Background
Sadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in Tokyo, as the fourth daughter of Duke Michitaka Kujō, head of Kujō branch of the Fujiwara clan. Her mother was Ikuko Noma.
貞明皇后
Sadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in Tokyo, as the fourth daughter of Duke Michitaka Kujō, head of Kujō branch of the Fujiwara clan. Her mother was Ikuko Noma.
Born Sadako Kujō (九条節子, Kujō Sadako), she was the mother of Emperor Shōwa. Her posthumous name, Teimei, means "enlightened constancy". The couple lived in the newly constructed Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, outside of the main Tokyo Imperial Palace complex.
When she gave birth to a son, Prince Hirohito (the future Emperor Shōwa) in 1901, she was the first official wife of a Crown Prince or Emperor to have given birth to the official heir to the throne since 1750.
Given her husband"s weak physical and mental condition, she exerted a strong influence on imperial life, and was an active patron of Japanese Red Cross Society. The relations between the Emperor and Empress were very good, as evidenced by Emperor Taishō’s lack of interest in taking concubines, thus breaking with hundreds of years of imperial tradition, and by her giving birth to four sons.
After the death of Emperor Taishō on 25 December 1926, her title became that of Dowager Empress (皇太后, Kōtaigō) (which means "widow of the former emperor"). 25 June 1884 – 25 May 1900: Lady Sadako Kujō 25 May 1900 – 30 July 1912: Her Imperial Highness The Crown Princess 30 July 1912 – 25 December 1926: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress 25 December 1926 – 17 May 1951: Her Imperial Majesty The Empress Dowager Posthumous title: Her Imperial Majesty Empress Teimei National honours Foreign honours.