gained influence and some financial support through connections to the Hosokawa and Nagaoka clans. Towards the end of the Edo period, Saionji Kinmochi was adopted into the family from the closely related Tokudaiji branch of the Fujiwara clan. Kinmochi lived through the Meiji Restoration, becoming one of the genrō, or elder statesmen who were a part of the original Meiji government at its beginning. He subsequently held a number of Cabinet posts, becoming Prime Minister of Japan in 1906. As members of the kazoku (Western-style system of peerage), the Saionji maintained a considerable degree of prestige, and continued to be close to the world of politics, through the end of World War II, when the kazoku were dissolved. The family continues today, and Saionji remains now an uncommon Japanese surname. Family members of note Saionji Michisue (1090–1128) Saionji Kintsune (1171–1244) Saionji Kinuji (1194–1269) Saionji Sanekane Saionji Kinhira (1264–1315) Saionji Reishi (1292–1357) Saionji Kinmune (1310–1335) Saionji Kinshige Saionji Sanetoshi Saionji Sanemitsu (1510–1565) Saionji Kinhiro (1537–1587), daimyō Saionji Saneharu (1601–1673) Saionji Kinmochi (1849–1940, adopted in 1851), statesman Saionji Saneuji Empresses from the Saionji family During the 13th and 14th centuries, 5 or 6 female members of the family became the Empress of Japan. Saionji Kisshi (1225–1292) - consort of Emperor Go-Saga (88th) Saionji Kinshi/Kimiko (1232–1304) - consort of Emperor Go-Fukakusa (89th) Saionji Kishi/Yoshiko (1252–1318) - consort of Emperor Kameyama (90th) Saionji Shōshi (1271–1342) - consort of Emperor Fushimi (92nd). She was a poet of the Kyōgoku school. Saionji Kishi/Sachiko (?–1333) - consort of Emperor Go-Daigo (96th). She was a poet of the Nijō school. (A daughter of Saionji Kinshige?) (?–?) - presumably consort of Emperor Chōkei (98th). She was a poet of the Nijō school. References This article is derived primarily from the content of the corresponding article on the Japanese Wikipedia. Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp405-6ff. Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan: 1334–1615. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. Kuge Kazoku Japanese merchants