was a career officer 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 Emper ...

during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the 7th (and final) head of the Kan'in-no-miya line of ''

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 ...

'' cadet branches of the

Imperial Family 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 ...

Biography

Prince Kan'in Haruhito was the only surviving son 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 ...

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 Ge ...

(1864–1945) and his consort, the former Sanjō Chieko (1872–1947). He married Ichijō Naoko (1908–1991), daughter of Prince (peer) Saneteru Ichijō on July 14, 1926. Prince Kan'in attended the Gakushuin Peers' School and graduated from the 44th 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 1924. He was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

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 mar ...

and served in the Imperial Guard Division. Following a course in the Military Staff College in 1927, he was promoted to captain and joined the faculty of the

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

School. He graduated from the 44th class of the Army Staff College in 1932 and rose to the rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

in 1936. Prince Kan'in saw a brief tour of combat duty during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

with the

Northern China Area Army The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to the ...

from November 1937 to May 1938. Prince Kan'in returned to Japan to be an instructor at the Army Staff College and was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

in March 1939. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in August 1941, and was then attached to the Chiba Army Tank School. He was promoted to

in 1944, becoming commander of the IJA 5th Tank Regiment. He became the seventh head of the Kan'in-no-miya house upon the death of his father on May 21, 1945, and retired from active military service at that time. However, he was recalled to active duty and promoted to

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 ...

in 1945, when he was placed in command of the IJA 4th Armored Division and three independent infantry regiments assigned to combat the projected American landings on the beaches of Kujukurihama,

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to t ...

, outside of

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 37.46 ...

. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...

, he was tasked with visiting

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

an official representative of Emperor Hirohito to ensure the compliance of the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group to the surrender. With the abolition of the collateral branches of the Imperial family and other titles of nobility by the American occupation authorities on October 14, 1947, he became a commoner, and was

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...

d from public life because of his former military career. He was forced to sell his residence at

Nagatachō is a district of Tokyo, Japan, located in Chiyoda Ward. It is the location of the Diet of Japan and the Prime Minister's residence ( Kantei). The Supreme Court of Japan is located in neighboring Hayabusachō. Nagatachō is often used to r ...

in downtown Tokyo to pay for taxes, and moved to the Kan'in summer house in

Odawara, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

. He pursued several unsuccessful business opportunities, lost his family fortune, and divorced his wife in 1949. Ex-Princess Naoko created a scandal by attributing the couple's lack of children to her husband's

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

in newspaper interviews held shortly after their divorce. Ex-Prince Kan'in changed his name from "Haruhito" to "Sumihito", and established a company called ''Asahi Kōsan'', of which he became president. The company profited through development of land near Tamachi, Tokyo and of the ex-princes, Kan'in Sumihito was one of the more prosperous in the 1960s and 1970s. In the early 1970s, Kan'in Sumihito was president of the Japan Yoga Association. He died on June 14, 1988.

Biography

References

Further reading