was a scion 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 was a career naval officer who served as

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of 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 ...

from 1932 to 1941.

Early life

Prince Hiroyasu was born 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 ...

as Prince Narukata, the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (1858–1923) by one of his concubines. He was the twenty-third 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 event that the main line should die out. The Fushimi-no-miya was founded by Prince Yoshihito, th ...

, one of the four '' shinnōke'' cadet branches of the imperial family entitled to succeed to the throne in default of a direct heir. Prince Fushimi was a second cousin to both Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and Empress Kōjun, and nephew of Prince Kan'in Kotohito He succeeded to title

Kachō-no-miya The Kachō no Miya is the Imperial Branch House ''miyake'' established in the fourth year of the Keiou Era, or 1868, by the twelfth prince of Fushimi no Miya Kuniie, named ''Kacho no Miya Hirotsune''. In the thirteenth year of the Taisho Era, or ...

on April 23, 1883, upon which he changed his name from "Narukata" to "Hiroyasu," but returned to the house of Fushimi-no-miya on January 16, 1904.

Marriage & family

On January 9, 1896, Prince Hiroyasu married Tokugawa Tsuneko (1882–1939), the ninth daughter of Prince

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

, Japan's last ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'', with whom he had six children: # # ; Married Marquis Asano Nagatake # ; Became

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 ...

# ; Became Marquis Kachō Hironobu: took peerage title of Marquis and succeeded to head of

household # ; Married Count Kiyosu Yukiyasu. # ; married

Prince Kuni Asaakira , was third head of the Kuni-no-miya, a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and vice admiral in the Japanese Imperial Navy during World War II. He was the elder brother of Empress Kojun (Nagako), the consort of Emperor Shōwa ...

. # ; Became Count Fushimi Hirohide: took peerage title of Count, served in IJN, KIA.

Military career

Prince Hiroyasu entered the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy on 5 April 1886, but resigned in September 1889 and moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He enrolled in the Naval Academy of the Kaiserliche Marine on 8 April 1892. Promoted to midshipman (''Fähnrich zur See'') on March 30, 1893 and to ensign (''Oberfähnrich zur See'') on April 20, 1894, he graduated from the academy on 15 August 1895 and returned to service in the IJN. He spoke fluent

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. He then served aboard the cruisers ''Itsukushima'' and ''Matsushima''. On December 1, 1897, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and assigned to the battleship ''Fuji'', receiving a promotion to lieutenant on December 27. Promoted to lieutenant-commander on July 29, 1903, he served in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

(1904–05), and sustained wounds aboard the

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

''Mikasa'' in the Battle of the Yellow Sea (August 1904). He later served as

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, o ...

on the cruiser ''Niitaka'', battleship ''Okinoshima'', and cruisers ''Naniwa'' and ''Nisshin''. He was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite, 4th class, for his services in the Russo-Japanese War, and was promoted to commander on September 28, 1906. He studied in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

from 1907 to 1910 and upon his return to Japan was promoted to captain on December 1, 1910. He commanded the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

''Takachiho'' (1910), and later the ''Asahi'' and the

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

''Ibuki''. Promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on August 31, 1913, he rose to vice admiral on December 1, 1916 and to full

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some 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, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

on December 1, 1922. He was a member of the

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution and w ...

from 1920 onward. He was a strong supporter of the Fleet Faction within the Navy, pushing for cancellation of the

Washington Naval Agreement The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was nego ...

and the building of a more powerful navy. Prince Hiroyasu succeeded his father as the twenty-third head of the house of Fushimi in 1923. He was appointed commander of the

Sasebo Naval District was the third of five main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included the western and southern coastline of Kyūshū, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and Korea, as well as patrols in the East China Sea and t ...

in 1924. Admiral Prince Fushimi became the chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff on February 2, 1932, replacing Admiral

Abo Kiyokazu Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, who served as Ministry of the Navy of Japan, Navy Minister in the early 1930s. Biography Abo was born in Saga Prefecture as Sawano Yasusaburō, where his father was the commandant of the milita ...

, and held the post to April 9, 1941. Prince Fushimi received the largely honorary rank of marshal admiral on May 27, 1932, and the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1934. While he was Chief of Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired their first air ...

used strategic bombing against Chinese cities including

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

and

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

. The bombing of

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

and

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, which began on September 22–23, 1937, resulted in widespread international condemnation of Japan and a resolution against Japan by the Far Eastern Advisory Committee of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. As Chief of Staff, he supported the " southward advance" into northern

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

and the

Dutch 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 ...

, but expressed reservations about the

Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive military ...

during the September 19, 1940, Imperial Conference. Hiroyasu Fushimi was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite, 1st class, in 1942. He remained a member of the Supreme War Council throughout the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, but officially retired from the active list in 1945. After the war, Fushimi was the honorary president of the Imperial Life Boat Association, the Japan Seamen's Relief Association, the Cancer Research Society, the Naval Club, the Japan-German Society, and the Scientific and Chemical Research Institute. Like all members of the Imperial family involved in the conduct of the war, Prince Fushimi was exonerated from criminal prosecutions before the Tokyo tribunal by

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

. He died in Tokyo shortly after the end of

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 ...

on August 16, 1946.

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations:

Gallery

File:HIH Fushimi Tsuneko.jpg, HIH Princess Fushimi Tsuneko, consort File:HIH Fushimi Hiroyoshi.jpg, HIH Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi, heir File:HIH Fushimi Atsuko and Tomoko.jpg, HIH Princess Atsuko and Princess Tomoko (twins) File:Kuni Tomoko.jpg, HIH Princess Fushimi (Kuni) Tomoko, daughter

References

Notes

Books

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fushimi Hiroyasu, Prince 1875 births 1946 deaths People from Tokyo Japanese princes Kachō-no-miya Fushimi-no-miya Imperial Japanese Navy marshal admirals Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese people of World War I People of Meiji-period Japan Japanese admirals of World War II Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order