In honor of this coming Mother’s Day, I thought I’d introduce some exceptional imperial mothers. Like other countries, Japan celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May. However, it used to be that Mother’s Day was celebrated on Empress Kōjun’s (香淳皇后) birthday. She was the longest reigning empress when she passed away at 97 years of age.

Another important empress is Empress Michiko (皇后美智子). She is the first commoner to have married into the royal family. Empress Michiko is different from the other empresses in that she has a college degree. She has even attended prestigious universities like Harvard and Oxford. She is also different from her predecessors in that she has chosen to raise her own children, out of the care of the palace nannies.

Empress Shōken (昭憲皇后) was the first empress to play a public role in Japanese society. She wore Western clothing and encouraged women to attain higher education. Empress Shōken was unable to bear children, and under royal protocol, she had to accept that her husband would have royal concubines. Although she doesn’t have any children of her own, you could say she was the mother of the nation through her charity work.

Unlike Empress Shōken, Empress Teimei (貞明皇后), was more of a behind-the-scenes empress. She was a woman of strong will. When her husband grew ill, she tried to carry out his duties. Empress Teimei had a vigorous objection to the War, and there were some periods of estrangement with her son over this issue. She also secretly plotted the downfall of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō (東條 英機).