Yanagiwara Naruko (Japanese: 柳原愛子), also known as Sawarabi no Tsubone (26 June 1859 – 16 October 1943), was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

of 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 ...

. A

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

, she was the mother of

Emperor Taishō , posthumously honored as , was the 123rd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. His reign, known as the Taishō era, was characterized by a liberal and democratic shift in ...

and the last concubine to have given birth to a reigning Japanese emperor.

Life

Yanagiwara Naruko was born in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

as the second daughter of imperial chamberlain Yanagiwara Mitsunaru (1818–1885), who held the rank of ''

chūnagon was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the I ...

'' in the imperial household and was subsequently appointed ''

dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

''. The Yanagiwara family were of the

Reizei family Reizei family (冷泉家, ''Reizei-ke'') is a Japanese ''kuge'' (court noble) family from Kyoto. It is a branch of the Fujiwara clan, with a long Japanese poetry, poetic tradition. History The Reizei family descended from Fujiwara no Michinaga ...

line of the

Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

. Her elder brother,

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Yanagiwara Sakimitsu (4 May 1850 – 2 September 1894), fought in the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

on the imperial side, subsequently becoming Lieutenant Governor of the Tōkaidō and later Governor of

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

. Entering the diplomatic service after the Restoration, he signed the Sino-Japanese Friendship treaty after the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

, was ennobled as a count and became a privy councillor, helping to draft the Imperial House Law before his death at the age of 44. During her lifetime, Lady Naruko was described as an intelligent, graceful and gentle lady, admired by all in the harem. She was noted as an excellent poet and calligrapher. She joined the imperial household in 1870 as a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager

Empress Eishō The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, and was appointed ''gon no tenji'' (imperial concubine) on 20 February 1873. Lady Naruko and the Meiji Emperor were both descended from the Ōgimachisanjō clan; both shared a great-great-grandfather in Ōgimachisanjō Sanetomo (1748–1785), a senior palace courtier, making them third cousins. On 21 January 1875, she gave birth to her first child, Shigeko, Princess Ume, at the Aoyama Palace, but the princess died of

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

the following year, on 8 June 1876. On 23 September 1877, she gave birth to Yukihito, Prince Take, who also died of meningitis before his first birthday, on 26 July 1878. On 31 August 1879, she gave birth to her third child and the only one to survive into adulthood, the future

. The prolonged and extremely difficult birth resulted in Lady Naruko becoming hysterical, crying and screaming through the delivery. On 6 September, the emperor named his son Yoshihito, later giving him the title of Prince Haru. Owing to the difficult delivery, Lady Naruko did not recover her health for some time; as her son had contracted meningitis shortly after his birth, his life was feared for until he finally recovered in late December. As a result of her delicate health following her son's birth, she never again served the emperor as a physical concubine, though she retained the title. In 1902, she was officially appointed as an imperial lady-in-waiting. In her later years, she was conferred several prestigious honours in recognition of having continued the imperial line, despite a tendency to blame her for her son's increasingly poor mental health. However, she was permitted to be present at her son's deathbed in December 1926. In 1941, Lady Naruko's great-grandniece, the Hon. Takagi Yuriko, married her grandson

Prince Mikasa was a Japanese prince, the youngest of the four sons of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako). He was their last surviving child. His eldest brother was Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). After serving as a junior cavalry officer in ...

. Lady Naruko died on 16 October 1943, aged 84, in the reign of her grandson the Showa Emperor, having outlived her son the previous emperor by nearly two decades. She was buried in Nakameguro Yūtenji (5-chome, Meguro-ku) in Tokyo.

Honours

*Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(10 May 1925; Second Class: 1 December 1915) *Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

(11 February 1940)

Order of precedence

*Fourth rank (29 November 1892) *Senior third rank (July 1913) *Second rank (1 December 1915) *Senior second rank (8 May 1919) *First rank (16 October 1943; posthumous)

Ancestry

References

*{{citation, title= Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912, last= Keene, first=Donald, author-link =Donald Keene, year= 2002, publisher=Columbia University Press Fujiwara clan Imperial House of Japan Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure 1859 births 1943 deaths Japanese concubines Emperor Taishō Japanese ladies-in-waiting Women calligraphers 19th-century Japanese calligraphers Mothers of Japanese emperors