Prince Yamashina Akira

Prince Yamashina Akira (山階宮 晃親王, Yamashina-no-miya Akira shinnō) was born on 22 October 1816 in Kyoto, Japan. He was the eldest son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802–1875) and Fujigi Hisako. Prince Kuniie served as the twentieth head of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the four branches of the Japanese imperial family authorized to provide a successor to the Imperial throne if the main line failed to produce an heir. Fujigi Hisako held the rank of Nyōbō, a court lady-in-waiting.

Following his birth, Prince Akira was considered the ninth son of Prince Asahiko, his grandfather, although this status was annulled in 1889, at which point he was recognized as his father's eldest son. His father, Prince Kuniie, married Takatsukasa Hiroko in 1835, with whom he had two sons, Sadanori and Sadanaru. As a result, Prince Akira was unable to succeed to the headship of the Fushimi-no-miya. He was a half-brother to several notable figures, including Prince Kuni Asahiko, Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, and Prince Kan'in Kotohito.

From an early age, Prince Akira was prepared for a career as a Buddhist priest, a customary path for non-heir sons within the Shinnōke during the Edo period. At age two, he was adopted by Emperor Kōkaku (1779–1817; deceased in 1840) as a potential heir. He was given the Buddhist name Saihan Hoshinnō upon taking the tonsure and entered the priesthood. Later, he was appointed prince-abbot of the monzeki temple Kajū-ji in Yamashina, Kyoto.

In 1842, due to conflicts with the Tokugawa bakufu, he was deprived of his position and confined to the Tō-ji temple. The Tokugawa government reinstated him to his previous role in 1864, but with the growing anti-foreigner and reformist sentiment leading up to the Meiji Restoration, Emperor Kōmei returned him to secular status. He was adopted as a potential heir and established as the founder of a new branch of the imperial family named Yamashina-no-miya in 1858.

During the Meiji period, following the Restoration, Prince Akira served as a diplomat for the new government. His diplomatic activities included aiding in the opening of Kobe to foreign trade and engaging with foreign dignitaries and royalty. Throughout his life, he remained a civilian and refused a military commission.

Prince Yamashina Akira did not marry officially but had at least one concubine, Nakajō Chieko. They had a son, Prince Yamashina Kikumaro (3 July 1873 – 2 May 1908), who was officially adopted to continue the Yamashina line.

He died on 17 February 1898.