was a person in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

during the

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710, although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato period, Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after the ...

and the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capita ...

. She was a daughter of

Emperor Tenji , known first as and later as until his accession, was the 38th emperor of Japan who reigned from 668 to 671. He was the son of Emperor Jomei and Empress Kōgyoku (Empress Saimei), and his children included Empress Jitō, Empress Genmei, an ...

and Lady Shikobuko, whose father was Oshimi no Miyakko Otatsu. She had an elder brother, Prince Kawashima, and an elder sister,

Princess Ōe (died 699) was a Japanese princess who lived during the Asuka period. She was a daughter of Emperor Tenji. Her mother was Lady Shikobuko (色夫古娘), daughter of Oshiumi no Miyakko Otatsu (忍海造小竜). Ōe's siblings included Prince Kaw ...

. Although her sister, Princess Ōe, and other half-sisters were married to

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

or his sons, Izumi did not marry because she was too young. When she reached the age suitable for marriage, she could not marry because there were no appropriate men among Emperor Tenmu's sons. Additionally, her brother

Prince Kawashima A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

betrayed

Prince Ōtsu was a Japanese poet and the son of Emperor Tenmu. Viewed as the emperor's likely heir, Imperial Prince Ōtsu began attending to matters of state in 683, but was demoted in 685 when the court rank system was revised. Soon after Emperor Tenmu ...

and his followers, and they were all punished; Prince Kawashima and his relatives became the targets of criticism. After Prince Kawashima and Princess Ōe died several years later, she was completely isolated. She was selected by divination as the

Saiō or was the title of the unmarried female members of the Imperial House of Japan, Japanese Imperial Family, sent to serve at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century to the 14th century. The 's residence, , was about north-west of the shrine ...

in 701 when she was in her thirties, because the Saio of that year,

Princess Taki was a Japanese princess during the Asuka period of Japanese history. She was a daughter of Emperor Tenmu, a wife of Prince Shiki and the mother of Prince Kasuga. She was a ''saiō''. Genealogy She was the daughter of Emperor Temmu and Lady Kajih ...

, was suddenly dismissed. In principle, a newly selected Saio was supposed to make preparation by staying in the Abstinence-house near the capital for two years prior to going to Ise. However, she was in the Abstinence-house for over five years from 701 to 706. Also, she stayed in the

Saikū The was a palace complex located in what is now the Takegawa neighborhood of the town of Meiwa, Taki District, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Forming a small village, it was established in the Nara period as the palace and public offices of the ''Sai� ...

in Ise for only half a year and was made to retire from the post. These unprecedented cases might be because of some political intentions. She was almost 40 years old when she returned to the capital. She could not marry anyone as she became too old, so she lived an unmarried life until she died in 734 in her sixties.

References

734 deaths Year of birth unknown Saiō Daughters of Japanese emperors {{Japan-royal-stub