Kyoto
An Imperial Childhood and an Earlier Engagement
Raised as Emperor Komei's sister, she learned court culture and waka and was engaged to Prince Arisugawa Taruhito.
Know the Person
Princess Kazu
Princess Kazu is traced beyond the label of a political bride: imperial education and an earlier engagement, negotiated conditions of marriage, the Nakasendo journey, daily adjustment inside Edo Castle, Iemochi's death, and petitions during the Boshin crisis.
Life
Princess Kazu's Journey
Edo PeriodMeiji Period
1846-60Koka 3-Man'en 11860-61Man'en 1-Bunkyu 11862-65Bunkyu 2-Keio 11866Keio 21868-77Keio 4-Meiji 10
Kyoto and Nakasendo
Political Negotiation Sends Her toward Edo
Marriage to Iemochi was accepted with conditions concerning policy and court practice. The procession mobilized roads, inns, guards, and baggage.
Edo Castle
Marriage Joins Two Systems of Daily Practice
Courtly customs and the shogunal women's quarters had to coexist, while Iemochi's repeated travel to Kyoto limited the couple's time together.
Edo and Osaka
Iemochi Dies and She Becomes Seikan'in
The brocade poem transmitted after his death reveals loss inside a marriage usually described only as policy.
Edo, Kyoto, and Tokyo
She Petitions for the Tokugawa House
Her letters to the court formed part of the effort to preserve the house and avert wider destruction in Edo. She was later buried beside Iemochi at Zojoji.
123
京都府京都市
京都御所
和宮の宮廷生活と降嫁交渉を、御所の制度と空間から考える。
和宮・孝明天皇
Address京都府京都市上京区京都御苑3
Nearby
- 橋本家跡周辺生母観行院と和宮を支えた公家社会を見る。
東京都千代田区
江戸城大奥の旧地
婚礼後の暮らし、家茂の不在、戊辰期の嘆願を同じ場所の変化としてたどる。
和宮・徳川家茂・天璋院
Address東京都千代田区千代田1-1
Nearby
- 皇居東御苑現在の園路と旧本丸・大奥の範囲を分けて見る。
東京都港区
徳川将軍家墓所
家茂の隣への埋葬という遺志と、後世の顕彰を分けて見る。
和宮・徳川家茂
Address東京都港区芝公園4丁目7-35
Nearby
- 安国殿和宮像と墓所の位置を確認する。
Keys
What Shaped Princess Kazu
An Imperial Writing Box
Princess Kazu learned court practice and waka in Kyoto and was already engaged to Prince Arisugawa. National policy therefore rearranged an existing personal and dynastic future. To investigate “Education and an earlier engagement came first.” further, do not stop with a commemorative plaque. Compare the date, maker or former owner, provenance, restoration status, and present location of each element named in “An Imperial Writing Box.” Old maps, municipal histories, museum catalogues, document editions, material-culture studies, and field guides help distinguish contemporary evidence from reconstruction and later memory. They also provide a practical route to relevant books, facsimiles, maps, equipment histories, and a responsible site visit.
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Marriage Negotiation Documents
Promises about policy, attendants, expenses, and court practice accompanied acceptance of the marriage. The slogan of unity concealed detailed bargaining and personal loss. To investigate “Court-shogunate union required many conditions.” further, do not stop with a commemorative plaque. Compare the date, maker or former owner, provenance, restoration status, and present location of each element named in “Marriage Negotiation Documents.” Old maps, municipal histories, museum catalogues, document editions, material-culture studies, and field guides help distinguish contemporary evidence from reconstruction and later memory. They also provide a practical route to relevant books, facsimiles, maps, equipment histories, and a responsible site visit.
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A Palanquin on the Nakasendo
Roads, inns, guards, baggage, and local labor moved an imperial household toward Edo. The scale can be read apart from the pageantry of the procession. To investigate “The journey was a large administrative operation.” further, do not stop with a commemorative plaque. Compare the date, maker or former owner, provenance, restoration status, and present location of each element named in “A Palanquin on the Nakasendo.” Old maps, municipal histories, museum catalogues, document editions, material-culture studies, and field guides help distinguish contemporary evidence from reconstruction and later memory. They also provide a practical route to relevant books, facsimiles, maps, equipment histories, and a responsible site visit.
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Two Sets of Wedding Furnishings
Titles, clothing, food, and ceremony were not automatically unified by the wedding. Life inside Edo Castle required continued negotiation between two institutional cultures. To investigate “Court and warrior custom had to coexist daily.” further, do not stop with a commemorative plaque. Compare the date, maker or former owner, provenance, restoration status, and present location of each element named in “Two Sets of Wedding Furnishings.” Old maps, municipal histories, museum catalogues, document editions, material-culture studies, and field guides help distinguish contemporary evidence from reconstruction and later memory. They also provide a practical route to relevant books, facsimiles, maps, equipment histories, and a responsible site visit.
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The Brocade that Arrived Too Late
The phrase 'only while you were here' turns patterned silk into an object of grief. It reveals a personal bond inside a marriage usually described through policy. To investigate “Luxury lost its value after Iemochi's death.” further, do not stop with a commemorative plaque. Compare the date, maker or former owner, provenance, restoration status, and present location of each element named in “The Brocade that Arrived Too Late.” Old maps, municipal histories, museum catalogues, document editions, material-culture studies, and field guides help distinguish contemporary evidence from reconstruction and later memory. They also provide a practical route to relevant books, facsimiles, maps, equipment histories, and a responsible site visit.
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Petitions to the Court
During the Boshin crisis Seikan'in appealed to court connections on behalf of the Tokugawa house. Her work should be distinguished from, while read beside, the actions of Tenshoin and negotiators outside the castle. To investigate “Letters became tools for protecting a house and city.” further, do not stop with a commemorative plaque. Compare the date, maker or former owner, provenance, restoration status, and present location of each element named in “Petitions to the Court.” Old maps, municipal histories, museum catalogues, document editions, material-culture studies, and field guides help distinguish contemporary evidence from reconstruction and later memory. They also provide a practical route to relevant books, facsimiles, maps, equipment histories, and a responsible site visit.
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Poems by This Person
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