Nagako de Kuni, Empress Consort of Japan

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[...] Nagako De Kuni (1903-2000) Nagako de Kuni was an imperial consort and dowager empress of Japan. She was married to Emperor Sh?wa. She was born on 6 March 1903 in Tokyo and died on 16 June 2000. The childhood of the future empress On 6 March 1903, Nagako was born in Tokyo. She was the third child, the first daughter, of the couple composed of Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni, who was a member of a relatively minor princely house of the imperial family, and Chikako Shimazu, the daughter of Prince Shimazu Tadayoshi, who would remain forever as having been the last feudal lord of Satsuma. [...]

[...] From 1947, however, she was more visible, becoming the honorary president of the Japanese Red Cross. She would meet with families, deeply affected by World War II, former combatants who had experienced traumas due to this war, and orphans in orphanages. It is worth noting that this was the post-World War II era. She and her husband would travel together for numerous diplomatic trips in Japan and abroad. Their couple would be the first imperial couple to travel outside of Japan, notably from September to October 1971, during their excursion to Europe, or in 1975 to the United States. [...]

[...] Nagako de Kuni would become empress dowager from then on. End of life In recent years, Nagako de Kuni spent her time at Fukiage Palace, which was later renamed ?mya Palace, as it is traditionally the name given to the residences of empress dowagers. Her health gradually declined, preventing her from attending the funeral of her husband, Emperor Hirohito. She died on 16 June 2000 at the age of 97, after spending 73 years as empress from 1926 to her death. [...]