Tachibana no Kachiko (橘 嘉智子, 786 – June 17, 850), also known as Empress Danrin (檀林皇后, Danrin-kōgō), was a Japanese empress, the chief consort of Emperor Saga[1] and the daughter of Tachibana no Kiyotomo (橘 清友).

She founded the Buddhist Danrin-ji temple complex, and for this reason, she came to be called Danrin-kōgō.

[3] Known for her renowned beauty in her life, on her deathbed, Empress Danrin requested her body to be left open to the environment for the public to see the effects of human decomposition.

This event later became a popular Japanese folk legend and was later depicted by the 18th century painting "Nine Stages of Decomposition of the Heian Period Empress Danrin".

In the acclaimed 2013 movie Avalokitesvara, a loose adaptation of the Putuoshan genesis story, Ryoko Nakano starred as the Empress Dowager Tachibana Kachiko.