| Consort: | yes |
| Princess Kaoruko | |
| Succession: | Empress consort of Japan |
| Reign: | 1069–1073 |
| Spouse: | Emperor Go-Sanjō |
| Royal House: | Imperial House of Japan |
| Father: | Emperor Go-Ichijō |
| Mother: | Fujiwara no Ishi |
| Birth Date: | 1029 |
, also known as Saiin-no Kōgō (西院皇后), was an empress consort (chūgū) of her cousin Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan.[1] [2]
While a young child, she served as a Saiin (priestess) from 1032 until 1036. She was a daughter of Emperor Go-Ichijō, and as such, marriage to her represented a means to lessen some of the influence of the powerful Fujiwara family (from which imperial consorts usually came).[3] She married her cousin the future emperor in 1051. In 1068, her husband became emperor, and she was appointed empress.
Her husband had three consorts: Kaoruko, Minamoto Motoko, and Fujiwara Shigeko. The emperor hoped that Kaoruko would bear an heir, and thus allow him to pass the throne to a non-Fujiwara son. She had no children, however, and after the death of her husband, she became a Buddhist nun under the name Saiin-no Kōgō (西院皇后). [4]