was the second (and last) head of the

Higashifushimi-no-miya The Komatsu House (''Komatsu-no-miya'') or Higashifushimi (東伏見) ''ōke'' (princely house) was the sixth oldest branch of the Imperial House of Japan, created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house, presently extinct. It was founded by I ...

, an ''

ōke The were branches of the Imperial House of Japan, Japanese imperial family (皇族 ''Kōka'') created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house, the last surviving ''Shinnōke'' cadet branch. All but two (the Kan'in-no-miya and Nashimoto-no-m ...

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the

Japanese imperial family The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

Early life

Born on September 19, 1867, as seventeenth son of

Prince Fushimi Kuniie was Japanese royalty. He was the 20th/23rd prince head of the House of Fushimi and the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Sadayuki (1776–1841) and his concubine Seiko, which made him the 11th cousin of Emperor Sakuramachi. Despite being merely a d ...

, head of the

Fushimi-no-miya The is the oldest of the four shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the order of succession. The Fushimi-no-miya was founded by Prince Yoshihito, the son of the Northe ...

, one of the ''

shinnōke was the collective name for the four cadet branches of the Imperial House of Japan, which were until 1947 entitled to provide a successor to the Chrysanthemum Throne if the main line failed to produce an heir. The heads of these royal house ...

'' branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions ...

in the event that the main line should die out. He was a younger half-brother of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Prince Komatsu Akihito was a Japanese career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, who was a member of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the ''shinnōke'' branches of the Imperial Household of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysant ...

Prince Kuni Asahiko was a member of a collateral line of the Japanese imperial family who played a key role in the Meiji Restoration. Prince Asahiko was an adopted son of Emperor Ninkō and later a close advisor to Emperor Kōmei and Emperor Meiji. He was the gr ...

, General

Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa of Japan, was the second head of a ōke, collateral branch of the Imperial Household of Japan, Japanese imperial family. He was formerly enshrined in Tainan Shrine, Tainan-Jinja, Taiwan, under the name ''Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō ...

, Field Marshal

Prince Kan'in Kotohito was the sixth head of a cadet branch of the Japanese imperial family, and a career army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from 1931 to 1940. During his tenure as the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army Gen ...

and Field Marshal

Prince Fushimi Sadanaru was the 22nd head of the Fushimi-no-miya shinnōke (branch of the Imperial Family). He was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army. Early life Prince Sadanaru was born in Kyoto as the fourteenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802–18 ...

. Originally styled "Prince Fushimi Sadamaro", he was adopted into the

Yamashina-no-miya The (princely house) was the third oldest collateral branch (''ōke'') of the Japanese Imperial Family created from the Fushimi-no-miya, the oldest of the four branches of the imperial dynasty allowed to provide a successor to the Chrysanthem ...

household in 1869, followed by the

Komatsu-no-miya The Komatsu House (''Komatsu-no-miya'') or Higashifushimi (東伏見) ''ōke'' (princely house) was the sixth oldest branch of the Imperial House of Japan, created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house, presently extinct. It was founded by I ...

house in 1885. He was then adopted by

Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...

as a potential heir to the throne in 1886. He succeeded to the Higashifushimi-no-miya title upon the death of the first head,

, on February 3, 1903. King David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

, visited Japan during his round-the-world tour of 1881. He was the first foreign

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

to visit Japan. During his visit, he proposed a marital alliance between the royal houses of Japan and Hawai'i, wherein his niece ( Princess Ka'iulani) would marry Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (then styled Prince Yamashina Yorihito). Nothing came of the proposal, which might have made a significant impact on the eventual fate of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Military and diplomatic career

Prince Higashifushimi Yoshihito attended the

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo, in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima, in 1888. Students ...

briefly, but was then sent to study at Dartmouth Royal Naval College in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. He lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1887 to 1890 and graduated from the

École Navale École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

. He returned to Japan on October 7, 1891. After serving on the various vessels in the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

, including combat duty in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

, he became

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

of the

armored frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

''Fusō'' (1901). As captain of the from January 12, 1905, and later as captain of (1905), he served in combat during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, for which he was awarded with the

Order of the Golden Kite Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

(3rd Class). After the end of the war, he served as captain of , before joining the

Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo. History Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to a ...

in 1906. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on December 1, 1909. Prince and Princess Higashifushimi represented

at the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

ceremonies of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

of Great Britain (June 30, 1911). After his promotion to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on August 31, 1913, he served as Commander in Chief of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...

in 1916, and Commander in Chief of the

IJN 2nd Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) created as a mobile strike force in response to hostilities with Russia, and saw action in every IJN military operation until the end of World War II. History Established on 27 October 1903, ...

in 1917. Promoted to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

on July 2, 1918, he made one last trip to the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1919. During this visit he presented King George V with the Japanese honorific of Gensui (along with the associated badge and sword), and was awarded the

Royal Victorian Chain The Royal Victorian Chain is a State decoration, decoration instituted in 1902 by King Edward VII as a personal award of the monarch (i.e. not an award made on the advice of any Commonwealth realm government). It ranks above the Royal Victorian Or ...

by the King. Prince Higashifushimi received the posthumous title of marshal admiral and the Collar of the Supreme

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest Order (decoration), order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike European counterparts, the order may be Posthumous award, ...

on his death on June 27, 1922.

Marriage and family

On February 10, 1898, Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito married Iwakura Kaneko (1876–1955), the eldest daughter of Prince

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernism. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iw ...

. As the couple remained childless, the Higashifushimi-no-miya lineage became extinct with the death of Prince Yorihito. In 1931, emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

directed his brother-in-law, Prince Kuni Kunihide, to leave Imperial Family status and become

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Higashifushimi Kunihide (''hakushaku'' under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

'' peerage system), to prevent the Higashifushimi name from dying out. Dowager Princess Higashifushimi Kaneko became a commoner on October 14, 1947, with the abolition of the cadet branches of the Imperial Family by the American occupation authorities. She died in Tokyo in 1955.

Notes

References

* * *
OCLC 12311985
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higashifushimi Yorihito, Prince 1867 births 1922 deaths Nobility from Kyoto Japanese princes Higashifushimi-no-miya Imperial Japanese Navy marshal admirals Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War People of the Meiji era Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of Vasa