was a Japanese noblewoman and memoir writer. She was the daughter of Marquis Saneto Saga and a distant relative of Emperor Shōwa. She was married in 1937 to Pujie, the younger brother of

Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, the last monarch of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China between 1908 and 1912 and the puppet ruler of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 after the Japanese ...

between 1932 and 1945. After her marriage to Pujie, she was known as, and identified herself as, Aishinkakura Hiro (愛新覺羅•浩) or Aixinjueluo Hao in Chinese.

Life

The Saga family was of the ''

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 Kamak ...

'' court nobility and a branch of the Ogimachi Sanjo branch (正親町三条家) of the northern Fujiwara lineage (藤原北家), she shared the same great-great-grand father with

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 ...

, Ogimichisanjo Sanetomo. Saga was born in

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 ...

in 1914 as the eldest daughter of Marquis and . She was educated at the women's branch of the Gakushuin Peers' School.

Princess

In 1936, Saga was introduced to Pujie, the younger brother of

, the ruler of

. Pujie was then attending 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 ...

. Saga and Pujie were wed in an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

. Pujie had selected her photograph from a number of possible candidates vetted by the Kwantung Army. As his brother Puyi did not have a direct heir, the wedding had strong political implications, and was aimed at both fortifying relations between the two countries and introducing Japanese blood into the Manchu imperial family. The engagement ceremony took place at the Manchukuo embassy in Tokyo on 2 February 1937 with the official wedding held in the Imperial Army Hall at Kudanzaka, Tokyo on 3 April. In October, the couple moved to

Hsinking Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 ...

, the capital of Manchukuo. They had two daughters, Huisheng and Husheng, and what appeared to be a happy marriage.

Later life

During the Evacuation of Manchukuo during the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

, Saga was separated from her husband. While Pujie accompanied Puyi in an attempt to escape by air, Saga and her younger daughter Husheng were sent by train towards

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

together with Wanrong (Puyi's wife). The train was captured by Chinese communist forces at the town of Dalizi, now in Linjiang, Jilin, in January 1946. In April, they were moved to a police station in

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 ...

, eventually released only to be rounded up again and locked up at a police station in

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

in the north. When

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

forces bombed Jilin, the prisoners were moved to a prison in

Yanji Yanji (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 연길, ''Yeon-gil;'' Hangul: 옌지, ''Yenji;'' alternately romanized as Yenki) is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Its population i ...

. Saga and her daughter were then taken to a prison in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

and eventually repatriated to Japan. In 1961, after the release of Pujie from prison, the couple was reunited with permission from Chinese premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

. They lived in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

from 1961 until her death in 1987. Saga and Pujie are buried in an Aisin-Gioro family plot in

Shimonoseki is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the Chūgoku region. It is located at the southwestern tip of Honshu facing the Tsush ...

, Yamaguchi, with their eldest daughter, Huisheng.

Descendants

Hiro Saga and Pujie had two daughters: Huisheng (慧生; ''Eisei''; 1938–1957) and Husheng (嫮生; ''Kosei''; born 1940). Huisheng was born in

and educated in

Gakushuin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. It was re-established after World War II as an affiliate of the Gakushūin School Corporation. The privatized successor to the original Gakushūin University (or "Peers School") was est ...

. She died at

Mount Amagi is a range of volcanic mountains in central Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, forming the border between Izu City and Higashi-Izu Town. It is also referred to as the . The Amagi mountains have several peaks, the tallest of whic ...

on 10 December 1957 in what appeared to be a murder-suicide case. Husheng was educated in Gakushuin Women's University in Tokyo. She married Kenji Fukunaga (福永健治 ''Fukunaga Kenji'') in 1968 and has five children with him.

Memoirs

Hiro Saga published her memoir, ''Vicissitudes of a Princess'' in 1959. It became a hugely popular bestseller of the time, and in 1960 was adapted into a film, ''

The Wandering Princess is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Kinuyo Tanaka, based on the memoir of Hiro Saga. It was Tanaka's first film in colour and CinemaScope format. Cast * Machiko Kyō as Ryuko (Hiro Saga) * Eiji Funakoshi as Futetsu (Pujie) * Yomei Ryu as ...

'' by director Kinuyo Tanaka.

Portrayals in the media

Saga is a minor character in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning 1987 film '' The Last Emperor'', where she is played by Chinese actress Cheng Shuyan. In 1960, Kinuyo Tanaka produced and directed ''

'' (流転の王妃, Ruten no ōhi?), a film adapted from Hiro Saga’s memoirs published in 1959, with Machiko Kyō and Eiji Funakoshi in the roles of Hiro Saga and Pujie. Pujie and Hiro Saga's story was adapted into a television drama, ' (流転の王妃・最後の皇弟), shown on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

in 2003. Takako Tokiwa, who portrayed Hiro Saga in the drama, was a classmate of Saga's grandson (Husheng's son) in real life.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Information about TV Asahi's (Japan) Autumn 2003 dramatization of Pujie and Lady Hiro Saga's marriage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saga, Hiro 1914 births 1987 deaths Manchukuo royalty Kazoku Sanjō family Qing dynasty princesses People from Tokyo Japanese emigrants to China Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China Japanese memoirists Deified Japanese people 20th-century memoirists