Atsuhime
| Tenshō-in 天璋院 |
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|---|---|
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| Born |
February 5, 1836 Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain Japan |
| Died | November 20, 1883 (aged 47) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Other names |
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| Title | Princess Atsu |
Tenshō-in (天璋院, February 5, 1836 – 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
She was the daughter of Lady Oyuki and Shimazu Tadatake (島津忠剛), who was the head of the Imaizumi Shimazu (今和泉島津) branch of the Shimazu in Satsuma.
She was originally named Okatsu (於一) by her parents. When she was adopted by Shimazu Nariakira, her name was changed to Atsuko (篤子) or Atsu-hime because Shimazu Nariakira was a daimyō, and later to Fujiwara no Sumiko (藤原の敬子) upon her adoption by Konoe Tadahiro.
It is said that Tenshōin liked dogs while her husband did not, so when she lived in Ooku she kept two cats, Michihime and Satohime.
Tenshōin was born in Kagoshima in 1835. In 1853, she became the adopted daughter of Shimazu Nariakira. On August 21, 1853, she travelled by land from Kagoshima via Kokura to the Edo jurisdiction, never to return to Kagoshima again.
Atsuko was thought to have been sent to Edo castle with the aim of helping Shimazu Nariakira politically. The question of the next heir to the Shogunate was divided between the choice of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, then head of the Hitotsubashi-Tokugawa house and Tokugawa Yoshitomi, then head of Kii-Tokugawa house and later known as Tokugawa Iemochi. In order to ensure that Yoshinobu became the next in succession, Atsuko was arranged to wed into the Tokugawa clan.
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