Higashikuni Morihiro
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Higashikuni Morihiro, formerly His Imperial Highness Prince Morihiro of Higashikuni (Higashikuni no miya Morihiro ō) (6 May 1916 - 1 February 1969) was a one-time member of the Japanese imperial family and an artillery officer in the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. A scion of the imperial collateral line of Fushimi-no-miya, he had the distinction of being a grandson of the Emperor Meiji and simultaneously both a first cousin and a son-in-law of the Emperor Shōwa. He lost his princely title and membership in the imperial family during the American occupation of Japan and became a commoner. Higashikuni Morihiro is mainly remembered as the husband of the Shōwa emperor's eldest daughter.
Prince Morihiro was born in Tokyo, the eldest son of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko (3 December 1887 - 20 January 1990) and his wife, Princess Toshiko (11 May 1896 - 5 March 1978), the ninth born daughter of Emperor Meiji. His father was the ninth son of Prince Kuni Asahiko, a laicized Buddhist priest and imperial prince who became an advisor to Emperor Komei and later Meiji. Prince Naruhiko received the title Higashikuni-no-miya (Prince Higashikuni) and the authorization to start a new cadet branch of the imperial family on 3 November 1906. As the eldest of four sons, Prince Morihiro was heir apparent to the title Higashikuni-no-miya.
Like all male members of the imperial family during the Meiji and Taisho period, Prince Morihiro was groomed to pursue a career in the armed services from an early age. He received his primary and secondary education at then-boys' department of the Gakushuin and the Central Military Preparatory School. He entered the Imperial Military Academy in 1936 and upon graduation two years later received a commission as a second lieutenant in the artillery. In 1938, he received a promotion to first lieutenant. During the Nomonhan Incident in summer 1939, he commanded the First Battery, 1st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment of the Kwantung Army. He was transferred back to Japan on 2 August 1939, as the Soviet army began its final offensive against Japanese forces. He was promoted to captain of the artillery in 1941.
On 10 October 1943, Prince Morihiro of Higashikuni married sixteen year-old Princess Shigeko (9 December 1925 - 23 July 1961), the eldest daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kojun, who was widely known by her childhood appellation Teru-no-miya. The bride and groom were related several times over through their common descent from Emperor Meiji and Prince Kuni Asahiko (the father of Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko and the grandfather of Empress Kojun). The couple had five children, the last three of whom were born after the Higashikuni family was removed from the imperial household register:
- Higashikuni Nobuhiko, né Prince Nobuhiko (Nobuhiko ō) (9 March 1944 - present) m. 1973 Miss Shimada Yoshiko.
- Higashikuni Fumiko, née Princess Fumiko (Fumiko nyoō) (23 December 1946 - present); m. 23 March 1968 Mr. Omura Kazutoshi.
- Higashikuni Hidehiko (30 June 1949 - present) (later adopted by the Mibu family)
- Higashikuni Yuko (1950 - present)
In October 1947, the Higashikuni and the other oke were divested of their membership in the imperial family and became commoners. A career army officer, Higashikuni Morihiro (as he was then known) was purged from holding any public office for the duration of the American occupation. He eventually became the chief of the research division of the Hokaido Mining and Steamship Company. He died of lung cancer at St. Luke's Medical Center in Tokyo in 1969.
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