Junbo-Ritsugō

Junbo-Ritsugō (准母立后)
Creation date	1091
Creation	for Princess Yasuko, to refer to the honorary mother of the emperor
First holder	Princess Yasuko (as adoptive mother of Emperor Horikawa)
Last holder	Princess Shōshi (as honorary empress of Emperor Go-Daigo
Present holder	None
Subsidiary titles	None
Status	Extant (while not used for a number of years, it would be possible for a woman to legally obtain this title.)

Junbo-Ritsugō (Japanese: 准母立后 or 准母 (Junbo)), is a Japanese title referring to an honorary empress, or the honorary mother of the Japanese emperor.[1][2][3]^[failed verification]

Princess Sukeko, the third Junbo-Ritsugō.

Usage of the title

The title was used when the emperor needed an honorary empress to perform certain tasks. The title was only used ceremonially, typically by a female relative who was a previous empress. It could also be used for an honorary empress dowager, not just an honorary empress consort.[1][4][3]

History

The title first came to use in 1091. The former Saiō, Princess Yasuko, was made the honorary empress for her brother, Emperor Horikawa. It was odd for the empress to be her husband's sister, but she was actually Hodrikawa's nurse, and adoptive mother, and she would retire in 1093.[1][5][6]

List

• Princess Yasuko – the nurse and adoptive mother of her younger brother.[1] She retired from the position in 1093.[6]
• Princess Reishi – appointed as honorary empress in 1108 to her nephew Emperor Toba.[7] She served until she became a nun in 1130.[8]
• Princess Toshi – honorary empress to her nephew, the Emperor Nijō.[7] She retired when Emperor Nijō married and his wife Princess Yoshiko became empress.[2][7]
• Princess Sukeko – the only empress to be honorary empress twice,[7] first as honorary mother to her nephew Emperor Antoku, and then to Emperor Go-Toba.[7][3]
• Princess Noriko – honorary empress to her nephew, Emperor Tsuchimikado.[7] She was a Saiin.[2]
• Princess Shōshi (1195–1211) – honorary empress to her brother, Emperor Juntoku.[7]
• Princess Kuniko – honorary empress to her brother, Emperor Go-Horikawa.[7] She was also the surrogate mother of Emperor Kameyama, and served as honorary empress until she became a nun in 1235.[9]
• Princess Rishi – honorary empress to her nephew, Emperor Shijō.[7] She was first made his honorary empress, but then would later become his honorary mother. She would serve until 1239, when she became a nun, and was bestowed the Dharma name, Shinseichi. She was given the title, Shikiken Mon'in on the same day.[10]
• Princess Teruko – honorary mother to her nephew, Emperor Go-Saga.[11]
• Princess Shōshi (1286–1348) – briefly served as honorary empress[12] for her brother, Emperor Go-Daigo,[13] before becoming a nun the same year in 1319.[12] She received the Dharma name Shinrikaku.[14]

See also

• Josei Tennō
• Empress of Japan
• Empress Michiko

References

1. Ruppert, Brian Douglas (2000). Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in Early Medieval Japan. Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 449. ISBN 978-0-674-00245-6.
2. Ponsonby-Fane, R. A. B. (2014-06-03). Studies In Shinto & Shrines. Routledge. pp. 131, 132, 133. ISBN 978-1-136-89294-3.
3. Nishino, Yukiko; Hattori, Sanae (2002). 歴史のなかの皇女たち [Princesses in history] (in Japanese). 小学館. pp. 116–117, 123. ISBN 978-4-09-626128-6.
4. 白根陽子「天皇家領の伝領と女院の仏事形態」『女院領の中世的展開』（同成社、2018年） ISBN 978-4-88621-800-1 page, 187.
5. Saikū Historical Museum, Meiwa, Mie: wall-display information table
6. Kawai, Sachiko (7 March 2022). Uncertain Powers: Sen'yōmon-in and Landownership by Royal Women in Early Medieval Japan. Harvard East Asian monographs. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-68417-635-9.
7. Venning, Timothy (2023). A compendium of world sovereigns: Volume II Medieval. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-36198-7.
8. 日本人名大辞典+Plus,367日誕生日大事典, 朝日日本歴史人物事典,デジタル版. "令子内親王(れいしないしんのう)とは？ 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-27.
9. The Clear Mirror: A Chronicle of the Japanese Court During the Kamakura Period (1185–1333). Stanford University Press. 1998-08-01. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-8047-6388-2.
10. 日本人名大辞典+Plus, ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典,デジタル版. "式乾門院(しきけんもんいん)とは？ 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-27.
11. Haga, Noboru (1993). 日本女性人名辞典. 日本図書センター. p. 603. ISBN 4-8205-7128-1.
12. 日本人名大辞典+Plus,朝日日本歴史人物事典, デジタル版. "達智門院(たっちもんいん)とは？ 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-06-27.
13. Tokoro, Kyouko (1989). 斎王和歌文学の史的研究 [Historical Study of Saiō Waka Literature] (in Japanese). p. 309.
14. Shoten, Iwanami (1993). 国書人名辞典 [Dictionary of Japanese Biographies] (in Japanese). 岩波書店. p. 212. ISBN 978-4-00-080083-9.