Japanese empresses facts for kids
Japanese empresses or Empress of Japan refers to two main types of women in Japan's history. It can mean a female imperial ruler, also known as a josei tennō. It can also mean the wife of an emperor, who is called an empress consort or kōgō.
Today, the wife of Naruhito is Empress Masako. She became the current Empress of Japan when her husband became emperor.
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Female Emperors of Japan
Throughout history, there have been eight female monarchs who ruled Japan. This means there were six different female emperors, but two of them reigned twice. These women held the highest position in Japan.
- Empress Jingū (reigned 206–269) — An ancient, legendary figure.
- Empress Suiko (554–628), reigned 593–628 — She was the very first ruling empress of Japan.
- Empress Kōgyoku (594–661), reigned 642–645 — She was also known as Princess Takara. She was the empress consort of Emperor Jomei.
- Empress Saimei (594–661), reigned 655–661 — This was the same person as Empress Kōgyoku, ruling for a second time.
- Empress Jitō (645–702), reigned 690–697
- Empress Gemmei (661–721), reigned 707–715
- Empress Genshō (680–748), reigned 715–724 — She was formerly known as Princess Hidaka.
- Empress Kōken (718–770), reigned 749–758
- Empress Shōtoku (718–770), reigned 764–770 — This was the same person as Empress Kōken, ruling again.
- Empress Meishō (1624–1696), reigned 1629–1643
- Empress Go-Sakuramachi (1740–1813), reigned 1762–1771 — She was the most recent female emperor to rule Japan.
Empresses Consort: Wives of Emperors
The wife of a Japanese emperor is called an empress in English. However, her official title in Japanese has changed over time.
Kōgō is the title given to an empress consort who does not rule on her own. This title is still used today. It is usually given to the emperor's wife who has given birth to the next heir to the throne. The title was first given in 806 to the mother of Emperor Heizei, after she had passed away.
Chūgū was another term that became popular during the Heian period. It also came to mean the title of the empress. For a while, chūgū was used instead of kōgō. Later, both titles could be used interchangeably.
There could be several kōgō at one time. However, there was usually only one Chūgū at a time.
The title kōtaigō was given to the wife of an emperor who had stepped down from the throne. The title tai-kōtaigō was used for an empress who was a grandmother or great-grandmother of the current emperor.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Empress regnant Jitō (645–703) by Katsukawa Shunsho, 18th century
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Empress consort Kishi (around 1303–1333) and Emperor Go-Daigo (1288–1339) from Taiheiki Emaki (around 17th century). Owned by Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore.
See also
In Spanish: Emperatrices de Japón para niños
