also: こうたいこう
Empress Dowager; Queen Mother
Title for the mother of the reigning emperor, or the widow of a previous emperor. Used in historical and modern imperial contexts.
Her Majesty the Empress Dowager attended the ceremony.
明治時代の皇太后は、皇室の象徴的な存在だった。
The Empress Dowager of the Meiji era was a symbolic figure of the imperial family.
Upon the previous emperor's death, the empress became the Empress Dowager.