Saionji Kikuko

[Saionji Kikuko]

Maeda Aki

Who is it there staring?

Name: Saionji Kikuko
Age | B-day: 25 | June 12th 1850
Position: wife of His Excellency the Ambassador of the Empire of Japan to France Saionji Sanemune.

Hair: dark brown/black, her hair is straight and she usually carries it in a very traditional style typical for Japan (Nihongami, but she usually sticks to the Shimada style, despite the newly appeared trend of following Western fashion, though there are days when she follows Western fashion.)
Eyes: brown
Markings: barely visible scar on her upper left arm (a souvenir from the siege of Aizu Castle)

Learn to see, to find the man

Phobia: High pitched whistling, which may sound like incoming shells, as it reminds her of being trapped inside the besieged Aizu Castle while the imperial rebels shelled it
Habit: when nervous or extremely focused she usually touches the tip of her left incisor with her tongue and often leaves her mouth open while doing that
Pet Peeve: Rude people, she hates them. But of course, self-control is important, thus she would never blow up into anyone's face over such an issue.

Personality:
At first glance Kiku -that's how her family had always called her- comes across as a small, meek, submissive thing. But there is one thing that sets her apart from the majority of other ladies of similar rank. Kiku has experienced war. She has experienced being on a battlefield, as she was one of the defenders of Aizu Castle during the Boshin War that rocked Japan in 1868.

Her marriage in 1871 was a political marriage between one of the most influential samurai families and one of the most important families of the imperial court. There is no love between her and her husband, who could almost be her father. As it is, Kiku hadn't seen her husband for almost four years, after all he went to France in late 1871 (not too long after the Franco-Prussian war and the Commune.) They don't care much about each other, but Kiku has learned where her place is and thus she plays the good and dutiful wife for her important husband.

Yes, she knows where her place in this new world is, but deep down inside her she is a lady of the Manabe family. And the Manabe have fought on hundreds of different battlefields from the wars with the Hojo and Takeda during the Unification Wars up until the Boshin War, which eventually led to the fall of the Tokugawa regime. Kiku has learned how to fight, it was simply a necessity due to her position. She has seen combat as close as any random infantryman.

Her sometimes even submissive behavior towards her husband is the result of the Boshin War, where her faction was utterly defeated by his, the imperial rebels who eventually restored the Emperor to his “rightful” position as emperor of Japan. While Kiku might not agree with this point of view she certainly keeps such opposition to herself. First of all, what good would it do? And secondly... she's merely a woman, what could she do anyway? Apart from that, she has taken a liking in her adopted cousin the Emperor Meiji, who's a mere two years younger than Kiku. Adopted, yes, because when Kiku married into the Saionji family, she became part of it and her mother-in-law is one of the aunts of the Meiji Emperor's father, the late Emperor Kômei.

The experiences of having been one of the Internal Combatants at Aizu Castle have certainly shaped her. Apart from being shelled and seeing more blood and death than most other women of her status Kiku also learned what it means to be starving. Aizu was her baptism of fire, literally. Compared to the hardships during the siege marrying a member of the court nobility seemed like nothing.

Kiku has been fighting with her mother-in-law for a while, mainly over how the household was supposed to be dealt with. Eventually, though, a certain mutual respect grew between them, which is still there.

Duty, loyalty, honor... Basically the seven virtues of bushido are part of her life, even though samurai have been abolished by now. But Kiku grew up as a samurai daughter, she even fought in a war, thus she still sees herself as a samurai. She has a duty towards her husband, and even if he should continue to prefer bedding his mistress (the tall, fat -at least from Kiku's point of view- blonde) over her, she can, at least, try to support him in other ways.

What kind of life have you known?

Family:
Father | Marquis Manabe Yoshihide | 65 | Alive
Mother | Lady Manabe Tomoko | 58 | Alive
Grandmother | Lady Manabe Kozue | 92 | Alive
Brother | Captain Manabe Yoshitake, IJA | 34 | Alive
Brother | Manabe Nobuaki (called “Boo” by his sisters) | 25 | Deceased
Brother | Lieutenant Manabe Ieyoshi, IJN | 30 | Alive
Brother | Lieutenant Manabe Masanobu, IJA| 27 | Alive
Sister | Kodama Takeko | 22 | Alive
Sister | Manabe (soon Nikaidô) Akiko | 20 | Alive

Uncle | Manabe Takenobu | 59 | Alive
Aunt | Manabe Akiko | 48 | Alive
Cousin | Manabe Hironobu | 29 | Alive
Cousin | Manabe Takeyoshi | 25 | Alive
Cousin | Manabe Nobushige | 22 | Alive

Uncle | Manabe Nobukaze | 49 | Deceased

Uncle | Captain Manabe Yoshitomo, IJN | 62 | Alive

Husband | Saionji Sanemune | 41 | Alive
Father-in-law | Saionji Sanehiro, retired Minister of the Left | 71 | Alive
Mother-in-law | Haru-no-miya Yasuko naishinnô, The Princess Haru | 60 | Alive
Cousin-in-law | Saionji Kinmochi | 26 | Alive

Cousin-in-law | His Imperial Majesty The Emperor Meiji | 23 | Alive

History:
Kikuko, by that time still Okiku, was born into the illustrious Manabe family in 1850. The Manabe had first appeared in the late 16th century and from there they had worked their way up in society eventually becoming daimyo of Mikawa province, which made them one of the most influential and wealthy families outside of the Matsudaira-Tokugawa Connection and the Maeda family. Kiku was in fact named after Tachibana Okiku, who had married into the family in 1700. But as it was, she would not share the same fate as the very first Okiku in the Manabe family, for the country was changing already.

Western samurai were disgruntled, they were angry at the government in Edo. Then the foreigners came. First the Americans with their Black Ships. They forced the country to open and soon more foreigners came. British, French, Russian, German, Italian... so many nationalities and they all seemed to want a slice of the cake called Japan.

But Kiku was too young to realize any of this. The first Americans came only a few years after her birth. It took her until 1862 to realize that the country was changing. Surely, Edo was a secure place for someone like her, at least for now, but the actions taken against foreigners by so called “enemies of the Shogunate” were spreading. She was now twelve and she could see how things were changing. But even then, what could she have done? She noticed how her father was called into Edo Castle to see the Shogun more and more often. Even her grandmother, the Old Dragon, spent most of her time there. There was clearly a crisis, and soon Kiku was dragged into it as well. She learned how to handle a naginata and eventually even how to shoot a rifle. Her grandmother, despite the protests of her own mother, deemed it necessary for a daughter of the Manabe family to be ready for a war.

Six years later, after lots of provocation from both sides and many skirmishes open war erupted between the two factions. On one side were the Tokugawa, their government and their allies -the Manabe one of them. On the other side was the Emperor and the forces “loyal” to him, but rumor had it that the Satsuma and Choshu clans were just abusing the young emperor for their own plans. It had to be true. Throughout the Edo period the Satsuma clans had always caused problems. They needed to be dealt with properly, even Kiku believed that.

And then there was this movement, this “sonno joi”. Madness! At least in Kiku's book. Her grandmother had taken care of her education, thus Kiku -just like her younger sisters- had more knowledge about politics and science than most other girls of her age.

1868 the imperial rebels finally moved and soon another rumor appeared. The rebels were marching on Edo! The family decided to move the daughters away from the dangerous areas. Up north was the plan. Into Aizu domain. Right into Aizu Castle. Kiku was ordered to take care of her younger sisters and thus they fled north, away from the rebels and their murderous scheme.

But the rebels eventually marched on Aizu because many supporters of the Shogun were sitting just there.

A few skirmishes and short battles later Aizu Castle was under siege by the imperial rebels. The rebels outgunned and outnumbered the defenders. Many other samurai had decided to remain neutral. They were simply waiting for who'd be the winner so that they could swear allegiance to him, whoever it would be. Aizu withstood the angry attacks of the rebels. Kiku herself was forced to fight against them. She had proven to be a decent shot and thus served under two women who were way below her in society, Yamamoto Yaeko and Kazamatsuri Kasumi. Yaeko was in charge of the sharpshooters in the castle, but she soon dueled the superior imperial artillery with the cannons inside the castle. Kasumi was the daughter of a low-ranking Matsudaira retainer and, more or less, the best shot in the castle. Yet, despite the gap in status, Kiku and Kasumi became friends. More than once Kiku and Kasumi were almost killed by the incoming artillery shells and one day Kiku was wounded by shrapnel on her left arm.

During the siege Kiku fired her rifle at enemy soldiers, of course. And she even hit some of them, most likely even killing some. But it was war. Sooner or later the rebels would storm the castle, and it was better to go down fighting. Kiku had heard of the mass suicides that had happened outside of the castle when the rebels entered towns. Sooner or later the defenders of the castle would share that fate.

As it was, Kiku was ready to die. Eighteen years old and ready to die. She had even made a plan for the moment the imperial savages would breach the defenses. First, she would kill her sisters, and then she and Kasumi would kill each other. No western barbarian would lay his dirty hands on them and violate them.

But it never happened for it was Matsudaira Teruko, known as Teruhime, who convinced her husband that surrender was the only option. And thus, after withstanding the rebel army for several weeks, Aizu Castle simply surrendered.

However, the war brought two painful experiences. Kiku's uncle Nobukaze was later killed at Hakodate. And her brother Nobuaki? Boo, as the sisters had always called him, had tried to get to Aizu Castle. He even managed to set foot into it but just a few days before the surrender he was killed during one of the foraging raids done by a handful of defenders in the hopes of finding some food outside.

Kiku and her sisters returned to Edo after the war. But things had changed. The western clans now behaved as if they owned the place. The Manabe, since they were fudai -hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa-, were placed under house arrest. Thus, after escaping the siege of Aizu Castle, Kiku and her sister were locked up again. But at least nobody was shelling them anymore.

Business moved on as usual. Still in contact with Kasumi Kiku learned that her friend would be marrying Nakagawa Takahiro, a hatamoto of the Tosa clan and a leader of the Tosa troops at Aizu Castle. What drove Kasumi to marry someone she deeply hated? It was easy, really. Her father was on the verge of falling into poverty. His 50 koku stipend was reduced to a mere five. Kasumi did what she had to do. Nakagawa was interested in her -Kiku remembered him, he had been one of the first enemy soldiers in the castle, she and Kasumi had glared at him and his men for the lack of having any other form of resistance at this point, their difference in status completely wiped away by the blood and gunpowder on their faces- and thus Kasumi did her duty as a daughter.

It was that marriage that brought Kiku down into reality. Kasumi's fate would, eventually, be her own.

And just a year after Kasumi's wedding, Kiku was married off as well. It was a political marriage, nothing else, aimed to guarantee the survival of the Manabe family. Saionji Sanemune was the son of the Minster of the Left of the imperial court, a very influential man and Sanemune had a promising career ahead. He was very interested in the way western nations ruled their territory and people. That he was almost old enough to be her father... It wasn't important. Love had nothing to do with this marriage. But as it was, it would have been her fate one day anyway, even without the imperial restoration. Kiku would have married the son of a daimyo one day, but instead of a daimyo she was now marrying a member of the court nobility. One way or the other, it certainly helped with strengthening the family's position under the new government.

The Manabe, since they had been daimyo of 500,000 koku per year, were made Marquis. Kiku's father was now a member of the rather exclusive new nobility of the country. Though, the main reason why the family was spared a similar fate as some of the Matsudaira and other supporters of the Shogun, was simply the amount of respect that Manabe Kozue commanded even among the leaders of the western samurai and imperial rebels. Nobody had ever dared to cross her.

For herself not much changed. After her marriage she moved into her husband's house only to find out that the letter from the young Meiji Emperor wishing them all the best was actually not the only connection with the emperor. Kiku learned that her mother-in-law was the aunt of the emperor's father, the late Emperor Kômei (whose death was a rather shady incident.) She even met the emperor a few times, after all she was now part of the imperial court. As it was, Kiku soon took a liking in the emperor. There were no romantic feelings involved, the thing that connected them was the fact that they had similar interests and they were almost of the same age, with Kiku only two years his senior.

She also took a liking in Saionji Kinmochi, who had been adopted into the family in 1851. He was just a year older than Kiku. But nothing happened between those two either. The way it was, Kiku had neither the time nor the need for a romantic relationship. Falling in love? What for? There was no time anyway. Her mother-in-law was too busy trying to form her into a proper lady of the Saionji family, as if being a proper lady of the Manabe family was not enough. In the end Kiku had to fight for herself, because her husband left for France in late 1871.

When not struggling with her mother-in-law Kiku spent most of her free time studying French and English (she was already somewhat fluent in Dutch, which had been the language of foreign trade in Japan for more than two-hundred years), because -eventually- she would have to go to France as well. Her husband would eventually be appointed to be the ambassador of the Japanese Empire and then Kiku wouldn't stay behind in what was now called Tokyo.

This eventually happened in late 1874. Saionji Sanemune became the new ambassador in France. And Kiku went on the long journey around the globe to be with him, after all it was her duty to, eventually, bear children. But when she finally arrived in France it was, for once, quite a culture shock, and secondly she soon learned that her husband had a mistress. A tall, blonde, rather round French woman. Taller than Kiku, rounder than Kiku and certainly... more blonde than Kiku. Frankly, it didn't really bother Kiku. Since they didn't love each other and had only “pillowed” during the time between wedding and her husband's move to France (a rather uncomfortable experience for both, but especially disgusting for Kiku), there wasn't even a proper connection between them.

It was a lot different than the marriage between Kiku's grandmother Kozue and her grandfather Kojiro. Those two had loved each other. But Kiku had no idea how this “love” was supposed to feel like, after all, she had never been in love before.

1875 came and Kiku was still in France. Most of the time she was dealing with trivial things or organized festivities and balls that were connected to the embassy -she seemed to have a hand for that. Other than that there was only sightseeing -but after seeing the Arc de Triomphe or Notre Dame de Paris for the fiftieth time eventually made that special feeling go away- and taking part in other cultural activities.

Kiku, though, also began studying European history. Since their marriage was not necessarily the best, she could at least try to help her husband in other ways. After all, she was his wife, she had a duty towards him.

One important part must not be forgotten: with the end of the feudal system and the rise of the Manabe to the status of Marquis, the family actually split up in three parts. Kiku's father was made Marquis, but his brothers showed no interest in it. Manabe Takenobu, the youngest of the three remaining brothers, preferred investing in the future of the country. Manabe Industries was a company founded in 1873 and it focused on heavy machinery and military contracts. Manabe Yoshitomo, on the other hand, came to the conclusion that neither business nor sitting around in fancy clothes while listening to the mindless dribble of self-important ministers was really his thing. Yoshitomo joined the newly founded Imperial Navy and eventually became commander of one of the first iron-clads sailing under the Japanese flag.

Whose is that face in the mask?

Name: AK
Experience: Long!
Contact: The penguins prohibit that!
Other Characters: Jack Beauregard

RP Sample:
Why? Whyyyyyyyyyy??