, was a descendant 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 ...

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 ...

Biography

Born as Prince Fushimi Hironobu, the third 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 Prin ...

with Tokugawa Tsuneko (1882–1939), he was also the younger brother of

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 ...

. As Prince Hirotada died without heirs, the

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 ...

household became extinct. Prince Hironobu was appointed to perpetuate the Kachō name, in order to ensure that the proper familial and ancestral rites were performed, but his status was devolved in December 1926 to the peerage title of

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

(''kōshaku'') 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. 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 ...

, Prince Hironobu graduated from the 53rd class of 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 stu ...

. He served his

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

tour on 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 ...

, and as a sub-lieutenant on 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 ...

. In 1932, he was assigned to the cruiser . He subsequently served as chief torpedo officer on the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s and , rising to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

. In 1935, he served for a session in 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 ...

. In 1939, he was appointed superintendent of the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, and remained in that post through

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 ...

, retiring in November 1945. Kachō Hironobu married Kan’in Hanako (1909–2003), 5th daughter of

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 Gene ...

, but they subsequently divorced. The couple had two sons: #Kachō Hiromichi #Kachō Hirotaka (who was adopted by Count Fushimi Hirohide) His palatial residence in

Kamakura, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

(built in 1929) survives, and was donated to the city of Kamakura in 1996.

External links

Kwacho-no-miya residence in Kamakura (Japanese site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kacho Hironobu 1905 births 1970 deaths Hironobu Japanese princes Kazoku Japanese military personnel of World War II Nobility from Tokyo