiko, Princess Hisa	10 September 1927 died, 8 March 1928
Kazuko, Princess Taka	30 September 1929 died, 28 May 1989	21 May 1950	Toshimichi Takatsukasa	Naotake Takatsukasa (adopted)
Atsuko, Princess Yori	7 March 1931	10 October 1952	Takamasa Ikeda
Akihito, Emperor of Japan	23 December 1933	10 April 1959	Michiko Shōda	Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan Fumihito, Prince Akishino Sayako, Princess Nori
Masahito, Prince Hitachi	28 November 1935	30 September 1964	Hanako Tsugaru
Takako, Princess Suga	2 March 1939	3 March 1960	Hisanga Shimazu	Yoshihisa Shimazu

Ancestry

Family of Empress Kōjun

16. Sadayoshi, Prince Fushimi               8. Kuniye, Prince Fushimi                       4. Asahiko, Prince Kuni                             9. Toriishoji Nobuko, concubine                       2. Kuniyoshi, Prince Kuni                                   10. Izumitei Toshimasu, Custodian of Shimogamo Shrine                       5. Izumi Makiko, concubine                             1. Empress Kōjun                                         24. Shimazu Narioki, 10th Daimyo of Satsuma               12. Prince Shimazu Hisamitsu                       25. Okada Yura, concubine               6. Prince Shimazu Tadayoshi, 11th Daimyo of Satsuma                             26. Shimazu Tadakimi, Lord of Shigetomi               13. Shimazu Senhyakushi                       3. Princess Shimazu Chikako                                   7. Hiro Sumako, concubine

See also

• Japanese empresses
• Ōmiya Palace

References

• Connors, Leslie. (1987). The Emperor's Adviser: Saionji Kinmochi and Pre-war Japanese Politics. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7099-3449-3
• Koyama, Itoko. (1958). Nagako, Empress of Japan (translation of Kogo sama). New York: J. Day Co. OCLC 1251689
• Large, Stephen S. (1992). Emperor Hirohito and Shōwa Japan: Political Biography. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-03203-2

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Kunaicho | Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun
• BBC News: Japan mourns Empress Nagako
• BBC News: In pictures: Japan's imperial funeral
• Chicago Tribune: photo of Empress Nagako at White House during State Visit in 1975

Japanese royalty
Preceded by Empress Teimei	Empress consort of Japan 1926–1989	Succeeded by Empress Michiko (current)
Preceded by Empress Teimei	Empress Dowager of Japan 1989–2000	Succeeded by None