Ichijō Mikako

Ichijō Mikako (一条美賀子; later Tokugawa Mikako 徳川 美賀子)^[1] was a Japanese noble woman and wife to Tokugawa Yoshinobu. She and the shōgun had at least three children.^[2][3]

Ichijō Mikako was born the daughter of Imadegawa Kinhisa on September 11, 1835.^[2][4][5] Shortly after her birth, her father died.^[6] Originally, a man named Ichijō Tadaka's daughter, Teruko, was supposed to marry Tokugawa Yoshinobu, but Teruko contracted smallpox and the marriage was called off.^[5][7] Tadaka quickly adopted Mikako as his own and engaged her to Yoshinobu.^{[2][3][7][8][9]}

Mikako was wed in 1855 and became pregnant in 1858. She gave birth to a daughter, however her daughter soon died. She would go on to have at least 2 other daughters, all dying young.^[2][3] After a suspected relationship between Yoshinobu and another woman, Mikako became depressed and tried to commit suicide, however this failed.^[1][3][10] Soon later, Yoshinobu became the guardian of the shōgun, Tokugawa Iemochi and as such the couple did not live together.^[11] Yoshinobu finally became shōgun in August 1866, yet she still did not live with him as she did not move to the Ōoku in Edo Castle.^[12][13][14] In 1867 the Meiji Restoration bought an end to shōgunate rule, and Mikako's title was officially defined as Gorenju.^[15]

Following the Meiji restoration, Yoshinobu lived in confinement and Mikako was never allowed to see him.^[11][12] After being released from house arrest in 1869, Yoshinobu built a new home for himself, and for the first time in 10 years, the couple lived together.^[11][16]

Mikako lived a very private life. However, in 1894, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and so moved into the Tokugawa family home, where she received treatment by Ryoun Takamatsu.^[11][12] The surgery did very little to help her, and on July 9, 1894, she died from her illness.^[11][12][17] Before her death, she composed a death poem;^[12]

On the road where we parted ways
The lingering traces of our love
Like white snow on the roadside