Nobuko Nabeshima (15 July 1886 – 8 May 1969) (In Japanese 松平信子, or まつだいらのぶこ), later known as Madame Matsudaira, was a Japanese socialite. As wife of a Japanese ambassador based in Washington and London, she was well known as a political hostess in the West in the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life

Nabeshima was born in 1886, the daughter of politician and college president

Nabeshima Naohiro was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the mid-Edo period, who ruled the Hasunoike Domain in Hizen Province (modern-day Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a populati ...

and Nabeshima Nagako, who was president of the Oriental Women's Association (東洋婦人会). She was a member of the powerful Nabeshima family. Nabeshima attended the Gakushuin Women's School, and was later president of the school's alumnae association.

Career

Nabeshima was an aide and translator to

Empress Teimei , posthumously honoured as , was the wife of Emperor Taishō and the mother of Emperor Shōwa. Her posthumous name, ''Teimei'', means "enlightened constancy". She was also the paternal grandmother of Emperor Emeritus Akihito, and the paternal ...

, whose son later married Nabeshima's daughter. She lived in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as a political hostess, and traveled with her daughters from 1925 to 1928, while her husband was the

Japanese Ambassador to the United States The ambassador of Japan to the United States has existed since 1860, interrupted by disagreements and wars during World War II. Shigeo Yamada is the current Japanese ambassador to the United States, having been appointed on October 24, 2023. Sp ...

. She gave a public speech of gratitude in Boston in 1927. Her gowns were described in newspaper accounts of state dinners and other events. The family lived in London in 1909 (when daughter Setsuko was born) and from 1929 to 1935, when her husband was the Japanese Ambassador to the Court of St. James. She welcomed and promoted an international touring display of Japanese ceremonial dolls. Madame Matsudaira wrote poetry. She assisted American writer

Elizabeth Gray Vining Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining (October 6, 1902 – November 27, 1999) was an American professional librarian and author who tutored Emperor Akihito of Japan in English while he was crown prince. She was also a noted author, whose children's book ...

, who described her as "grey-haired, serene, humorous, and wise." She was mentioned in two of

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

's "

My Day ''My Day'' was a newspaper column written by First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) six days a week from December 31, 1935, to September 26, 1962. In her column, Roosevelt discussed issues including civil rights, women's rights, a ...

" columns in May 1953, when Roosevelt was traveling in Japan. Matsudairafamily1925

Personal life

In 1906, Nabeshima married diplomat

Tsuneo Matsudaira was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as the first President of the House of Councillors from 1947 to 1949. He previously served as Ambassador to the United States from 1924 to 1928, to Britain from 1929 to 1936, and Minister of the ...

. Their son was Ichiro Matsudaira. One of their daughters was Setsuko, who became a princess in the

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

. One of the Matsudairas' grandchildren is

Tsunenari Tokugawa is the former 18th generation head of the Tokugawa clan. He is the son of Ichirō Matsudaira and Toyoko Tokugawa. His great-grandfather was the famed Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu and his paternal great-grandfather was Tokugawa Iesato. As a great- ...

, current head of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

(as of 2022), and one of their great-grandchildren is writer and translator Iehiro Tokugawa. Her husband died in 1949, and she lived with her widowed daughter after 1953; she died in 1969, at the age of 82.

References

External links

Nobu Matsudaira as a sitter in four portraits
made in 1922 by

Bassano Ltd Alexander Bassano (10 May 1829 – 21 October 1913) was an English photographer who was a leading royal and high society portrait photographer in Victorian London. He is known for his photo of the Earl Kitchener in the ''Lord Kitchener Wants Y ...

, in the

National Portrait Gallery (UK) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

* A newsreel collection that includes a shot of Madame Matsudaira at a fashion event in 1926, at Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabeshima, Nobuko 1886 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Japanese women