Empress Dowager Shoken

• Born: 1849
• Died: 1914/4/9
• Other Names: 一条 美子 (Ichijô Haruko)
• Japanese: 昭憲皇后 (Shôken kôgô), 昭憲皇太后 (Shôken kôtaigô)

Empress Shôken, later Empress Dowager Shôken, was the chief consort to the Meiji Emperor.

A daughter of the Ichijô court noble family, and named Haruko, she was married to the Meiji Emperor in 1867, the first year of his rule.

During the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, she became known for her close association with the Japanese Red Cross, and her frequent visits to military hospitals, a symbol of the Imperial institution as caring about the people.

References

• Sven Saaler, "Public Statuary and Nationalism in Modern and Contemporary Japan," Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus 15:20:3 (Oct 15, 2017), 6.