Princess Sumiko (22 February 1829 – 3 October 1881) was a Japanese princess. She was the head of the

Katsura-no-miya :''See also Prince Katsura, the second son of Prince Mikasa.'' The was the one 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 ...

from 1863 until 1881.Donald Keene, ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912'', 2010

Life

Sumiko was the daughter of

Emperor Kōkaku was the 119th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')光格天皇 (119)/ref> Kōkaku reigned from 16 December 1780 until his abdication on 7 May 1817 in favor of his son, Empe ...

and his lady-in-waiting, Kanroji Kiyoko. She was the elder half-sister of

Chikako, Princess Kazu (''Kazunomiya'') was the wife of 14th ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemochi. She was renamed Lady Seikan'in-no-miya after she took the tonsure as a widow. She was the great-great-great aunt of Emperor Akihito, who reigned from 1989 to 2019. Biography ...

and

Emperor Kōmei was the 121st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 (121)/ref> Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the ...

. On May 3, 1840, she was engaged with her cousin

Prince Kan'in Naruhito was the 5th head of the Kan'in-no-miya line of ''shinnōke'' cadet branches of the Imperial Family of Japan. He became the 5th head in 1828 after the passing of Prince Kan'in Tatsuhito. Because the prince had no heirs, the title of Prince Kan' ...

; she officially became an imperial princess on October 18, 1842, to make way for her marriage. Two days later, however, Prince Naruhito died before they were married. Afterwards, Princess Sumiko remained unmarried until her death. In 1863, she succeeded to the head of the Katsura-no-miya house in her own right after the eleventh head, Prince Katsura Misahito, her younger half-brother who died in 1836. The Katsura-no-miya house was one of the four

shinnōke was the collective name for the four cadet branches of the Imperial family of Japan, which were until 1947 entitled to provide a successor to the Chrysanthemum throne if the main line failed to produce an heir. The heads of these royal houses h ...

, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions, ...

in the event that the main line should die out. This was a very unusual position for a woman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumiko, Princess 1829 births 1881 deaths Japanese princesses 19th-century Japanese people 19th-century Japanese women People from Kyoto Prefecture