Princess Kazu - Buddhist Nun

Buddhist Nun

A series of tragedies hit Princess Kazu between 1865 and 1867. Her mother, who followed her to Edo to keep her company, died on 10 August 1865, followed by her husband Shogun Iemochi, who died in Osaka while commanding the Chōshū Expedition on 20 July 1866. Kazunomiya took the tonsure and became a Buddhist nun, receiving the title of Seikan'in-no-miya (静寛院宮) on 9 December 1866, but just a few weeks later her brother Emperor Komei would also pass away.

The death of Shogun Iemochi put an end to their very short marriage, and the couple did not have any children. When Iemochi's will to have Tokugawa Iesato succeed him arrived in Edo, the rōjū consulted her. Voicing her opposition to have someone so young as Shogun during such turbulent times, Seikanin instead supported Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who would become the last Tokugawa Shogun. However their relationship quickly turned sour as public opinion turned against Yoshinobu.

During the Meiji Restoration, Seikanin and her mother-in-law, Tenshoin helped negotiate for the peaceful surrender of Edo Castle by reining in (restraining) extremists of both sides. They were therefore instrumental in maintaining the lineage of the Tokugawa family. After the shogunal surrender, Seikanin briefly returned to Kyoto. But after Emperor Meiji moved the capital to move to Tokyo (the former Edo), he and her uncle persuaded Seikanin to join them there.

Seikan'in arrived in Tokyo in 1874 and she took up residence in the home of Katsu Kaishu, in the mansion in Azabu ichibei-cho. She remained there until her death in 1877 of beriberi, at the young age of 31. Her grave is at Zōjō-ji, in Minato, Tokyo. After World War II, her tomb was excavated for reburial. A dry plate of a man in traditional hitatare and a tachieboshi was found on her person. The artifact was lost due to improper handling. As a result, the identity of the male on the dry plate is unknown. There is debate on whether the male is Prince Arisugawa Taruhito or her husband, Tokugawa Iemochi. The body of her husband, Tokugawa Iemochi was found. An old tradition was if the husband died, his wife would cut a piece of her hair, and the hair would be buried with her husband, but the hair that was buried with Tokugawa Iemochi was not Kazunomiya's.