Tenshō-in

Tenshōin

Tenshōin (天璋院) (February 5, 1835—November 20, 1883), also known as Atsuko (篤子), was the wife of Tokugawa Iesada (徳川 家定), the 13th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan，

Her father Shimatsu Tadatake (島津忠剛) belongs to the Imaizumi Shimazu (今和泉島津) family of the Shimazu clan in Satsuma.

She was originally named, Katsu (一), by her parents. When she was adopted by Shimazu Nariakira　(島津斉彬), her name was changed to Atsuko (篤子), and later changed to Fujiwara no Sumiko (藤原の敬子) when she was adopted by Konoe Tadahiro (近衛忠熙).

Biography

Tenshōin was born in Kagoshima (鹿児島) in 1835. In 1853, she became the adopted daughter of Shimazu Nariakira. In August 21, 1853, she travelled by land from Kagoshima via Kumamoto (熊本) to the Edo (江戸) jurisdiction, never to return to Kagoshima again.

Atsuko is thought to be sent to Edo castle with the aim of helping Shimatsu Nariakira politically. The question of the next heir to the Shogunate is divided between the choice of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, then head of the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa house　and Tokugawa Yoshitomi, then head of Kiichu-Tokugawa house and later known as Tokugawa Iemochi . In order to ensure that Yoshinobu becomes the next in succession, Atsuko is set to wed into the Tokugawa Clan.

In November, 1856, Atsuko married Tokugawa Iesada　(徳川家定). In 1858, both Tokugawa Iesada and Shimatsu Nariakira died. The 14th shogun was decided to be Tokugawa Iemochi (徳川家茂). Following the demise of her husband, Atsuko took the tonsure, becoming a Buddhist nun, and took the name Tenshōin. In 1862, as part of the Kōbu Gattai (公武合体－"Union of Court and Bakufu") movement, Iemochi was married to Imperial Princess Kazu-no-Miya Chikako (和宮親子) daughter of Emperor Ninkō　(仁孝天皇), and younger sister of Emperor Kōmei　(孝明天皇). The Satsuma clan brought up the request for Tenshōin to return to Satsuma, but was rejected by Tenshōin herself. In 1866, Iemochi died. Tokugawa Yoshinobu became the next shogun. During the Meiji Restoration, Tenshōin and Seikanin (静寛院ーKazu-no-Miya's name after tonsure) helped negotiate for the peaceful surrender of Edo Castle　(江戸無血開城).

She spent her remaining years nurturing Tokugawa Iesato, the 16th head of the Tokugawa clan. In 1883, she died in Edo at the age of 48. She was buried in Kaneiji in Tokyo, Ueno, together with her husband, Iesada.

The 2008 NHK Taiga drama Atsuhime (fifty episodes) was a dramatization of her life.