(born ; 19 July 1940), is a member of the Japanese Imperial Family as the wife of

Masahito, Prince Hitachi is a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the younger brother of Akihito, Emperor emeritus Akihito and the paternal uncle of Naruhito, Emperor Naruhito. He is the second son and sixth born child of Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōju ...

, who is the younger son of Emperor Shōwa and the only brother of Emperor Emeritus

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

. By marriage, she is the aunt of Emperor Naruhito.

Early life and education

She was born at Tsugaru's family home in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, she is the fourth daughter of Count Yoshitaka Tsugaru (1907–1994), the last representative of the

Tsugaru clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled the northwestern half of what is now Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate. The Tsugaru were ''daimyō'' of Hirosaki Domain and its semi-subsidiary, ...

and adopted son of the ''

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 no ...

'' of the Tsugaru Domain (present-day

Hirosaki is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,639 in 71,044 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a jōkamachi, ca ...

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

). Yoshitaka Tsugaru was originally from the Owari branch of the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty which produced the Tokugawa shoguns who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868 during the Edo period. It was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of ...

. He was also a member of the aristocracy created by 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 Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

(''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

''). Her mother, Hisako Mōri (1911–2004), was a descendant of the

Mōri clan The was a Japanese clan, Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power in Aki Province. Durin ...

and also of the former daimyō of

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was based ...

in the former province of Nagato (present-day Yamaguchi). Hanako Tsugaru attended the prestigious Gakushūin School for her primary, junior high, and high school education, a school for Peers founded to educate the children of the imperial family and the imperial aristocracy (

kuge The was a Japanese Aristocracy (class), aristocratic Social class, 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 ce ...

). She graduated from the Gakushūin Women's Junior College in 1961.

Marriage

Hanako met her future husband, Prince Masahito, during her studies at Gakushuin. The Imperial Household Council announced the engagement of Prince Masahito and Hanako Tsugaru on 28 February 1964 and the engagement ceremony was held on 14 April 1964. The wedding ceremony took place on 30 September 1964. Upon marriage, Prince Masahito received the title Prince Hitachi (Hitachi-no-miya – strictly "Prince Hitachi") and authorization from the Imperial Household Economy Council to form a new branch of the Imperial Family. As tradition dictates, upon her entry into the imperial family and like other members, she received a personal

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

(): ''Rhododendron'' subg. ''Hymenanthes'' (). They have no children. Since December 1976, Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi have their official residence in a palace in large grounds off Komazawadori in Higashi in the district of

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

in Tokyo.

Public service

Princess Hitachi, like her husband, was elected on 5 September 2007 by the other members of the imperial family to be one of their main representatives (there are two in total) to the Imperial Household Council as a member. Both the members and reserve members, including Princess Hitachi, were re-elected on 7 September 2011. In 2017, the Princess was diagnosed with lumbar spondylosis and was hospitalized in September for further treatments. She made her first public appearance in April 2018. It was her first public engagement in 11 months. Princess Hitachi is president of various organizations that concern themselves with welfare and the arts. She has also translated various children's books from English into Japanese.

Translation

Princess Hitachi has translated various children books from English into Japanese. * ''The Eighty-Ninth Kitten'' by Eleanor Nilsson (published in 1987) * ''The Most Obedient Dog in the World'', by Anita Jeram (published in 1996) * ''It was Jake'', by Anita Jeram (published in 1997) * ''A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up'', by Caroline Arnold (published in 2001)

Titles and styles

Hanako is styled as ''Her Imperial Highness'' Princess Hitachi.

Honours

National honours

* : **

Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

** Dame of the Decoration of the Red Cross

Foreign honours

* : Member of the Order of the Benevolent Ruler (19 April 1960)

Honorary positions

* Member of the Imperial House Council * Honorary President of the Japan

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The origin of ikebana can be traced back to the ancient Japanese custom of erecting Evergreen, evergreen trees and decorating them with flowers as yorishiro () to invite the go ...

Art Association * Honorary President of the Japan Animal Welfare Society * Honorary President of the Japan Equestrian Federation * Honorary President of the Nippon-Latin American Ladies' Association * Honorary Vice-President of the Japanese Red Cross SocietyPresentation of the Japanese Red Cross on its official website

Ancestry

On both sides of her family, Princess Hitachi is descended from the old feudal aristocracy. She is a second cousin once removed of the late Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu who was, as were both Princess Hitachi's parents, a descendant of the Tokugawa clan of Mito. She is also a second cousin to Takamasa Ikeda, former head of the

Ikeda clan was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021) of the Seiwa Genji. Minamoto no Yasumasa, the fourth generation descending from Yorimitsu, and younger brother of Minamoto no Yorimasa (1104-1180), was the first to ...

and husband of her sister-in-law (and fifth cousin), Atsuko Ikeda. The late Setsuko, Princess Chichibu was also a descendant of the Mito-Tokugawa line, and was her fourth cousin once removed. Prince and Princess Hitachi are also cousins several times over, but are most directly fifth cousins through their descent from the Ōgimachisanjō clan; their most recent common ancestor is their four-times great-grandfather Ōgimachisanjō Kinnori (1774–1800), a senior courtier. As a result, Princess Hitachi is also a fifth cousin of the present Emperor and his siblings. and both a fourth cousin (once removed) and a fifth cousin of Yuriko, Princess Mikasa.

References

External links

Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi
at the Imperial Household Agency website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanako, Princess Hitachi Japanese princesses 21st-century Japanese translators 1940 births Living people Tsugaru clan Grand Cordons (Imperial Family) of the Order of the Precious Crown 20th-century Japanese women 21st-century Japanese women Princesses by marriage 20th-century Japanese translators