(1 September 1867 – 8 December 1909) 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 the founder of one of the nine ''

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 ...

'' (or princely houses) in 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 ...

Early life

The prince 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 ...

, as the second of the nine sons 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 ...

(1824–1891) at the time of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. His father, a scion of the collateral imperial line of

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 ...

, was a laicized

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

priest who became a close advisor to the

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 ...

and

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 ...

, His mother was the court-lady Izumitei Shizue. Originally titled Iwa-no-miya, he was called Iwaomaro-ō from 15 March 1874. He changed his personal name to Kuninori on 21 July 1886. Unlike his younger half-brothers,

Prince Nashimoto Morimasa was a member of the Japanese Imperial Family and a ''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 of Korea, Prince Nashim ...

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 ...

, and

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 Kuninori did not pursue a military career. He was excluded from succeeding to the house of

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 Chrysanthemu ...

on the grounds of ill health on 7 March 1887.

A new princely family

Emperor Meiji granted Prince Kuninori the title

Kaya-no-miya The (princely house) was the seventh 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 ...

(''ad personam'') and the rank of ''shinnō''; on 17 December 1892. Later, on 4 May 1900, the emperor authorized him to form a new collateral branch of the imperial family. Prince Kaya Kuninori succeeded his father as supreme priest ''(saishu)'' of the Shinto

Grand Shrine of Ise The , located in Ise, Mie, Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . ...

and served in that post until his death.

Marriage & family

On 26 November 1892, the Prince Kaya Kuninori married Daigo Yoshiko ( 7 December 1865 – 21 November 1941), the daughter 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 ...

Daigo Tadayori, the last ''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...

'' of that line of court nobles. Prince and Princess Kaya had four children: # ; married Viscount Machijiri # ; married Kujō Toshiko, fifth daughter of Prince Kujō Michizane and niece of

Empress Teimei , born , was the wife of Emperor Taishō and the mother of Emperor Shōwa of Japan. Her posthumous name, ''Teimei'', means "enlightened constancy". Biography Sadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in Tokyo, as the fourth daughter of Duke Michita ...

, the consort of

Emperor Taishō was the 123rd Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and the second ruler of the Empire of Japan from 30 July 1912 until his death in 1926. The Emperor's personal name was . According to Japanese custom, while reigni ...

. # ; married her second cousin

Prince Yamashina Takehiko , was the third (and final) head of the Yamashina-no-miya, a collateral line of the Japanese imperial family. He was nicknamed "the Flying Prince". Early life Prince Yamashina Takehiko was the son of Prince Yamashina Kikumaro by his first wife, ...

; no issue. She was residing with her husband at their home in

Yuigahama is a beach near Kamakura, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The relation between the beach and its neighboring areas is complex. Although Yuigahama is legally the entire 3.2 km beach that goes from Inamuragasaki, which separates it from ...

Kamakura 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 ...

Kanagawa prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

at the time of the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

. The building collapsed, killing the princess and her unborn child. The unborn child was named Prince Yamashina Taha (山階宮他派王, ''Yamashina-no-miya Taha-ō''), born on August 30, 1923, and Taha and his mother were both killed in the earthquake.

Gallery

Image:HIH Princess Kaya Yoshiko with daughter Sakiko.jpg, HIH Princess Kaya Yoshiko with daughter Sakiko Image:HIH Princess Kaya Yukiko.jpg, HIH Princess Kaya Yukiko Image:HIH Princess Kaya Sakiko and Kuni Satoko.jpg, HIH Princess Kaya Sakiko and Kuni Satoko

References

* Fujitani,T. ''Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan''. University of California Press; Reprint edition (1998). *Lebra, Sugiyama Takie. ''Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility.'' University of California Press (1995). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaya Kuninori, Prince 1867 births 1909 deaths Kaya-no-miya Japanese princes People from Kyoto People of Meiji-period Japan Kannushi Recipients of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers