was the second (and last) head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an ''

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 ...

'' cadet 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 ...

Early life

Born on September 19, 1867, as seventeenth (and posthumous) son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie, head 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 ...

, one of the '' 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. He was a younger half-brother 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 Komatsu Akihito was a Japanese career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, who was a member of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the ''shinnōke'' branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Biography Early ...

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 ...

, General

Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa of Japan, was the second head of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family. He was formerly enshrined in Tainan-Jinja, Taiwan, under the name ''Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō no Mikoto'' as the main and only deity. Biograp ...

, Field Marshal Prince Kan'in Kotohito and Field Marshal Prince Fushimi Sadanaru. Originally styled "Prince Fushimi Sadamaro", he was adopted into the

Yamashina-no-miya The (princely house) was the third 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 Chrysanthemum ...

household in 1869, followed by the Komatsu-no-miya house in 1885. He was then adopted by

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 ...

as a potential heir to the throne in 1886. He succeeded to the Higashifushimi-no-miya title upon the death of the first head,

, on February 3, 1903. King David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...

, visited Japan during his round-the-world tour of 1881. He was the first foreign

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

to visit Japan. During his visit, he proposed a marital alliance between the royal houses of Japan and Hawai'i, wherein his niece (

Princess Ka'iulani Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

) would marry Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (then styled Prince Yamashina Yorihito).; Nothing came of the proposal, which might have made a significant impact on the eventual fate of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Military career

Prince Higashifushimi Yoshihito attended the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy briefly, but was then sent to study at

Dartmouth Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, E ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. He lived in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1887 to 1890 and graduated from the École Navale. He returned to Japan on October 7, 1891. After serving on the various vessels 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 ...

, including combat duty in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

, he became

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

of the armored frigate ''Fusō'' (1901). As captain of the from January 12, 1905, and later as captain of (1905), he served in combat 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 ...

, for which he was awarded with the Order of the Golden Kite (3rd Class). After the end of the war, he served as captain of , before joining the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in 1906. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on December 1, 1909. Prince and Princess Higashifushimi represented

at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

ceremonies of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

of Great Britain (June 30, 1911). After his promotion to vice admiral on August 31, 1913, he served as Commander in Chief of the

Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its headquarters, a ...

in 1916, and Commander in Chief of the IJN 2nd Fleet in 1917. Promoted to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

on July 2, 1918, he made one last trip to the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1919, and he was given the posthumous title of marshal admiral and the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum on his death on June 27, 1922.

Marriage and family

On February 10, 1898, Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito married Iwakura Kaneko (1876–1955), the eldest daughter of Prince

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernity. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iwa ...

. As the couple remained childless, the Higashifushimi-no-miya lineage became extinct with the death of Prince Yorihito. In 1931, Emperor Hirohito directed his brother-in-law, Prince Kuni Kunihide, to leave Imperial Family status and become

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Higashifushimi Kunihide (''hakushaku'' 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), to prevent the Higashifushimi name from dying out. Dowager Princess Higashifushimi Kaneko became a commoner on October 14, 1947, with the abolition of the cadet branches of the Imperial Family by the American occupation authorities. She died in Tokyo in 1955.

Notes

References

* *
OCLC 12311985

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higashifushimi Yorihito, Prince 1867 births 1922 deaths People from Kyoto Japanese princes Higashifushimi-no-miya Imperial Japanese Navy marshal admirals Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War People of Meiji-period Japan Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of Vasa