The Takatsukasa family is a branch of the Fujiwara clan of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. In the 13th century, the main line of the Fujiwara family split into five houses: Konoe

Konoe family

The Konoe family is a branch of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family in Japan. As one of the five regent houses, the Konoe family monopolized the offices of Sessho and Kampaku along with Takatsukasa, Kujō, Ichijō and Nijō families. They are collectively known as the Five regent houses.With...

, Takatsukasa, Kujō

Kujō family

The Kujō family was a Japanese noble family and a branch of the Fujiwara clan derived from Fujiwara no Tadamichi. They were counted as one of the Sekke, the five regent houses and therefore one of the most politically powerful families among the kuge .As one of the Sekke, the five regent houses,...

, Nijō

Nijo family

The was one of five regent houses, branches of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family that monopolized regent positions Sesshō and Kampaku in Japan. The family was founded by Kujō Michiie's second son Nijō Yoshizane, while his third son Ichijō Sanetsune founded Ichijō family.-External links:* ...

 and Ichijō

Ichijo family

The was one of five regent houses, branches of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful noble family monopolizing regent positions Sesshō and Kampaku in Japan. The family was founded by Kujō Michiie's third son Ichijō Sanetsune....

. These five families in turn provided regents for the Emperor

Emperor of Japan

The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...

, and were thus known as the Five Regent Houses

Five regent houses

The Five regent houses is a collective term for those five families of Fujiwara clan, who were regarded entitled to the position of Sekkan in the Imperial Court of Kyoto, Japan, and monopolized the position between 12th and 19th century...

.

The founder of the Takatsukasa family was Fujiwara Kanehira. The family took its name from the section of Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 in which they resided. The family crest is the peony

Peony

Peony or paeony is a name for plants in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America...

. Their status was kuge

Kuge

The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...

.

The Takatsukasa family died out in the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

. Later, at the beginning of the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, a son of Nijō Haruyoshi

Nijo Haruyoshi

, son of regent Nijō Korefusa, was a Japanese kugyō of the Muromachi period . He held a regent position kampaku two times from 1548 to 1553 and from 1568 to 1578. He married a daughter of prince Fushimi-no-miya Sadaatsu who gave birth to Kujō Kanetaka, Nijō Akizane and Takatsukasa...

 took the name Takatsukasa Nobufusa

Takatsukasa Nobufusa

was a court noble of the early Edo period. Born to Nijo Haruyoshi and adopted by Takatsukasa Tadafuyu he revived the lineage of the Takatsukasa family. In 1606 he was appointed Kampaku, a regent position which he left two years later. In 1657 he died at age 93...

 and revived the household which halted at Tadafuyu

Takatsukasa Tadafuyu

, son of Kanesuke, was a court noble of the late Muromachi period. He held a regent position Kampaku from 1542 to 1545. The succession of the household was halted after his death until Takatsukasa Nobufusa, adopted son of Tadafuyu, continued it.-References:*...

.

Nobufusa's daughter Takako married Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.-Early life :...

, the third Tokugawa shogun

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

. But she had no son.

In 1869, the head of the Takatsukasa family became a prince (or duke), and a member of the kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

. Princess Kazuko

Kazuko Takatsukasa

-External links:***...

, the third daughter of Hirohito

Hirohito

, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...

, the Emperor Showa, married the heir of Takatsukasa

Takatsukasa Toshimichi

, son of duke Nobusuke, was a Japanese researcher of trains. He worked at TEI Park, a museum in Tokyo. He married the third daughter of Hirohito, Princess Kazuko; they adopted a son from Ogyū-Matsudaira, Naotake.-References:* Japanese Wikipedia...

.

Members

• Kanehira
  Takatsukasa Kanehira
  , 4th son of Konoe Iezane, was a court noble of the Kamakura period and founding father of the Takatsukasa family. His sons include Kanetada and Mototada....
  
  
• Kanetada
  Takatsukasa Kanetada
  , son of Kanehira, was a court noble of the Kamakura period. He held the regent positions of Kampaku from 1296 to 1298 and Sessho since 1298. In 1301 he retired and became a priest. Regent Fuyuhira was his son. His other sons include: and ; they did not become kampaku or sessho...
  
  
• Mototada
  Takatsukasa Mototada
  , son of Kanehira, was a court noble of the Kamakura period. He held the regent position of Kampaku from 1268 to 1273. Fuyuhira was his adopted son.-See also:* Kasuga Gongen Genki E...
  
  
• Tadafuyu
  Takatsukasa Tadafuyu
  , son of Kanesuke, was a court noble of the late Muromachi period. He held a regent position Kampaku from 1542 to 1545. The succession of the household was halted after his death until Takatsukasa Nobufusa, adopted son of Tadafuyu, continued it.-References:*...
  
  
• Nobufusa
  Takatsukasa Nobufusa
  was a court noble of the early Edo period. Born to Nijo Haruyoshi and adopted by Takatsukasa Tadafuyu he revived the lineage of the Takatsukasa family. In 1606 he was appointed Kampaku, a regent position which he left two years later. In 1657 he died at age 93...
  
  

External links

• Takatsukasa Kamon The Kamon of the Takatsukasa family