Kaoru Otsuki

Kaoru Otsuki (Japanese: 大月 薰, romanized: Ōtsuki Kaoru; 6 August 1888 – 21 December 1970) was a Japanese woman known for being the second wife of Sun Yat-sen, the founder and first president of the Republic of China.

Kaoru Otsuki
Otsuki c. 1900
Born(1888-08-06)6 August 1888
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Died21 December 1970(1970-12-21) (aged 82)
Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1905; a. 1906)​
    Shūji Miwa
    ​
    (divorced)​
    • Motomune Sanekata
    ChildrenFumiko Miyagawa (daughter)
    Motonobu Sanekata (son)
    Japanese name
    Kanji大月 薰
    Kanaおおつき かおる
    Chinese name
    Chinese大月薰

    Biography

    Kaoru was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on 6 August 1888.

    Kaoru first met Sun Yat-sen in Yokohama's Chinatown in 1898, when she knocked over a vase and apologized to Sun.[1] In 1901, Sun asked Kaoru's father for permission to marry his daughter, but Kaoru's father refused because of the great age difference between Sun and Kaoru; at the time, Sun was 37 while Kaoru was only 13. A year later, Sun proposed marriage again and Kaoru's father relented. Kaoru and Sun's wedding ceremony was held in Yokohama in 1905 upon his return to Japan after two years.[2] At the time, Sun was still married to his first wife, Lu Muzhen.

    However, Sun left Japan for China before Kaoru gave birth to their daughter, Fumiko, on 12 May 1906;[2] he never returned to see his daughter. Out of financial desperation, Kaoru sent Fumiko to the Miyagawa family for adoption in 1911. Kaoru later remarried twice, first to Shūji Miwa (三輪 秀司), the younger brother of Shizuoka Bank president Shingorō Miwa (三輪 新五郎), and then to Motomune Sanekata (實方 元心), the Buddhist abbot of the Tokoji Temple in Ashikaga, Tochigi. She had a son named Motonobu Sanekata (实方 元信) and a daughter with the latter.[3]

    Kaoru was reunited with her daughter Fumiko in 1955, after the latter visited the Tokoji Temple with her eldest son.[2]

    Kaoru died on 21 December 1970 at the age of 82.[1] The governments of the People's Republic of China (mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have both acknowledged Kaoru's marriage to Sun Yat-sen, and their grandson by Fumiko was invited to the centennial celebrations of the Xinhai Revolution in Wuhan, China, in 2011.[4]

    References

    Citations
    1. "大月薰錄音帶 揭孫文百年密婚". 民視新聞.
    2. "Japan-Revolution". Asia Sentinel. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
    3. Zhang, Shi (31 August 2018). "谁为孙中山与日本妻子代写和翻译情书" [Who wrote and translated the love letters between Sun Yat-sen and his Japanese wives?]. The Nikkei (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    4. 孙中山82岁日本外孙受邀明年访问武汉(组图) (in Chinese). 新浪网. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2022.

    Sources
    • 李敖 (1987). 《李敖論孫中山》 (in Chinese). 臺灣: 全能出版社.
    • 陳錫祺 (1991). 《孫中山年谱長編》, 第1卷 (in Chinese). 中國: 中华书局. ISBN 9787101006858.
    • 李吉奎 (1996). 《孙中山与日本》 (in Chinese). 中國: 广东人民出版社. ISBN 9787218022437.
    • 苗體君 (2005). 《炎黃縱橫》〈孫中山一生的婚姻〉2005年12期 (in Chinese). 中國: 福建省炎黄文化研究会.
    • 久保田文次 (20 December 2011). 《辛亥革命と孫文》 (in Japanese). 日本: 汲古書院. ISBN 9784762925962.
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaoru Otsuki.


    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.