| HIH Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni | |
|---|---|
His Imperial Highness Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni |
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| Born | June 23, 1873 Kyoto, Japan |
| Died | June 29, 1929 (aged 56) Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1897-1929 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Battles/wars | Russo-Japanese War |
| Awards | Order of the Golden Kite (4th class) Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (1909)[1] |
Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni (久邇宮邦彦王 Kuni-no-miya Kuniyoshi ō, 23 June 1873 – 29 June 1929) 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 Shōwa Emperor), and therefore, the maternal grandfather of the present emperor of Japan, Akihito.
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Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was born in Kyoto, the third son of Prince Kuni Asahiko (Kuni-no-miya Asahiko Shinnō) and the court lady Isume Makiko. His father, Prince Asahiko (also known as Shōren-no-miya Sun'yu and Nagakawa-no-miya Asahiko), was a son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye (Fushimi-no-miya Kuniie Shinnō), the head of one of ōke branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the throne of Japan. In 1872, Emperor Meiji granted Prince Asahiko the title "Kuni-no-miya" and authorized him to begin a new branch of the imperial family.
Prince Kuniyoshi succeeded to the title upon his father's death on October 29, 1891. His half-brothers, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, Prince Nashimoto Morimasa, and Prince Kaya Kuninori, all formed new branches of the imperial family during the Meiji period.
Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi graduated from the 7th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1897. During the Russo-Japanese War, he served as a major in the infantry assigned to the staff of General Kuroki Tamemoto, commander of the IJA 1st Army. For his war services he was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite (4th class). He then graduated from the Army War College and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of the Imperial Guards Division.
From 1907 to 1910, he studied military tactics in Germany and was attached to Second Regiment of the Prussian Foot Guards. Upon returning to Japan, Prince Kuni rose to the rank of major general and given command of the 38th Infantry Regiment. Later he commanded the Imperial Guard of Japan and rose to the rank of lieutenant general in 1918 and commander of the IJA 15st Division. Along with that command, he received the additional post of chief priest of Meiji Shrine.
Prince Kuni became a full general and a member of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in 1923. Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was an early advocate of military aviation. One of his protégés was Yamamoto Isoroku, the future admiral and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy. On January 27, 1929 (two days before his death), Emperor Hirohito promoted him to the honorary rank of field marshal and granted him the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.
Prince Kuni's death occurred soon after he arrived at his villa at Atami, of an acute onset of an undisclosed disease.
On December 13, 1889, Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi married Shimazu Chikako (19 October 1879 - 9 September 1956), the seventh daughter of Prince Shimazu Tadayoshi, the last daimyō of Satsuma Domain. The marriage represented an alliance between the imperial family and the Satsuma clan.