Prince Yamashina Akira
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Yamashina Akira | |
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Prince Yamashina Akira | |
Prince Yamashina | |
Reign | 1864–1898 |
Successor | Prince Yamashina Kikumaro |
Born | Kyoto, Japan | 12 October 1816
Died | 17 February 1898 Tokyo, Japan | (aged 81)
Issue | Prince Yamashina Kikumaro |
Father | Prince Fushimi Kuniye |
Mother | Fujiki Hisako |
Prince Yamashina Akira (
Early life
[edit]Prince Akira was born in Kyoto, the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802–1875) and Fujigi Hisako (
It was not until 1835 that Prince Kuniie officially married Takatsukasa Hiroko (
Buddhist priest
[edit]From an early age, Prince Akira was groomed to pursue a career as a Buddhist priest, the traditional career path for non-heir sons in the Shinnōke during the Edo period. At the age of two, he was officially adopted by Emperor Kōkaku (1779–1817;, died in 1840) as a potential heir.
Prince Akira took the tonsure and entered the priesthood under the title Saihan Hoshinnō. He was later appointed prince-abbot of the monzeki temple of Kajū-ji in Yamashina, outside of Kyoto. In 1842, he angered the Tokugawa bakufu, which stripped him of his post and confined him to the temple of Tō-ji. In 1864, the Tokugawa government reinstated him to his former post. However, with the growing movement to overthrow the Tokugawa government in the years leading up to the Meiji Restoration, Emperor Kōmei returned him to secular status, adopted him as a potential heir, and created the title "Yamashina-no-miya" as a new branch of the Imperial house in 1858.
Meiji period
[edit]After the Meiji restoration, Prince Yamashina served the new Meiji government as a diplomat, assisting in the opening of Kobe to foreign trade, and meeting with foreign dignitaries and royalty. He was one of the few Imperial princes to refuse a military commission, remaining a civilian all his life.
Marriage and family
[edit]Prince Yamashina Akira never officially married, but he had a least one concubine, Nakajō Chieko (
A son, Prince Yamashina Kikumaro (3 July 1873 – 2 May 1908) was born to Prince Yamashina Akira and Nakajō Chieko. Kikumaro was officially adopted to carry on the Yamashina line.
References
[edit]- Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002) ISBN 0-231-12340-X
- Lebra, Takie Sugiyama. Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993) ISBN 0-520-07602-8
- Papinot Edmond. Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan (New York: F. Ungar Pub. Co., 1948)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20150602063650/http://www.geocities.jp/ahmadjan_aqsaqal/ssr/1k3/ku630001.html#boutou