On April 9, 2024, it was pouring rain in Tokyo. Empress Dowager Akiko of Japan, dressed in a flawless white suit, embarked on a journey to the Meiji Shrine to pay tribute to the woman who had illuminated the path of Japanese imperial history, Empress Dowager Akihito, a beautiful son.
The official title of Empress Dowager Miko is Empress Dowager Akihito, and April 11th this year marks the 110th anniversary of her death.
The palace hall did not explicitly disclose whether Empress Yazi will attend this worship event, everything depends on her physical condition. However, in the end, she still attended.
It seems that she is paying more and more attention to her responsibilities now. I am very happy to see that Queen Yazi's physical condition is getting better and better.
Today we will talk about Empress Meiko, the legitimate wife of Emperor Meiji.
Empress Dowager Zhaoxian, whose real name is Ichijo Miko.
It is normal for Emperor Meiji to choose members of the Fujiwara clan as empresses, as these surnames belong to the Fujiwara clan and are part of the traditional aristocracy.
Empress Miyako was born in 1849 in Kyoto and was a concubine of the Left Minister Tadaoka.
Although Zhongxiang has average abilities, she is very good at finding a son-in-law for herself.
He betrothed Miko to the future Emperor Meiji and married his adopted daughter Mikako to Tokugawa Keiki, becoming the last imperial palace.
Meiko has been in poor health since childhood, and for the sake of her health, her family had to let her start consuming meat and eggs, which was extremely rare among the Japanese nobility at that time because they generally believed in Buddhism and followed vegetarianism.
This change led to Meiko's intellectual development far surpassing her peers, becoming a famous talented woman in the aristocratic circle at that time, nicknamed "Tengu Niang".
Nowadays, in the Meiji Shrine, we can still see the imperial divinity tablet left by her, on which she writes her hymn.
In 1867, Emperor Xiaoming passed away, and Emperor Meiji, who was only fourteen years old, ascended to the throne.
Empress Dowager Yingzhao fell in love with this talented woman, and in 1869, at the age of 20, Miyako entered the palace to become the empress.
Meiko's life is happy, as a woman of noble descent, she quickly adapted to the life of the royal family.
Her only regret was that she did not have her own children, so she adopted Prince Akihito, the son of Emperor Meiji's Yoshihara, and later became Emperor Taisho.
Therefore, it can be said straightforwardly that a beautiful woman has nothing to do with the appearance of the current Japanese royal family.
Emperor Meiji is renowned for his "Meiji Restoration," a movement aimed at modernizing Japan and encouraging the whole nation to learn from the West.
As a virtuous assistant, Meiko naturally did not want to fall behind. She developed a strong interest in Western culture and even invited female international students to come to the palace to give lectures on her experiences of studying abroad, such as the "Book of Reflections on Foreign Exchange".
Under her influence, many imperial regulations and systems in the palace began to imitate those of the European royal family, and noble women also began to receive Western education.
In addition, Empress Miyako also donated and sponsored the charity organization Boai Society, now known as the Japanese Red Cross, in the name of the royal family.
In order to attract more people's participation, she established a special membership and honorary membership system.
Her kindness and wisdom have led to the emblem of the Red Cross being adorned with a phoenix crown and a totem symbolizing the royal family.
The honorary president of the Japanese Red Cross has always been held by the Empress of Japan. The current president of the Red Cross is Empress Yazi.
After the death of Emperor Meiji, his wife Miko naturally became the Empress Dowager.
As the biological mother of the new emperor, Aiko Yanagihara, although classified as a "quasi imperial family", is not considered a member of the royal family, just like the most favored son of the emperor, Yukiko Yuan.
Empress Miyako's position and influence in the Japanese royal family continued until her death.
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