Masahito
Prince Hitachi
Prince Hitachi at the Grimaldi Forum in July 2010
BornMasahito, Prince Yoshi (義宮正仁親王)
(1935-11-28) 28 November 1935
Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo City, Empire of Japan
Spouse
​
(m. 1964)​
HouseImperial House of Japan
FatherEmperor Shōwa
MotherNagako Kuni

Masahito, Prince Hitachi (常陸宮正仁親王, Hitachi-no-miya Masahito Shinnō, born 28 November 1935) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the younger brother of Emperor emeritus Akihito and the paternal uncle of Emperor Naruhito. He is the second son and sixth born child of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun and is third and last in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. He is mainly known for philanthropic activities and his research on the causes of cancer.

Early life and education

With his younger sister Princess Takako (1952)

Born at Tokyo Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Masahito held the childhood appellation Prince Yoshi (義宮正仁親王, Yoshi-no-miya Masahito Shinnō).

Masahito received his primary and secondary schooling at the Gakushūin Peers' School. In late 1944, the Imperial Household Ministry evacuated Prince Yoshi and the Crown Prince to Nikkō, to escape the American bombing of Tokyo.

After the war, from 1947 to 1950, Mrs. Elizabeth Gray Vining tutored both princes and their sisters, the Princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako, in the English language. Her account of the experience is entitled Windows for the Crown Prince (1952).

Prince Yoshi received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the Faculty of Science at Gakushuin University in 1958. He subsequently did postgraduate work in the Faculty of Science at Tokyo University. In 1969, he became a Research Associate of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research specializing in the study of cellular division. The results of his research have been reported in the technical journals of the Japanese Cancer Association, as well as of the American Association for Cancer Research.

In 1997, Prince Hitachi received an honorary doctorate from George Washington University in the United States, and in April 2001 received another from the University of Minnesota. In March 1999, he became an honorary member of the German Association for Cancer Research, in recognition of his significant scientific contributions to the field of cancer research.

Marriage

Prince Hitachi and Princess Hanako with Queen Juliana, Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus (at the Soestdijk Palace, 1965)

On 30 September 1964, the Prince married Hanako Tsugaru (born 19 July 1940), fourth daughter of the late Yoshitaka Tsugaru, a former count and a descendant of the daimyō of Tsugaru Domain. The following day, Emperor Shōwa granted him the title Hitachi-no-miya (Prince Hitachi), and authorization to start a new branch of the Imperial Family in celebration of his wedding.

Prince and Princess Hitachi have their official residence in a palace in large gardens off Komazawadori in Higashi, Shibuya.[1] They have no children.

In September 2021, the Japanese government considered plans to amend the Imperial Household Law and allow Prince Hitachi to adopt a male member of the former shinnōke or ōke collateral branches of the imperial family in an effort to address the Japanese imperial succession debate.[2]

Public service

Prince Hitachi is the honorary president of a wide variety of charitable organizations, especially those involving international exchange. Most recently, Prince and Princess Hitachi visited Nicaragua and El Salvador, to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with both countries in October 2005. They also made a visit to France in September 2007 and Peru, marking the celebration of 110 years since the establishment of a Japanese community in this country, June 2009.

Health

Prince Hitachi suffered from fever in late February 2023 and was hospitalized on 1 March. He was diagnosed with ureteral stones for which he underwent ureteral stenting the day after at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center. He was discharged from hospital on 5 March.[3][4] On 21 March, he underwent ureteral lithotripsy and was discharged on 24 March.[5][6] He was readmitted to hospital with a fever and loss of appetite on 2 April,[7] and was subsequently diagnosed with a urinary tract infection.[8] He was discharged from hospital on 24 April.[9]

Titles and styles

Mon of the Hitachi branch of the Imperial Family
  • 28 November 1935 – 1 October 1964: His Imperial Highness Prince Yoshi
  • 1 October 1964 – present: His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

Honorary degree

Honorary positions

  • President of the Japanese Society for the Preservation of Birds[13]
  • President of the Japanese Society for Disabled Children[13]
  • President of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation[13]
  • President of the Japan-Denmark Society[13]
  • President of the Dainippon Silk Foundation[13]
  • President of the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities[13]
  • President of the Japan Art Association[13]
  • President of the Tokyo Zoological Park Society[13]
  • President of Maison Franco-Japonaise[13]
  • President of the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund[13]
  • Honorary President of the Japan-Sweden Society[13]
  • Honorary President of the Japan-Belgium Society[13]
  • Honorary President of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research[13]
  • Honorary President of Association Pasteur Japon[13]
  • Honorary Vice-President of the Japanese Red Cross Society[13]

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent

Patrilineal descent[14]
Imperial House of Japan
  1. Descent prior to Keitai is unclear to modern historians, but traditionally traced back patrilineally to Emperor Jimmu
  2. Emperor Keitai, ca. 450–534
  3. Emperor Kinmei, 509–571
  4. Emperor Bidatsu, 538–585
  5. Prince Oshisaka, ca. 556–???
  6. Emperor Jomei, 593–641
  7. Emperor Tenji, 626–671
  8. Prince Shiki, ???–716
  9. Emperor Kōnin, 709–786
  10. Emperor Kanmu, 737–806
  11. Emperor Saga, 786–842
  12. Emperor Ninmyō, 810–850
  13. Emperor Kōkō, 830–867
  14. Emperor Uda, 867–931
  15. Emperor Daigo, 885–930
  16. Emperor Murakami, 926–967
  17. Emperor En'yū, 959–991
  18. Emperor Ichijō, 980–1011
  19. Emperor Go-Suzaku, 1009–1045
  20. Emperor Go-Sanjō, 1034–1073
  21. Emperor Shirakawa, 1053–1129
  22. Emperor Horikawa, 1079–1107
  23. Emperor Toba, 1103–1156
  24. Emperor Go-Shirakawa, 1127–1192
  25. Emperor Takakura, 1161–1181
  26. Emperor Go-Toba, 1180–1239
  27. Emperor Tsuchimikado, 1196–1231
  28. Emperor Go-Saga, 1220–1272
  29. Emperor Go-Fukakusa, 1243–1304
  30. Emperor Fushimi, 1265–1317
  31. Emperor Go-Fushimi, 1288–1336
  32. Emperor Kōgon, 1313–1364
  33. Emperor Sukō, 1334–1398
  34. Prince Yoshihito Fushimi, 1351–1416
  35. Prince Sadafusa Fushimi, 1372–1456
  36. Emperor Go-Hanazono, 1419–1471
  37. Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado, 1442–1500
  38. Emperor Go-Kashiwabara, 1464–1526
  39. Emperor Go-Nara, 1495–1557
  40. Emperor Ōgimachi, 1517–1593
  41. Prince Masahito, 1552–1586
  42. Emperor Go-Yōzei, 1572–1617
  43. Emperor Go-Mizunoo, 1596–1680
  44. Emperor Reigen, 1654–1732
  45. Emperor Higashiyama, 1675–1710
  46. Prince Naohito Kanin, 1704–1753
  47. Prince Sukehito Kanin, 1733–1794
  48. Emperor Kōkaku, 1771–1840
  49. Emperor Ninkō, 1800–1846
  50. Emperor Kōmei, 1831–1867
  51. Emperor Meiji, 1852–1912
  52. Emperor Taishō, 1879–1926
  53. Emperor Shōwa, 1901–1989
  54. Masahito, Prince Hitachi

References

  1. ↑ Kunaicho | The Imperial Palace and other Imperial Household Establishments Archived 8 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Parry, Richard Lloyd (6 September 2021). "Adopted sons tipped to stave off Japan's imperial succession crisis". The Times. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "尿管結石で手術の常陸宮さま、ご退院". The Sankei News (in Japanese). 5 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Prince Hitachi to Undergo Ureteral Stone Surgery". The Yomiuri Shimbun. 18 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "常陸宮さま 尿管結石の手術受ける 経過は順調". NHK (in Japanese). 21 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "常陸宮さま退院、術後の経過は順調　華子さまと一緒に宮邸へ". NTV News (in Japanese). 23 March 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Prince Hitachi, former Emperor Akihito's brother, taken to hospital". Kyodo News. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "常陸宮さま 尿路感染症と診断 しばらく入院して治療へ". NHK (in Japanese). 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "常陸宮さまが退院　発熱のため今月2日から入院…入院中に留置のステント抜去、尿管結石の治療全て終了　今後、通院の必要もなし". NTV News (in Japanese). 23 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  10. ↑ www.borger.dk Archived 29 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Persondetaljer - Hans Kejserlige Højhed Prins Hitachi af Japan
  11. ↑ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana".
  12. ↑ Omsa.org
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi". The Imperial Household Agency. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan" (PDF). Imperial Household Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
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