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 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 ...

, created from branches 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 ...

house, presently extinct. It was founded by Imperial

Prince Yoshiaki 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 Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Biography Earl ...

, the seventh son of Prince Fushimi-no-miya Kuniye, in 1872. Prince Yoshiaki was given the title of ''komatsu-no-miya'' and changed his first name to

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

. Since he died without an heir, the Komatsu-no-miya reverted to

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 ...

(東伏見宮家) in 1903.

Higashifushimi-no-miya / Komatsu-no-Miya

The Higashifushimi-no-miya house was formed by Prince Yoshiaki, seventh son of

Prince Fushimi Kuniye was Japanese royalty. He was the 20th/23rd prince Fushimi-no-miya and the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Sadayuki (1776–1841) and his concubine Seiko, which made him an 11th cousin of Emperor Sakuramachi. Despite being merely a distant cousin to ...

. In 1931,

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 ...

directed his brother-in-law,

Prince Kuni Kunihide Count was the titular head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an extinct branch of the Imperial House of Japan, and a Buddhist monk. He was the youngest brother of Empress Kōjun and was the maternal uncle of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. If he had k ...

, 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 Count was the titular head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an extinct branch of the Imperial House of Japan, and a Buddhist monk. He was the youngest brother of Empress Kōjun and was the maternal uncle of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. If he had k ...

(''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), to prevent the Higashifushimi name from extinction. Dowager Princess Higashifushimi Kaneko became a commoner on 14 October 1947. She died 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 ...

in 1955.

References

History articles needing translation from Japanese Wikipedia {{Asia-royal-stub