, born , was the fourteenth child and ninth daughter of

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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and the seventh child and fifth daughter of Sono Sachiko, the Emperor's fifth concubine.

Biography

Toshiko was born in Japan, the daughter of

and Lady Sachiko. She held the childhood appellation "Yasu no miya" (Princess Yasu). She married

Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni was a member of the Japanese imperial family and general of the army who served as prime minister of Japan from 17 August to 9 October 1945. He is the only member of the Japanese imperial family to head a cabinet, and Japan's shortest-servin ...

on 18 May 1915.

granted Prince Naruhiko the title ''Higashikuni-no-miya'' and permission to start a new branch of the imperial family before their marriage on 3 November 1906. The couple had four sons: #; married his first cousin Shigeko, Princess Teru, the eldest daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. #; died in the Great Kantō earthquake. #; renounced imperial title and created Marquis Awata Akitsune, 1940 #; relocated to Lins, São Paulo,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, 1950 after being adopted and becoming the heir to Kinu, widow of Tetsusuke Tarama. In October 1947, the Higashikuni and the other branches of the Imperial Family other than patrilineal descendants of Emperor Taishō were divested of their titles and privileges during the Allied occupation of Japan and became commoners. Toshiko died on 5 March 1978, aged 81. She was the last surviving child of Emperor Meiji.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higashikuni, Toshiko 1896 births 1978 deaths Children of Emperor Meiji Nobility from Tokyo Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown 20th-century Japanese women 20th-century Japanese people Japanese Shintoists 20th-century Shintoists Daughters of Japanese emperors Spouses of prime ministers of Japan