Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito

Infobox Military Person
name=Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito
lived=19 September 1867 - 27 June 1922
placeofbirth=Kyoto, Japan
placeofdeath=Tokyo, Japan


caption= Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito
nickname=
allegiance=Empire of Japan
branch=navy|Empire of Japan
serviceyears=1891 - 1922
rank=Fleet Admiral
commands=
unit=
battles=First Sino-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
awards=Order of the Golden Kite (3rd Class)
family=
laterwork=

nihongo|Fleet Admiral Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito|東伏見宮依仁親王|Higashifushimi-no-miya Yoshihito-Shinnō (19 September 1867 - 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.

Early life

Born on 19 September 1867, 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.

King David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaiokinai, 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.

Marriage and 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-no-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.

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"(1905) and the "Kasuga" (1906).

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 Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. 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).

After his promotion to vice admiral on 31 August 1913, he served as Commander in Chief of the Yokosuka Naval District in 1916, and Commander in Chief of the IJN 2nd Fleet in 1917. Promoted to admiral on 2 July 1918, he made one last trip to the United Kingdom from 1918-1919, and he was given the posthumous title of fleet admiral on his death on 27 June 1922.

References

*cite book
last = Dupuy
first = Trevor N.
year = 1992
title = Encyclopedia of Military Biography
publisher = I B Tauris & Co Ltd
location =
id = ISBN 1-85043-569-3
*cite book
last = Jansen
first = Marius B.
year = 2000
title = The Making of Modern Japan
publisher = Belknap Press
location =
id = ISBN 0674009916

External links

*cite web
last = Nishida
first = Hiroshi
url = http://homepage2.nifty.com/nishidah/e/px00.htm#p002
title = Materials of IJN: Higashifushimi Yorihito
work = Imperial Japanese Navy
accessdate = 2007-08-03
accessyear =