Princess Kaoruko

Princess Kaoruko (馨子内親王, Kaoruko-naishinno, 1029–1093), also known as Saiin-no Kōgō (西院皇后), was an empress consort (chūgū) of her cousin Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan.

She was a daughter of Emperor Go-Ichijō, and as such, marriage to her represented a means to lessen some of the influence of the powerful Fujiwara family (from which imperial consorts usually came).

Her husband had three consorts: Kaoruko, Minamoto Motoko, and Fujiwara Shigeko.

The emperor hoped that Kaoruko would bear an heir, and thus allow him to pass the throne to a non-Fujiwara son.

[3] She had no children, however, and after the death of her husband, she became a Buddhist nun under the name Saiin-no Kōgō (西院皇后).