ABSTRACT
Saionji Kinmochi was born in Kyoto on October 23rd, 1849. He was born Tokudaiji Yoshimaro, the second son of Tokudaiji Kinzumi and younger brother of Tokudaiji Sanenori who was later to become Grand Chamberlain. The Tokudaiji family was one of nine noble families (kuge) who provided middle ranking advisors to the Court. In 1853, as was common practice among Japan’s elites where a family lacked an heir, Yoshimaro was adopted into the family of Saionji Morosue. Both the Tokudaiji and Saionji families were branch lines of the Fujiwaras who had intermarried extensively with the Imperial family and had effectively ruled Japan for three hundred years during the Heian period (794-1185).
