Tachibana no Kachiko
橘嘉智子
Empress consort of Japan
TenureAugust 21, 815 – June 5, 823
Empress dowager of Japan
TenureApril 23, 823 – March 2, 833 
Grand empress dowager of Japan
TenureMarch 26, 833 – June 17, 850
Born786
DiedJune 17, 850(850-06-17) (aged 63–64)
Heian Kyō (Kyōto)
SpouseEmperor Saga
IssueEmperor Ninmyō
Princess Seishi
Princess Hideko
Prince Hidera
Princess Toshiko
Princess Yoshiko
Princess Shigeko
HouseYamato (by marriage)
Tachibana clan (by birth)
FatherTachibana no Kiyotomo
MotherTaguchi Michihime

Tachibana no Kachiko (橘 嘉智子, 786 – June 17, 850), also known as Empress Danrin (檀林皇后, Danrin-kōgō), was a Japanese empress, the chief consort of Emperor Saga[1] and the daughter of Tachibana no Kiyotomo (橘 清友).[2] She was de facto ruler of the empire between 833 and 850.

The empress was a devout Buddhist. She founded the Buddhist Danrin-ji temple complex, and for this reason, she came to be called Danrin-kōgō.[2]

She died in the 4th day of the 5th month of 850.[3]

Genealogy

Lady Kachiko was born to Tachibana no Kiyotomo and his wife, Taguchi Michihime.

In June 809, Tachibana no Kachiko married the new emperor. The marriage produced seven children: two sons and five daughters. Her eldest son would succeed his father as Emperor of Japan and her eldest daughter married Prince Otomo, who later became Emperor Junna.

In popular culture

In the acclaimed 2013 movie Avalokitesvara, a loose adaptation of the Putuoshan genesis story, Ryoko Nakano starred as the Empress Dowager Tachibana Kachiko.

Notes

  1. ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan, pp. 318-319.
  2. ^ a b Ponsonby-Fane, p. 319.
  3. ^ Adolphson, Mikael et al. (2006). Heian Japan, Centers and Peripheries, p. 23., p. 23, at Google Books

References

Japanese royalty Preceded byFujiwara no Taishi(granted title posthumously) Empress consort of Japan 815–823 Succeeded byPrincess Koshi(granted title posthumously) Preceded byFujiwara no Ryoshi(granted title posthumously) Empress dowager of Japan 823–833 Succeeded byPrincess Seishi Preceded byTakano no Niigasa(granted title posthumously) Grand empress dowager of Japan 833–850 Succeeded byPrincess Seishi
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