Japanese prince and admiral (1875?1946)
Marshal Admiral
Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu
(
伏見宮博恭王
,
Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu ?
, October 16, 1875 – 16 August 1946)
was a scion of the
Japanese imperial family
and was a career naval officer who served as
chief of staff
of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
from 1932 to 1941.
Early life
[
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]
Prince Hiroyasu was born in
Tokyo
as Prince Narukata, the eldest son of
Prince Fushimi Sadanaru
(1858?1923) by one of his concubines. He was the twenty-third head of the
Fushimi-no-miya
, one of the four
shinn?ke
cadet branches of the imperial family entitled to succeed to the throne in default of a direct heir. Prince Fushimi was a second cousin to both
Emperor Sh?wa (Hirohito)
and
Empress K?jun
, and nephew of
Prince Kan'in Kotohito
He succeeded to title
Kach?-no-miya
on April 23, 1883, upon which he changed his name from "Narukata" to "Hiroyasu," but returned to the house of Fushimi-no-miya on January 16, 1904.
Marriage & family
[
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]
On January 9, 1896, Prince Hiroyasu married
Tokugawa Tsuneko
(1882?1939), the ninth daughter of Prince
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
, Japan's last
sh?gun
, with whom he had six children:
- Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi
(
博義王
,
Hiroyoshi-?
, December 8, 1897 ? October 19, 1938)
- Princess Yasuko
(
恭子女王
,
Yasuko-nyo?
, 1898?1919)
; Married Marquis Asano Nagatake
- Prince Hirotada
(
博忠王
,
Hirotada-?
, 1902?1924)
; Became
Prince Kach? Hirotada
- Prince Hironobu
(
博信王
,
Hironobu-?
, 1905?1970)
; Became Marquis
Kach? Hironobu
: took peerage title of Marquis and succeeded to head of
Kach?-no-miya
household
- Princess Atsuko
(
敦子女王
,
Atsuko nyo?
, 1907?1936)
; Married Count Kiyosu Yukiyasu.
- Princess Tomoko
(
知子女王
,
Tomoko nyo?
, 1907?1947)
; married
Prince Kuni Asaakira
.
- Prince Hirohide
(
博英王
,
Hirohide-?
, 1912?1943)
; Became
Count Fushimi Hirohide
: took peerage title of Count, served in IJN, KIA.
Military career
[
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]
Prince Hiroyasu entered the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
on 5 April 1886, but resigned in September 1889 and moved to
Germany
. He enrolled in the Naval Academy of the
Kaiserliche Marine
on 8 April 1892. Promoted to midshipman (
Fahnrich zur See
) on March 30, 1893 and to ensign (
Oberfahnrich zur See
) on April 20, 1894, he graduated from the academy on 15 August 1895 and returned to service in the IJN. He spoke fluent
German
. He then served aboard the cruisers
Itsukushima
and
Matsushima
. On December 1, 1897, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and assigned to the battleship
Fuji
, receiving a promotion to lieutenant on December 27. Promoted to
lieutenant-commander
on July 29, 1903, he served in the
Russo-Japanese War
(1904?05), and sustained wounds aboard the
battleship
Mikasa
in the
Battle of the Yellow Sea
(August 1904). He later served as
executive officer
on the cruiser
Niitaka
, battleship
Okinoshima
, and cruisers
Naniwa
and
Nisshin
.
[2]
He was awarded the
Order of the Golden Kite
, 4th class, for his services in the Russo-Japanese War, and was promoted to commander on September 28, 1906.
He studied in
Great Britain
from 1907 to 1910 and upon his return to Japan was promoted to captain on December 1, 1910. He commanded the
cruiser
Takachiho
(1910), and later the
Asahi
and the
battlecruiser
Ibuki
. Promoted to
rear admiral
on August 31, 1913, he rose to
vice admiral
on December 1, 1916 and to full
admiral
on December 1, 1922. He was a member of the
Supreme War Council
from 1920 onward. He was a strong supporter of the
Fleet Faction
within the Navy, pushing for cancellation of the
Washington Naval Agreement
and the building of a more powerful navy.
[3]
Prince Hiroyasu succeeded his father as the twenty-third head of the house of Fushimi in 1923. He was appointed commander of the
Sasebo Naval District
in 1924. Admiral Prince Fushimi became the chief of the
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
on February 2, 1932, replacing Admiral
Abo Kiyokazu
, and held the post to April 9, 1941.
Prince Fushimi received the largely honorary rank of
marshal admiral
on May 27, 1932, and the Collar of the Supreme
Order of the Chrysanthemum
in 1934.
While he was Chief of Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
used
strategic bombing
against Chinese cities including
Shanghai
and
Chongqing
. The bombing of
Nanjing
and
Guangzhou
, which began on September 22?23, 1937, resulted in widespread international condemnation of Japan and a resolution against Japan by the Far Eastern Advisory Committee of the
League of Nations
.
As Chief of Staff, he supported the "
southward advance
" into northern
French Indochina
and the
Dutch East Indies
.
Hiroyasu Fushimi was awarded the
Order of the Golden Kite
, 1st class, in 1942. He remained a member of the Supreme War Council throughout the
Pacific War
, but officially retired from the active list in 1945.
After the war, Fushimi was the honorary president of the Imperial Life Boat Association, the Japan Seamen's Relief Association, the Cancer Research Society, the Naval Club, the Japan-German Society, and the Scientific and Chemical Research Institute.
Like all members of the Imperial family involved in the conduct of the war, Prince Fushimi was exonerated from criminal prosecutions before the
Tokyo tribunal
by
Douglas MacArthur
. He died in Tokyo shortly after the end of
World War II
on August 16, 1946.
Honours
[
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]
He received the following orders and decorations:
[4]
German Empire
:
Korean Empire
:
Qing dynasty
:
Order of the Double Dragon
, Class I Grade II,
9 May 1903
United Kingdom
: Honorary Grand Cross of the
Royal Victorian Order
,
25 January 1910
[5]
Kingdom of Italy
: Knight of the
Order of the Annunciation
,
14 February 1910
[6]
Spain
: Grand Cross of the
Order of Charles III
,
8 March 1910
France
: Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour
,
14 March 1910
Austria-Hungary
: Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Stephen
,
21 March 1910
Russian Empire
: Knight of the
Order of St. Andrew
,
11 April 1910
Netherlands
: Grand Cross of the
Order of the Netherlands Lion
,
27 April 1910
Belgium
: Grand Cordon of the
Royal Order of Leopold
,
4 May 1910
Siam
: Knight of the
Order of the Royal House of Chakri
,
28 November 1911
Gallery
[
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]
-
HIH Princess Fushimi Tsuneko, consort
-
HIH Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi, heir
-
HIH Princess Atsuko and Princess Tomoko (twins)
-
HIH Princess Fushimi (Kuni) Tomoko, daughter
References
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
Books
[
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]
- Asada, Sadao (2006): From Mahan to Pearl Harbor. The Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557500427.
Bix, Herbert P.
(2001).
Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
. Harper Perennial.
ISBN
0-06-093130-2
.
External links
[
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]
Career
|
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Military offices
|
Preceded by
|
Naval War College
Headmaster
18 August 1914 - 13 February 1915
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
2nd Fleet
Commander-in-chief
1 December 1919 ? 1 December 1920
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Sasebo Naval District
Commander-in-chief
5 February 1924 - 15 April 1925
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Navy General Staff
Chairman
2 February 1932 ? 9 April 1941
|
Succeeded by
|
|