Honorific term for an imperial palace or a grand shrine. Often used in historical or formal contexts.
I visit the grand shrine.
Grand Empress Dowager; Empress Dowager
Historical title for a retired empress or an empress dowager. Rare in modern usage outside historical texts.
The Empress Dowager held great influence during the cloistered government period.
imperial mother; elderly imperial woman
Refers to a woman of imperial lineage who has given birth to a child, or an elderly woman of such lineage. Archaic and limited to historical contexts.
The imperial consort bore a prince as an imperial mother.
Standard kanji spelling for this historical and honorific term.
From 大 (great) + 宮 (palace/shrine). The exact historical derivation of the imperial female titles is uncertain; the term is conventionally associated with high-ranking imperial women and residences.