Lady Saigō (1552–89) was the first consort and trusted confidant of
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the samurai lord who unified Japan at the end of the
16th century and then ruled as Shogun. One of her four children became
the second Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada. During her relationship
with Ieyasu, Lady Saigō influenced his philosophies, choice of allies,
and policies as he rose to power, and she thus had an indirect effect on
the architecture of the Tokugawa shogunate. Although less is known of
her than some other figures of the era, she is generally regarded as the
"power behind the throne". Her contributions were considered so
significant that she was posthumously inducted to the Senior First Rank
of the Imperial Court, the highest honor that the Emperor of Japan could
confer. A devout Buddhist, she donated money to temples in Suruga
province, where she resided as the consort of Ieyasu, first in Hamamatsu
Castle and later in Sunpu Castle. She also established a charitable
organization that assisted visually impaired women with no other means
of support. Lady Saigō died at a fairly young age, under somewhat
mysterious circumstances. Although murder was suspected, no culprit was
identified.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Saig%C5%8D>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1169:
A strong earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sicily, causing
an estimated 15,000 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1169_Sicily_earthquake>
1859:
German scholar Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the
Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, in
Saint Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus>
1974:
American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was
kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined in
one of the most well-known cases of Stockholm syndrome.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst>
2002:
Cancer Research UK, the world's largest independent cancer
research charity, was formed from the merger of two competing cancer
charities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_Research_UK>
2006:
A stampede at the PhilSports Stadium in Pasig City, Metro
Manila in the Philippines, killed 78 people and injured about 400.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhilSports_Stadium_stampede>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
blemish:
1. A small flaw which spoils the appearance of something, a stain, a spot.
2. A moral defect; a character flaw.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blemish>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I know myself as mortal, but this raises the question: "What is I?" Am I
an individual, or am I an evolving life stream composed of countless
selves? … As one identity, I was born in AD 1902. But as AD twentieth-
century man, I am billions of years old. The life I consider as myself
has existed though past eons with unbroken continuity. Individuals are
custodians of the life stream — temporal manifestations of far greater
being, forming from and returning to their essence like so many dreams.
--Charles Lindbergh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>