Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito
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| HIH Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito | |
|---|---|
| 19 September 1876 – 27 June 1922 | |
 His Imperial Highness Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito |
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| Place of birth | Kyoto, Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Years of service | 1891–1922 |
| Rank | Fleet Admiral |
| Commands | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Battles/wars | First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War |
| Awards | Order of the Golden Kite (3rd Class) |
His Imperial Highness Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (東伏見宮依仁親王 Higashifushimi-no-miya Yoshihito-Shinnō ?) (19 September 1876 - 27 June 1922) was the second (and last) head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, one of the oke cadet branches of the Japanese imperial family.
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[edit] Early life
Born on 19 September 1876, as seventieth (and posthumous) son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye. He was a younger half-brother of Field Marshal Prince Komatsu Akihito, Prince Kuni Asahiko, General Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, 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 household in 1869, followed by the Komatsu-no-miya house in 1885. He succeeded to the Higashifushimi-no-miya title upon the death of the first head, Prince Komatsu Akihito, on 3 February 1903.
[edit] Marriage & family
On 10 February 1893, Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito married Iwakura Kaneko (1876-1946), the eldest daughter of Prince Iwakura Tomomi. As the couple remained childless, the Higashifushimi-n0-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 Higashifushimi Kunihide (hakushaku under the kazoku peerage system), to prevent the Higashifushimi name from dying out. Dowager Princess Higashifushimi Kaneko became a commoner on 14 October 1947. She died in Tokyo in 1948.
[edit] Military career
Prince Higashifushimi Yoshihito attended the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy briefly, but was then sent to study at Dartmouth Royal Naval College in Great Britain. He lived in France from 1887-1890 and graduated from the French Naval Academy. He returned to Japan on 7 October 1891. After serving on the various vessels in the Imperial Japanese Navy, including combat duty in the First Sino-Japanese War, he became second-in-command of the battleship Fusō on 12 December 1901, and captain of the Chiyoda on 12 January 1905. He later captained the Takachiho and the Kasuga.
Prince Higashifushimi was awarded with the Order of the Golden Kite (3rd Class) for his service during the Russo-Japanese War. In 1906, he joined the Naval Staff Board. He was promoted to rear admiral on 1 December 1909.
Prince and Princess Higashifushimi represented Emperor Meiji at the coronation ceremonies of King George V of Great Britain (June 30, 1911). Promoted to vice admiral on 31 August 1913, and admiral on 2 July 1918, he was given the posthumous title of fleet admiral on his death on 27 June 1922.
[edit] Trivia
- King David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, visited Japan during his round-the-world tour of 1881. He was the first foreign head of state 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) 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.
[edit] References
- Dupuy, Trevor N. The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1992. ISBN 0-7858-0437-4
- Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
