Princess Kaoruko

Princess Kaoruko (馨子内親王, Kaoruko-naishinno, 1029–1093), also known as Saiin-no Kōgō (西院皇后), was an empress consort (chūgū) of her cousin Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan.^[1][2]

Princess Kaoruko
Empress consort of Japan
Tenure	1069–1073
Born	1029
Died	1093 (aged 63–64)
Spouse	Emperor Go-Sanjō
House	Imperial House of Japan
Father	Emperor Go-Ichijō
Mother	Fujiwara no Ishi

Biography

While a young child, she served as a Saiin (priestess) from 1032 until 1036. She was a daughter of Emperor Go-Ichijō, and as such, marriage to her represented a means to lessen some of the influence of the powerful Fujiwara family (from which imperial consorts usually came).^[2][3] She married her cousin the future emperor in 1051. In 1068, her husband became emperor, and she was appointed empress.

Her husband had three consorts: Kaoruko, Minamoto Motoko, and Fujiwara Shigeko. The emperor hoped that Kaoruko would bear an heir, and thus allow him to pass the throne to a non-Fujiwara son.^[3] She had no children, however, and after the death of her husband, she became a Buddhist nun under the name Saiin-no Kōgō (西院皇后). ^[4]

References

1. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1915). The Imperial Family of Japan, p. x.
2. Hall, John Whitney; Shively, Donald H. (1988). The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22353-9.
3. Hall, John Whitney; Mass, Jeffrey P. (1988). Medieval Japan: Essays in Institutional History. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-1511-9.
4. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1915). The Imperial Family of Japan, p. x.

Japanese royalty
Preceded by Fujiwara no Kanshi	Empress consort of Japan 1069–1073	Succeeded by Fujiwara no Kenshi