Yamazaki Tomamako

Sumako Yamazaki (born August 9, 1850 (July 2, Kaei 3) – February 17, 1927 (Showa 2)) was a woman from the late Edo period to the Taisho era in Japan. She was a concubine of Shizoku Chūgi Shimazu Tadanishi of the Shimazu family.

Life

Sumako Yamazaki was born on August 9, 1850, in Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture) as the eldest daughter of Jū Yamazaki. She later became a concubine of Shimazu Tadanishi, with whom she bore three sons and nine daughters. Detailed records exist concerning her family and children.

During the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, she was residing in her home in Sanei-machi, Shiba, Tokyo. Records indicate she returned to her home on August 30 of that year. Afterwards, she was moved to a residence in Sodezaki by Shimazu Tadayoshi, and she is said to have slept there with her son at her side in her Nagatacho residence.

Regarding her health, she developed a stomach ulcer in the spring of 1926, and in early February 1927, contracted a malignant cold. Ultimately, she passed away on February 17, 1927, at 2 a.m., at her home in Sanei-machi, Shiba.

Lifestyle and Environment

Sumako Yamazaki’s household included several dozen female servants living in her residence at Zengemon Garden (Senganen). Each maid had her own room, and electric lighting was already installed by 1882. The education of her children was mainly overseen by a caretaker. It is recorded that her husband, Shimazu Tadanishi, stayed awake until 9 p.m., after which he would play with the children and then go to sleep.

She also played a role in household rituals, such as acting as the master of the incense matching ceremony. According to her grandson Tsukuba Tōmaro, she, along with others like Chieko Nakajō (a lady-in-waiting to Prince Akihito of the Imperial Family), stayed at a vacation home in Kamakura to escape the heat before moving to Tokyo. By at least 1910, she was residing in Sanei-machi.

Personality

Records describe Sumako Yamazaki as being of a calm and quiet demeanor. Her grandson, Kōki Kashima (the second son of Shimazu Tadayoshi), notes that she was fond of smoking tobacco. It is also believed that she carried a gene for color blindness (specifically, type 3 trichromacy).

Family

Her family composition was as follows:

Eldest daughter:

- Kiyoko (born April 27, 1871 (Meiji 4, March 8)), wife of Nagamasa Kuroda

Second daughter:

- Mitsuko (born February 7, 1873), wife of Atsumasa Ikeda, wife of Naomitsu Matsudaira

Third daughter:

- Tsuneko (born March 7, 1874), consort of Kikumaro Shima

Fourth daughter:

- Tomoko (born August 15, 1875), wife of Tetsutaka Tokugawa

Fifth daughter:

- Fuhime (born December 1876; died two years later)

Sixth daughter:

- Sadako (born February 19, 1878), wife of Sadamune Hisamatsu

Seventh daughter:

- Zensho (born October 19, 1879), wife of Kunihiko Kuni-no-miya and mother of Empress Kōjun

Eighth daughter:

- Waki (born June 1881; died three years later)

Eldest son:

- Toku-nosuke (born July 1883; died at two months old)

Second son:

- Kunmaru (born July 1884; died at eight months old)

Ninth daughter:

- Masako (born September 21, 1885), wife of Iemasa Tokugawa

Third son:

- Shimazu Tadayoshi (born October 20, 1886)

Her grandchildren number 31.