was a member 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
field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
in the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
during the
Meiji and
Taishō periods. He was the father of
Empress Kōjun
, born , was a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the wife of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and the mother of Shigeko Higashikuni, Princess Sachiko Hisa-nomiya, Kazuko Takatsukasa, Atsuko Ikeda, the Emperor Emeritus Akihito, Prince Masahito ...
(who in turn was the consort of the
Emperor Shōwa
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 ...
), and therefore, the maternal grandfather of
Emperor Emeritus Akihito.
Biography
Early life
Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was born in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, the third son of
Prince Kuni Asahiko
was a member of a collateral line of the Japanese imperial family who played a key role in the Meiji Restoration. Prince Asahiko was an adopted son of Emperor Ninkō and later a close advisor to Emperor Kōmei and Emperor Meiji. He was the grea ...
(''Kuni-no-miya Asahiko Shinnō'') and the court lady Isume Makiko. His father, Prince Asahiko (also known as ''Shōren-no-miya Sun'yu'' and ''Nagakawa-no-miya Asahiko''), was a 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 ...
(''Fushimi-no-miya Kuniie Shinnō''), the head of one of ''
ōke
The , also known as the ''Old Imperial Family'' (旧皇族), were branches of the Japanese Imperial Family created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house, the last surviving Shinnōke cadet branch. All but one of these ''ōke'' (王家) were ...
'' branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the
throne of Japan. In 1872,
Emperor Meiji
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
granted Prince Asahiko the title "
Kuni-no-miya
The (princely house) was the second oldest collateral branch ('' ōke'') of the Japanese Imperial Family created from the Fushimi-no-miya, the oldest of the four branches of the imperial dynasty allowed to provide a successor to the Chrysanthe ...
" and authorized him to begin a new branch of the imperial family.
Prince Kuniyoshi succeeded to the title upon his father's death on 29th October 1891. His half-brothers,
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko
General was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. Son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of Em ...
,
Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko
General was a Japanese imperial prince, a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 30th Prime Minister of Japan from 17 August 1945 to 9 October 1945, a period of 54 days. An uncle-in-law of Emperor Hirohito twice over, Prince Hi ...
,
Prince Nashimoto Morimasa
was a member of the Japanese Imperial Family and a ''Field Marshal (Japan), field marshal'' in the Imperial Japanese Army. An uncle-in-law of Emperor Shōwa, an uncle of his consort, Empress Kōjun, and the father-in-law of Crown Prince Euimin ...
, and
Prince Kaya Kuninori
(1 September 1867 – 8 December 1909) was a member of the Japanese imperial family and the founder of one of the nine ''ōke'' (or princely houses) in the Meiji period.
Early life
The prince was born in Kyoto, as the second of the nine son ...
, all formed new branches of the imperial family during the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
.
Military career
Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi graduated from the 7th class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy
The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...
in 1897 as a second lieutenant, and was promoted to lieutenant in February 1899 and to captain in March 1901. Promoted to major in the
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
in November 1904, during 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 ...
he was assigned to the staff of General
Kuroki Tamemoto
Count was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the head of the Japanese First Army during the Russo-Japanese War; and his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, the B ...
, commander of the
IJA 1st Army. For his war services he was awarded the
Order of the Golden Kite
The was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan". It was officially abolished 1947 by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) during th ...
(4th class). He then graduated from the
Army War College and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of the
Imperial Guards Division
In Japan, the Imperial Guard is the name for two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the , a quasi-independent elite branch of the ...
.
From 1907 to 1910, he studied
military tactic
Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, mobility, protection or se ...
s in
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 ...
and was attached to Second Regiment of the
Prussian Foot Guards. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1908 and to colonel in December 1910. Upon returning to Japan, Prince Kuni rose to the rank of
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
in August 1913 and given command of the 38th Infantry Regiment. Later he commanded the
Imperial Guard of Japan
In Japan, the Imperial Guard is the name for two separate organizations dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and the Imperial Family, palaces and other imperial properties. The first was the , a quasi-independent elite branch of the ...
and rose to the rank of
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in August 1917 and commander of the
IJA 15th Division
The was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its tsūshōgō code name was the , and its military symbol was 15D. The ''15th Division'' was one of four new infantry divisions raised by the Imperial Japanese Army in the closing s ...
. Along with that command, he received the additional post of
chief priest of
Meiji Shrine
, is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.
History
Af ...
.
Prince Kuni became a full
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
and a member of the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff
The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army.
Role
The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs ...
in August 1923. An early advocate of
military aviation
Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war the ...
, one of his protégés was
Yamamoto Isoroku
was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed.
Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
, the future admiral and commander-in-chief 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 ...
. On 27 June 1929 (two days before his death),
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 ...
promoted him to the honorary rank of
field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
and granted him the Grand Cordon of the Supreme
Order of the Chrysanthemum
is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously.
Apart f ...
.
He was the target of a failed assassination attempt by in
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
.
Prince Kuni's death occurred soon after he arrived at his villa at
Atami
is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 36,865 in 21,593 households and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Atami is located in the far ea ...
, of an acute onset of an undisclosed disease.
Honours
He received the following orders and decorations:
Marriage and family
![Kuni-no-miya_Family](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Kuni-no-miya_Family.jpg)
On 13 December 1889, Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi married Shimazu Chikako (19 October 1879 – 9 September 1956), the seventh daughter of Prince
Shimazu Tadayoshi
was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Satsuma Province during Japan's Sengoku period. He was born into the Mimasaka Shimazu family (伊作島津家), which was part of the Shimazu clan, but after his father Shimazu Yoshihisa died, his mother ma ...
, the last ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' of
Satsuma Domain
The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871.
The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...
. The marriage represented an alliance between the imperial family and the
Satsuma clan
The were the '' daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan.
The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in con ...
.
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# : married
Crown Prince Hirohito (the future Emperor Shōwa) in 1924.
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuni Kuniyoshi, Prince
1873 births
1929 deaths
Marshals of Japan
Kuni-no-miya
Japanese princes
Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War
Japanese generals
People of Meiji-period Japan
People from Kyoto
Kannushi
Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur