Ikuko Noma

Iku Noma (1849 – 1946) was a member of the Japanese Imperial Court and served as a concubine in the Kujo family. Her father was Yoroki Noma, a retainer of the Nijo family. She is also known as Nakagawa no Tsubone and Kiyomoe-in. She was the biological mother of Michizane Kujo, Empress Teimei, and Princess Fumiko, and thus great-grandmother to Emperor Showa (Hirohito).

Detailed records of her life are as follows. She is believed to have entered service with the Kujo family around the first year of the Boshin era (1864). In 1869 (Meiji 2), she gave birth to Michizane Kujo, after which she was active as a concubine to Michitake Kujo. She bore one son and three daughters.

On October 17, 1924 (Taisho 13), she attended the first anniversary memorial service for Princess Sachi (Saki-no-miya) of Yamashina at Kanxi-in in Yamashina. At that time, she resided in Kyoto and attended together with Princess Sachi's former consort, Princess Jomatsu of Yamashina, and Princess Kayo. Iku traveled by sedan chair along with these two princesses to Kanxi-in. During the memorial, they received treatment second only to the two princesses. The three underwent the monastic ordination of Kenke (reverence) and received the Sanju-jōka (threefold purification) of Esoteric Buddhism, tied their hair into monastic knots, participated in the Jōmyō Kanjō (initiation) ceremony, and vowed allegiance to the Buddhist faith.

Her children include Michizane Kujo and Fumiko, who became Princess Kōjun, consort of Emperor Taisho, the 123rd Emperor. Koshi married Kōzui Otani, a prominent Buddhist priest.

Referenced materials include the Osaka Mainichi Newspaper’s “Imperial Household Picture Album” (1922), Fuyuko Uji’s “The First Anniversary Commemoration of Princess Sachi of Yamashina and the Two Great Consorts Entering the Buddhist Monastic Life” (1924), and Tōbunsha’s “Asahi no Mikage” (1911).

Supporting notes, references, and related topics include incidents such as the “Major Incident in the Imperial Court.”