Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni
Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni (東久邇宮稔彦王, Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko Ō, 3 December 1887 – 20 January 1990) was a Japanese imperial prince, a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 30th Prime Minister of Japan from 17 August 1945 to 9 October 1945, a period of 54 days. He is the shortest-serving prime minister, resigning after eight weeks. An uncle-in-law of Emperor Hirohito twice over,[1] Prince Higashikuni was the only member of the Japanese imperial family to head a cabinet and was the last general officer of the Imperial Japanese military to become Prime Minister. He was the founder of the Chiba Institute of Technology. He was one of the longest-lived members of any royal family.[2]
"Prince Higashikuni" redirects here. For the Japanese title, see Higashikuni-no-miya.
Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni
3 December 1887
Kyoto City, Empire of Japan
20 January 1990 (aged 102)
Tokyo Metropolis, Japan
Morihiro Higashikuni
Moromasa Higashikuni
Akitsune Higashikuni
Toshihiko Higashikuni
- Asahiko, Prince Kuni (father)
- Terao Utako (mother)
Order of the Chrysanthemum
Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, Order of the Golden Kite
1908–1945
3 November 1906 – 14 October 1947
Title abolished
3 November 1906 – 20 January 1990
東久邇宮稔彦王
Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko Ō
Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko Ō
Early life[edit]
Prince Naruhiko was born on 3 December 1887 in Kyoto, the ninth son of Prince Kuni Asahiko (Kuni no miya Asahiko Shinnō) and the court lady Terao Utako. His father, Prince Asahiko, was a son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (Fushimi no miya Kuniie Shinnō), the twentieth head of the Fushimi-no-miya, the oldest of the sesshu shinnōke or cadet branches of the imperial dynasty from whom an emperor might be chosen in default of a direct heir. Prince Naruhiko was a half-brother of Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi, the father of the future Empress Kōjun, the wife of Emperor Shōwa. His other half-brothers, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, Prince Nashimoto Morimasa, and Prince Kaya Kuninori, all formed new branches of the imperial family (ōke) during the Meiji period.
Life after resignation[edit]
On 27 February 1946, Prince Higashikuni gave an interview to the Yomiuri-Hōchi newspaper in which he claimed that many members of the imperial family had approved Emperor Shōwa's abdication, with Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu serving as regent until Crown Prince Akihito came of age.[8] In the government, only Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara and the Imperial Household Minister Yoshitami Matsudaira opposed this. On 4 March 1946, Higashikuni gave a similar interview to the Associated Press (reported in The New York Times) indicating that he had proposed to the Emperor possible dates for abdication.[9]
In 1946, Prince Higashikuni asked the emperor for permission to renounce his membership in the Imperial Family and become a commoner. The emperor denied the request. However, along with other members of the Imperial branch families (shinnōke and ōke), Prince Higashikuni lost his title and most of his wealth as a result of the American occupation’s abolition of the princely houses on 17 October 1947.
As a private citizen, Higashikuni operated several unsuccessful retail enterprises (including a provisions store, second-hand goods store, and dressmaker's shop). He even created his own new Zen Buddhism-based religious sect, the Higashikuni-kyo, which was subsequently banned by the American occupation authorities.
The former prince became the honorary chairman of the International Martial Arts Federation (IMAF) in 1957, and honorary president of several other organizations.
In 1958, Higashikuni published his wartime journals under the title, Ichi Kozoku no Senso Nikki (or The War Diary of a Member of the Imperial Family). He published his autobiographical memoirs, Higashikuni Nikki, in 1968.
Death and legacy[edit]
Higashikuni died of heart failure in Tokyo on 20 January 1990 at the age of 102 years, 48 days, having outlived his wife, two of his sons, his siblings, and his nephew, Emperor Shōwa. Higashikuni is today mainly remembered as first postwar prime minister of Japan. He is the shortest-serving prime minister, resigning after eight weeks (54 days) and one of the longest-lived prime ministers of all time, along with Antoine Pinay, Willem Drees and Christopher Hornsrud, and at his death was the last surviving full general of the Imperial Japanese Army. From 14 May 1988, when former Netherlands Prime Minister Willem Drees died, until his own death, Higashikuni was the world's oldest living former head of government.
HIH Prince Naruhiko
HIH Prince Naruhiko in France
HIH Prince Morihiro (son and heir)
