Empress Sahohime

Saho-hime (狭穂姫命) was the legendary empress consort of Japan from 28 BC to 25 BC.

Life

In both the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki, she was a granddaughter of Emperor Kaika and gave birth to one son who, according to the Nihon Shoki could not speak. Infuriated that his brother-in-law tried to make his wife kill him, the Emperor sent his troops to his brother-in-law's palace to take his life.

The Nihon Shokis account of her demise After her husband sent troops to her brother's castle, in the Nihon Shoki, Saho-hime went to her brother's palace with their son out of guilt for attempting to kill the Emperor, and refused to leave until it burned down. As it was burning, her brother escaped, along with Saho-hime's son but the Empress died. As the Emperor's men came to retrieve Saho-hime's newborn, the child was placed outside the fortress and Saho-hime shaved her head. As the men took Saho-hime, her clothes fell off, as did her hair allowing her to escape due to the soldiers being stunned in shock.

There is a poem attributed to Emperor Go-Toba about her: