Kujo Hisatada (九条尚忠)
Hisatada KUJO (September 5, 1798 - October 5, 1871) is a court noble who lived from late Edo period to Meiji period. Hisatada's official title was Juichii (Junior First Rank) and Kanpaku (chief advisor to the Emperor).
Hisatada was a son of Harutaka NIJO, the minister of the left, and his mother was a daughter of Motoyasu HIGUCHI. Michitaka KUJO was the first son of Hisatada. The Empress Dowager Eisho, the wife of Emperor Komyo, was a daughter of Hisatada. Empress Teimei, the wife of Emperor Taisho, was a grandchild of Hisatada.
Hisatada was raised by Suketsugu KUJO, Gon Dainagon (the chief councillor of state). Though it was determined that Hisatada succeeded to the position of kanpaku from Masamichi TAKATSUKASA who had fulfilled the duty of kanpaku for a long time, people in many sections were cautious about Hisatada because he could not keep his hands off women. In 1858 when the Bakufu requested the Emperor to sign the Harris Treaty with the US to initiate trade with foreign countries including the US, Hisatada promoted cooperation with the Bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) and demanded permission to carry out the treaty. However, in the same year, the permission by the Emperor could not be established due to fierce protest by 88 higher-ranking officials of the Imperial Court who were against the cooperative line with the Bakufu.
(So-called "Case of 88 Imperial Court Officials' Marching"
Though Hisatada KUJO was permitted to return to his position later on, he still continued to promote the cooperative line with the Bakufu and actively drove the marriage of Imperial Princess Kazunomiya with Shogun as a part of the movement to establish a coalition government by the Imperial Court and the Bakufu and, therefore, Hisatada was denounced by the extremists of the faction which advocated revering the Emperor and expelling the barbarians, and Hisatada was ordered to stay at home. He died at the age of 74.
Hisatada's grave is located in Tofuku-ji temple in Higashiyama Ward in Kyoto City.