Shijo Takauta (四条隆謌)
Takauta SHIJO (October 17, 1828 - November 24, 1898) was a Japanese noble and soldier of the late Edo period to the Meiji period. His official rank was Marquis and Lieutenant General, Shoshii Kun nito (Senior Fourth Rank, Order of the Second Class) and he was a member of the Genroin (Chamber of Elders) and the Kizokuin (the House of Peers). He was the third son of Takao SHIJO, Gon Dainagon (Provisional Major Counselor), and the grandson of Teruhisa DAIGO. He was one of the participants in the Teishin hachiju-hachi kyo ressan jiken (Demo of eighty-eight retainers of the Imperial Court), protesting against the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
As a Court noble and member of the Joi-ha (supporters of expulsion of the foreigners), Takauta talked to the Shogunate at the end of the Edo period but, as the result of a coup, he was temporarily deprived of his official rank. In the Meiji period, his posts included Chugoku Shikoku Tsuito Sotoku (military governor of Chugoku and Shikoku); Daisotoku no Miya Sanbo (staff officer for the commander in chief); Sendai Tsuito Sotoku (military governor of Sendai); Ou Tsuito Sotoku (military governor of Ou); Hirakatako Sotoku (governor of Hirakatako); and he was appointed Major General in August 1869. He was appointed Commander of Osaka Garrison in February 1872 and transferred to Commander of Nagoya Garrison in April 1874, though he served concurrently as Commander of Osaka and Nagoya Garrisons in May 1877 (he was relieved from serving as Commander of Osaka Garrison later the same year). After being made Commander of Sendai Garrison in 1880, he was promoted to Lieutenant General in February 1881 and was appointed to member of the Genroin. In July 1884, he was promoted to count, and then to marquis in April 1891, becoming a member of the Kizokuin. In December 1893, he was placed on reserve duty. He died in November 1898.
His first wife was Keihi, an adopted daughter of Nagahiro KURODA (her real father was Masataka OKUDAIRA). They did not get on and had no children. After his first wife died, he married Haruko, a former maiko (apprentice geisha) in Gion, Kyoto whom he had patronised for a long time and had had adopted by Hisamoto HIJIKATA.
Takachika SHIJO, Takauta's fourth son, entered the army and reached the rank of major. Saneteru ICHIJO, Takauta's seventh son, entered the Ichijo family, becoming a captain in the navy, a duke and the Crown Prince's Grand Chamberlain. Kaneko, Takauta's third daughter, married Viscount Yataro MISHIMA and gave birth to Michiharu MISHIMA.