Tachibana no Ooiratsume (橘大郎女)

TACHIBANA no Ooiratsume (year of birth and death unknown) was a wife of the Prince Shotoku. She was a daughter of Owari no Oji, a son of the Emperor Bidatsu and her grandmother was the Empress Suiko. TACHIBANA no Ooiratsume and the Prince Shotoku had two children, Shirakabe no Miko (the Prince Shirakabe) and Teshima no Himemiko (the Princess Teshima).

Tenjukoku Mandara Shucho

When the Prince Shotoku died in 622, with the permission of the Empress Suiko, TACHIBANA no Ooiratsume ordered Uneme (the ancient court hostess) to make the Tenjukoku Mandara Shucho (tapestries with embroideries representing Tenjuku paradise, also called Tenjukoku Shucho). It is believed that mourning his death, TACHIBANA no Ooiratsume wished to picture the Tenjukoku paradise where the Prince Shotoku was believed to have been after his death. It is the oldest existing embroidery and designated as a National Treasure. The Tenjukoku Mandara Shucho had been preserved in Chugu-ji Temple, but there are only fragments of the embroidery remaining today, with most of them being lost.

[Original Japanese]