of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, was a member of a
collateral branch of the
Japanese imperial family
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises 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 i ...
and a career officer 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, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
who was killed in the line of duty in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Biography
Born as , the 4th son of
Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu
was a scion of the Japanese imperial family and was a career naval officer who served as chief of staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1932 to 1941.
Early life
Prince Hiroyasu was born in Tokyo as Prince Narukata, the eldest son of Princ ...
, he was the younger brother of
Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi
was the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu, and heir-apparent due to inherit the position of 24th head of the Fushimi-no-miya shinnōke (collateral branch of the Imperial Family of Japan), and a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
...
,
Prince Kachō Hirotada
of Japan, was a member of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family.
Biography
Prince Hirotada was the second son of Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu. His mother was Tokugawa Tsuneko, the 9th daughter of the last Tokugawa Shōgun, Tokugawa Yo ...
and Marquis
Kachō Hironobu. In October 1932, he served as a member of the
House of Peers in the
Diet of Japan
The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...
.
On 1 April 1936, by order of Emperor
Hirohito
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
, he was allowed to establish his own household after renouncing his imperial title, and was created a count (''hakushaku'') under the ''
kazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution.
Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ' ...
'' peerage system. The same year, he married Toyoko Yanagisawa (29 October 1917 – 14 November 1939), younger daughter of Count Yanagisawa Yasutsugu, with whom he had three daughters.
After the death of his wife, he remarried in 1942 to Sadako Kuroda (born 1 June 1915), only daughter of Baron Kuroda Nagatoshi, with whom he had another daughter.
A graduate of the 62nd class of the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Fushimi Hirohide opted to pursue a military career, and rose to the rank of
lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
. During World War II, on 21 August 1943 while serving with the IJN 3rd Combined Communications Brigade, he was killed in action when his aircraft was shot down over the
Gulf of Boni,
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
in the
Netherlands East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
. His grave is located at
Aoyama Cemetery
is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit.
History
The cemetery was origin ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
.
Descendants
# (by Toyoko) Fushimi Mōtoko, born 11 August 1937; married Dōmoto Taizō.
# (by Toyoko) Fushimi Kazuko, born 1 December 1938; entered holy orders and assumed the name Seikan, 1952; head of Tokujōmyōin, Kyoto; styled Abbess Fushimi Seikan.
# (by Toyoko) Fushimi Junko; died in infancy.
# (by Sadako) Fushimi Yoshiko, born 7 June 1943; married Ino Kazou (born 1 January 1941), who assumed the surname of Fushimi upon marriage, eldest son of Ino Noburo.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fushimi, Hirohide
1912 births
1943 deaths
Kazoku
Fushimi-no-miya
Imperial Japanese Navy officers
Members of the House of Peers (Japan)
Japanese military personnel killed in World War II
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Indonesia
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents