Empress Shōken (昭憲皇后, Shōken-kōgō^?, 9 May 1849 – 9 April 1914), also known as Empress Dowager Shōken (昭憲皇太后, Shōken-kōtaigō^?), was empress consort of Emperor Meiji of Japan.

Born Ichijō Masako (一条勝子^?), she was the third daughter of Ichijō Tadaka, former Minister of the Left and head of the Ichijō branch of the Fujiwara clan. Her mother was a daughter of Prince Fushimi Kuniie.

As a child, Princess Masako was somewhat of a prodigy, and was able to read poetry from the Kokin Wakashū by age four, and had composed some waka verses of her own by age five. By age seven, she was able to read some texts in classical Chinese, with some assistance, and was studying Japanese calligraphy. By age twelve, she had studied the koto, and was fond of Noh drama. She had also studied ikebana and the Japanese tea ceremony. Usual for the time, she had also been vaccinated against smallpox. The major obstacle to her eligibility was that she was three years older than Emperor Meiji, but this issue was resolved by changing her official birth date from 1849 to 1850.