Morihiro Higashikuni
Morihiro Higashikuni | |
---|---|
Born | Prince Morihiro (盛厚王) 6 May 1916 |
Died | 1 February 1969 St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan | (aged 52)
Title | Hereditary Prince Higashikuni |
Spouses | |
Children | Higashikuni no miya |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Japan |
Service/ | Imperial Japanese Army |
Years of service | 1937–1945 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | Kwantung Army |
Commands held | First Battery, 1st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment, Kwantung Army |
Battles/wars | Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
Awards | Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers Order of the Golden Kite (4th Class) |
Morihiro Higashikuni (東久邇 盛厚, Higashikuni Morihiro), formerly Prince Morihiro (盛厚王, Morihiro Ō, 6 May 1916 – 1 February 1969) was an
Early life
Prince Morihiro was born on 6 May 1916, the first child of Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni (later served as Prime Minister in 1945), and his wife, Toshiko, Princess Yasu. Prince Morihiro had the distinction of being a grandson of Emperor Meiji and simultaneously both a first cousin and a son-in-law of Emperor Hirohito because his mother was the ninth daughter of Emperor Meiji, his wife was the eldest daughter of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kōjun. He was born in Tokyo, and like most male members of the imperial family during the Empire of Japan, was groomed to pursue a career in the military from an early age.
Military career
After graduation from the
During the
Marriage and family
On 10 October 1943, Prince Morihiro Higashikuni married seventeen-year-old
The couple had five children, the last three of whom were born after the Higashikuni family was removed from the Imperial Household register:[1]
- Prince Nobuhiko Higashikuni (信彦王, Nobuhiko-ō, 10 March 1945 – 20 March 2019); married Miss Yoshiko Shimada in 1972, and had one son, Masahiko Higashikuni (b. 1973).
- Princess Fumiko Higashikuni (文子女王, Fumiko joō, born 23 December 1946); married Mr. Kazutoshi Omura later to Mr. Takagi Daikichi.
- Hidehiko Higashikuni (東久邇 秀彦, born 30 June 1949): adopted by the Mibufamily as "Motohiro Mibu".
- Naohiko Higashikuni (東久邇 真彦, born 1953); married to Ms. Kazuko Sato, with two sons, Teruhiko and Mutsuhiko.
- Yūko Higashikuni (東久邇 優子, born 1954) married Mr. Azuma Naooki.
His first wife, former Princess Shigeko, died of cancer in July 1961. In 1964, Morihiro Higashikuni married Miss Yoshiko Terao. The second marriage produced two children:
- Atsuhiko Higashikuni (東久邇 厚彦, born 1966)
- Morihiko Higashikuni (東久邇 盛彦, born 1967)
Later life
In October 1947, the Higashikuni and other branches of the Japanese Imperial Family were divested of their titles and privileges during the Allied occupation of Japan and became commoners. As a commoner, he attempted several unsuccessful business ventures before eventually becoming the chief of the research division of the Hokkaido Colliery & Steamship Company. He died of lung cancer at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo in 1969.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Morihiro Higashikuni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gallery
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Prince Morihiro in the Philippines during World War II
References
- ISBN 0-8047-1835-0
- Dower, John W. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. W. W. Norton & Company (2000). ISBN 0-393-32027-8