| Prince Fushimi Sadanaru | |
|---|---|
Prince Fushimi Sadanaru in Meiji period postcard |
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| Born | June 9, 1858 Kyoto, Japan |
| Died | February 4, 1923 (aged 64) Chōshi, Chiba, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Service/branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1875-1923 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Commands held | IJA 4th Division, IJA 1st Division, IJA 10th Division |
| Battles/wars | First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War |
| Awards | Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum Order of the Golden Kite (2nd Class) |
| Other work | Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan |
Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (伏見宮貞愛親王 Fushimi-no-miya Sadanaru-Shinnō, June 9, 1858 – February 4, 1923) was the 22nd head of the Fushimi-no-miya shinnōke (branch of the Imperial Family).[1] He was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army.
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Prince Sadanaru was born in Kyoto as the fourteenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802–1875) and was thus the half brother of Prince Yamashina Akira, Prince Kuni Asahiko, Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, and Prince Kan'in Kotohito. He succeeded his father as the head of the Fushimi-no-miya family in 1875.
In 1872, Prince Fushimi Sadanaru married Princess Arisugawa Toshiko (1858–1927), the daughter of Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, with whom he had one daughter and three sons.
A career army officer, Prince Sadanaru studied military tactics at the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in France and later in Germany in the 1870s. Upon his return to Japan, he advocated the establishment of a Japanese version of an army General Staff based on the Prussian model. He was promoted to major general in 1889.
General Prince Fushimi Sadanaru served as a field commander in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), commanding the IJA 4th Division, and landing with his forces in the Liaodong Peninsula, China in 1894. He subsequently participated in the operation to secure Taiwan.
He represented Emperor Meiji at the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia on May 26, 1896. In 1898, he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned command of the Himeji-based IJA 10th Division. In 1901, he became commander of the IJA 1st Division.
In 1904, with the start of the Russo-Japanese War he again landed with his forces in the Liaodong Peninsula. In June, he was promoted to full general, and recalled to Japan to serve on the Supreme War Council, before being sent by Emperor Meiji on a diplomatic mission to the United States. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Portsmouth, he was sent to England again on a mission of thanks from the Japanese government for British advice and assistance during the war. During this mission, he also stopped in Honolulu for a visit with the Japanese community there. In 1909, he was again sent on a diplomatic mission, this time to China. Prince Fushimi also represented Japan at the state funeral of Great Britain's King Edward VII May 20, 1910. He met with the new King George V at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Fushimi was a close advisor to then-Crown Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō). After the death of Emperor Meiji in 1911, he served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan from 1912 to 1915, thus becoming the only imperial prince to have served in that office.
He was promoted to the largely ceremonial rank of field marshal in 1914, and awarded the Grand Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1916.
The Prince died of influenza on February 5, 1923 at his vacation home in Chōshi, Chiba and was accorded a state funeral. Dowager Princess Fushimi Toshiko died on January 3, 1930. He was succeeded by his son, Fleet Admiral Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu.
His Japanese decorations include the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Order of the Golden Kite (2nd Class). In addition, other honors and decorations included: