Empress Dowager Teimei

Empress Sadako or Empress Teimei was born Princess Kujo Sadako (jp: 九条節子 kujō no miya sadako joō), (June 25, 1884 - May 17, 1951). She was Empress of Japan, the consort of the Taishō Emperor and the mother of Emperor Hirohito. Born in Tokyo, she was the daughter of Prince Kujo Michitaka, head of Kujo branch of the Fujiwara clan.

When she gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Hirohito in 1901, she was the first official wife of a Crown Prince or Emperor to do so since 1750. She became Empress (Empress Sadako, Sadako Kogo) when her husband ascended to the throne in 1912. She was a strong influence on imperial life and she was patron of Japan's Red Cross Society.

She openly objected to Japan's involvement in World War II, which caused conflict with her son. She died at Omiya Palace in Tokyo, aged 66, and was buried next to her husband, the Taishō Emperor, at the Musashino Imperial Mausoleum in Tokyo.

After her husband's death, her son Emperor Hirohito granted her the title Teimei Kogo, i.e Empress Teimei or Empress Dowager Teimei (貞明皇后 teemee kōgō). Teimei means "enlightened constancy" and kogo is the highest version of Japanese words for empress consort.