Kōjun

, posthumously honoured as ,

Early life

Princess Nagako (, ) was born on 6 March 1903 in the family residence of the Kuni-no-miya in Tokyo, Japan. She belonged to one of the Ōke cadet branches of the Imperial House of Japan, which were eligible to provide an heir to the Japanese throne by adoption. By birth she held the title of princess, as the daughter of Kuniyoshi, Prince Kuni (1873–1929) and his consort, Chikako (1879–1956). While her father was a scion of the imperial family, her mother, a daughter of Shimazu Tadayoshi of Satsuma, was descended from daimyō, the feudal military aristocracy. Nagako would later be remembered as one of the last Japanese to have experienced life within the aristocracy prior to the Second World War.

As a child, Nagako attended the Girls' Department of the Peers' School in Tokyo (now Gakushūin), an institution established specifically for the daughters of the aristocracy and imperial family. Among her contemporaries was Yi Bangja, Crown Princess of Korea (then Princess Masako Nashimoto). At the age of fourteen, following her betrothal to the Crown Prince, Nagako was withdrawn from school and entered a six-year training program designed to cultivate the accomplishments considered essential for a future empress. Her lineage and her father's distinguished military career were the main factors considered. Breaking with tradition, Hirohito was allowed to choose his own bride, although Nagako herself had no say in the matter. In 1917, at the age of 14, she and several other candidates for betrothal took part in a tea ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the Crown Prince observed from behind a screen.

Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo, a prince from a rival clan, was reportedly opposed to Hirohito's choice. He and other royal clans tried to dissuade him, claiming that Nagako's maternal relatives included individuals with colour-blindness. In January 1919, the engagement of Princess Nagako to Crown Prince Hirohito was officially announced. During their six-year engagement, they met only nine times, each under the supervision of a chaperone.

Princess Nagako married Crown Prince Hirohito on 26 January 1924, becoming Crown Princess of Japan. Hirohito and Nagako had seven children—two sons and five daughters—three of whom predeceased Nagako (see Issue).

Empress consort

Empress Nagako performed her ceremonial duties in a traditional manner. She initially came to live in the palace during the time when people there spoke an archaic imperial form of Japanese that has largely disappeared.

During the Second World War, Nagako was largely confined to palace grounds and her duties involved tending to wounded generals and writing to families who had lost loved ones during the war. Nagako, who was tradition-conscious, sided with those who criticized Michiko for breastfeeding her children, carrying them in public, and raising them herself. She accompanied Hirohito on his European tour in 1971 and later on his state visit to the United States in 1975. Their marriage lasted nearly 65 years, the longest of any Japanese imperial couple. Her son Akihito was the chief mourner during the service, which featured elements of the Shinto religion.

Issue Empress Kōjun and Emperor Shōwa had seven children (two sons and five daughters).