The was one of the
shinnōke, branches of the
Imperial Family of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
which were, until 1947, eligible to succeed to the
Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out.
History
The Arisugawa-no-miya house was founded by Prince Yoshihito, seventh son of
Emperor Go-Yōzei
was the 107th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Yōzei's reign spanned the years 1586 through to his abdication in 1611, corresponding to the transition between the Azuchi–Momoyama period and the Edo period ...
(d. 1638), and was originally named Takamatsu-no-miya. The house changed its name to Arisugawa-no-miya after its second head, Prince Nagahito was elevated to the throne as
Emperor Go-Sai
, also known as , was the 111th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 後西天皇 (111)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', pp. 116.
Go-Sai ...
.
The Arisugawa-no-miya house traditionally served as instructors in calligraphy and ''
waka'' composition to successive generations of Emperors. After the
Meiji Restoration in 1868, when
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 ...
was restored, his uncle,
Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (1835–1895), became commander-in-chief, and in 1875
Chancellor of the Realm
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
. After his suppression of the
Satsuma Rebellion in 1875 he was made a field-marshal, and he was again commander-in-chief in the
First Sino-Japanese War. His younger brother,
Prince Arisugawa Takehito (1862–1913), was from 1879 to 1882 attached to the British navy, as a
military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...
and later as a
cadet
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
. He went on to command positions in the Japanese Navy, and represented Japan in formal visits to England.
The Arisugawa line ended early in the twentieth century when no male heirs remained. However, the Imperial Household Agency revived the original title of Takamatsu-no-miya for the third son of
Emperor Taishō. The line again became extinct on
Prince Takamatsu Nobuhito’s death, as he had no children.
In 2003, an impostor to the Arisugawa line appeared, and stole a great deal of money.
Dynasty
※In
Imperial Household Law at that time, an Imperial prince was not taken from his birth family by the adopted family. Prince Nobuhito re-founded the Takamatsu-no-miya. Therefore, Prince Nobuhito was not considered the eleventh generation Takamatsu-no-miya but the first generation of the second Takamatsu-no-miya.
References
* Keene, Donald. ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912''. Columbia University Press (2005).
* Lebra, Sugiyama Takie. ''Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility''. University of California Press (1995). {{ISBN, 0-520-07602-8
Notes
External links
link to digitized images of Taruhito-shinnō (1871-1895) and Takehito-shinnō (1895-1913)
Japanese nobility