was a member of a collateral line 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 ...

who played a key role in 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 ...

. Prince Asahiko was an adopted son of

Emperor Ninkō was the 120th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 仁孝天皇 (120)/ref> Ninkō's reign spanned the years from 1817 until his death in 1846, and saw further deterioratio ...

and later a close advisor to

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 ...

. He was the great-great-grandfather of the present

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession ...

Early life

Prince Asahiko 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 ...

, the fourth son of

Prince Fushimi Kuniye was Japanese royalty. He was the 20th/23rd prince Fushimi-no-miya and the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Sadayuki (1776–1841) and his concubine Seiko, which made him an 11th cousin of Emperor Sakuramachi. Despite being merely a distant cousin ...

, the twentieth 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, t ...

, the oldest of the four branches of the imperial dynasty allowed to provide a successor 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 ...

should the main imperial house fail to produce an heir. The future Prince Asahiko had several childhood appellations and acquired several more titles and names over the years. He was often known as ''Prince Asahiko'' (''Asahiko Shinnō'') and ''Prince Nakagawa'' (''Nakagawa-no-miya''). He was a half-brother of

Prince Yamashina Akira (22 October 1816 – 17 February 1898) was a Japanese diplomat, and the founder of the Yamashina ōke, collateral line of the Imperial Household of Japan, Japanese imperial family. Early life Prince Akira was born in Kyoto, the eldest son o ...

Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito was the second (and last) head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an '' ōke'' cadet branch of the Japanese imperial family. Early life Born on September 19, 1867, as seventeenth (and posthumous) son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie, head of the Fushimi- ...

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. Biogra ...

Prince Fushimi Sadanaru was the 22nd head of the Fushimi-no-miya shinnōke (branch of the Imperial Family). He was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army. Early life Prince Sadanaru was born in Kyoto as the fourteenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802– ...

, and

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 ...

Buddhist priest

From an early age, Prince Asahiko was groomed to pursue a career as a

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, the traditional career path for non-heir sons in the sesshu

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 ...

during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. He was sent as an acolyte to

Honnō-ji is a temple of the Nichiren branch of Buddhism located in Kyoto, Japan. Honnō-ji incident Honnō-ji is most famous for the Honnō-ji incident – the assassination of Oda Nobunaga – that occurred there on 21 June 1582. Nobunaga lodged at ...

in 1831, but was transferred to Ichijō-in, an abbacy of

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

in 1836. In 1838, he was adopted by Emperor Ninkō. That same year, he succeeded an uncle as the abbot of Kōfuku-ji and formally entered the priesthood under the title ''Sonya Hoshinnō''. In 1852, Emperor Kōmei transferred him to

Shōren-in is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. History It was built in the late 13th century. Shinran Shonin, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu pure land sect, was ordained a monk at Shōren-in at the age of nine. Shōren-in was formerly the templ ...

, a major ''

monzeki ''Monzeki'' (門跡) were Japanese Buddhist priests of aristocratic or imperial lineage. The term was also applied to the temples in which they lived. An example of a ''monzeki'' temple is Daikaku-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Uky� ...

'' temple of the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

sect in Kyoto and he assumed the title ''Shōren no miya Son'yu.'' Asahiko was also known as ''Awata no miya'' or ''Awataguchi no miya'' after the location of that temple. During this period, the prince became an outspoken advocate of'' jōi '', the expulsion of all foreigners from Japan. His popularity among the ''Ishin Shishi'' (the pro-imperial court nationalist patriots) attracted the attention of

Ii Naosuke was ''daimyō'' of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Ha ...

, ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of

Hikone 280px, Hikone City Hall is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 111,958 in 49066 households and a population density of 570 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hikone i ...

and the ''

Tairō ''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...

'' during the final illness of ''

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Tokugawa Iesada was the 13th ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He held office for five years from 1853 to 1858. He was physically weak and was therefore considered by later historians to have been unfit to be ''shōgun''. His reign marks the begin ...

. When Ii launched the

Ansei Purge was a multi-year event in Japanese history of the Edo period between 1858 and 1860, during which the Tokugawa shogunate imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. The purge was undertaken by ...

, the prince was condemned to perpetual confinement at

Shōkoku-ji , formally identified as , is a Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto, first founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, with the existing temple complex having undergone several periods of extensive reconstruction and rebuilding in the succeeding eras. ...

and spent more than two years living in a tiny, dilapidated hut. This disrespectful treatment of the prince enraged the ''shishi'', who made his release one of their principal objectives.

Meiji Restoration and afterwards

In 1862, the prince was allowed to return to secular status and received the title ''Nakagawa no miya.'' This was part of the amnesty declared in honor of the marriage of ''Shōgun''

Tokugawa Iemochi (July 17, 1846 – August 29, 1866) was the 14th ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. ...

, to Kazu-no-miya, the Emperor Kōmei's half-sister. He returned to Kyoto, became a close advisor of the emperor, and became known by yet another title, ''Kaya-no-miya'' at this time. In September 1863, Kōmei bestowed on him the name "Asahiko" and the status of a prince of the blood (''shinnō''imperial prince of

), and named him ''Danjō no in'', a high ranking court position open only to princes of the blood. Prince Asahiko continued in this post following the death of Kōmei and the ascension of the Meiji emperor. After the

, Prince Asahiko's political enemies did not relent. In 1868, he was deprived of his status as a prince of the blood and exiled to

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

on trumped-up charges of plotting to overthrow the new government. Emperor Meiji pardoned him in February 1872, restoring his princely status and allowing him to start a new collateral branch of the imperial dynasty, the ''

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 Chrysanthe ...

''. He spent the last two decades of his life as the lord custodian priest (''saishu'') of the

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

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 . ...

. Prince Kuni Asahiko died 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 37.468 ...

in 1891. Three of Prince Asahiko's sons,

Prince Kaya Kuninori (1 September 1867 – 8 December 1909) was a member of the Japanese imperial family and the founder of one of the nine ''ōke'' (or princely houses) in the Meiji period. Early life The prince was born in Kyoto, as the second of the nine son ...

, Prince Kuni Taka, and

Prince Nashimoto Morimasa was a member of the Japanese Imperial Family and a ''Field Marshal (Japan), 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 ...

, successively served as lord custodian priests of the Ise Shrine between 1891 and 1947. Prince Asahiko's son

Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was a member of the Japanese imperial family and a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji and Taishō periods. He was the father of Empress Kōjun (who in turn was the consort of the Emperor Shōwa), and therefore, the mat ...

was the father of Princess Nagako of Kuni, who married the future

Emperor Shōwa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

Family

Prince Kuni Asahiko was the father of at least eighteen children (nine sons and nine daughters) by at least five different court ladies: (1) Izumitei Shizue, second daughter of Izumitei Shun'eki, a priest at Kamo Shrine, Kyoto, (2) Izumi Makiko, (3) Harada Mitsue, (4) Tarao Utako, and (5) Tsunoda Sugako. Emperor Meiji directed Prince Asahiko's second, eighth, and ninth sons to found new collateral branches of the imperial family with the hereditary rank of a minor prince of the blood (''

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 ...

''):

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 ...

Asaka-no-miya The Asaka (朝香) ''ōke'' (princely house) was the eighth oldest branch of the Japanese Imperial Family created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house. Asaka-no-miya The Asaka-no-miya house was formed by Prince Yasuhiko, eighth son of Pr ...

, and

Higashikuni-no-miya The was the ninth-oldest branch of the Japanese Imperial Family, created from branches 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 Chrysant ...

. Prince Asakiko's seventh son succeeded to the head of the existing Nashimoto-no-miya house. His fourth born son succeeded him as the second head of the Kuni-no-miya. Consort and issue(s): *Wife (Nyōbō): Izumitei Shizue (泉亭静枝), second daughter of Izumitei Shun'eki (泉亭俊益) **First Daughter: Princess Chita (智當宮, 10 April 1864 – 14 September 1866) **First Son: Prince Muchimaro (武智宮, 25 March 1865 – 10 January 1866) **Second Son:

(賀陽宮邦憲王, 1 September 1867 – 8 December 1909) **Fifth Son: Prince Kuni Taka (久邇宮多嘉王, 17 August 1875 – 1 October 1937) **Sixth Son: Prince Nobu (暢王, 28 December 1876 – 7 August 1877) *Wife (Nyōbō): Izumi Makiko (泉萬喜子), younger sister of Izumitei Shizue **Second Daughter: Princess Sakako (栄子女王), (18 February 1868 – 9 January 1949), Wife of Viscount Higashizono Motonaru **Third Daughter: Princess Akiko (安喜子女王, 6 July 1870 – 19 January 1920), Wife of Marquis Ikeda Norimasa **Fourth Daughter: Princess Hiroko (飛子女王, 1871 – 1889) **Fifth Daughter: Princess Ayako (絢子女王, 31 May 1872 – 26 July 1946), Wife of Viscount Takenuchi Koritada **Third Son:

(久邇宮邦彦王, 23 July 1873 – 29 January 1929) **Sixth Daughter: Princess Motoko (素子女王, 27 March 1876 – 21 January 1918), Wife of Viscount Sengoku Masayuki **Seventh Daughter: ''Princess Natsuo'' (懐子女王, 1879 – 1880) **Eighth Daughter: Princess Suzuko (篶子女王, 16 October 1879 – 3 January 1947), Wife of Count Mibu Moto **Seventh Son: ''Unnamed prince'' (1882) *Wife (Nyōbō): Mitsue Harada (原田光枝子) **Fourth Son:

(梨本宮守正王, 9 March 1874 – 2 January 1951) *Wife (Nyōbō): Utako Tarao (寺尾宇多子) **Ninth Daughter: Princess Atsuko (純子, 8 March 1884 – 13 June 1911), Wife of Viscount Oda Hidezane **Ninth Son:

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 ...

(東久邇宮稔彦王, 3 December 1887 – 20 January 1990) *Wife (Nyōbō): Tsunoda Sugako (角田須賀子) **Eighth Son:

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 ...

(朝香宮鳩彦王, 2 October 1887 – 13 April 1981)

References and further reading

* Keene, Donald. ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002) * Lebra, Takie Sugiyama. ''Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993) * Papinot, Edmond. ''Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan'' (New York: F. Ungar Pub. Co., 1948) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuni Asahiko, Prince 1824 births 1891 deaths Kuni-no-miya Japanese princes People from Kyoto People of Meiji-period Japan Kannushi Parents of prime ministers of Japan