Kan'in Kotohito

Prince Kan'in Kotohito (閑院宮載仁親王, Kan'in-no-miya Kotohito-shinnō) was born on November 10, 1865, in Kyoto, Japan, and died on May 21, 1945. He was a member of the Japanese imperial family, serving as the sixth head of a cadet branch, and was a career army officer. From 1931 to 1940, he held the position of Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff.

He was the sixteenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (1802–1875), the twentieth head of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the four shinnōke branches of the Imperial Family. The Fushimi-no-miya was eligible to succeed to the Japanese throne if the main line failed to produce an heir. Due to the high infant mortality rate in the imperial household, Emperor Kōmei adopted Prince Kotohito as a potential heir. Consequently, he was the adopted brother of Emperor Meiji and a great uncle to Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and Empress Kōjun (Nagako).

Initially, at the age of three, Prince Kotohito was sent to Sambō-in monzeki temple to be raised as a Buddhist monk. In 1872, he was selected to revive the Kan'in-no-miya, another shinnōke house that had gone extinct following the death of Prince Naruhito. The Kan'in-no-miya was restored as a branch of the imperial family.

On December 19, 1891, Prince Kotohito married Sanjō Chieko (1872–1947), daughter of Prince Sanjō Sanetomi. They had seven children—five daughters and two sons. Their children included Prince Kan'in Atsuhito (1894), Princess Kan'in Yukiko (1896–1992), Princess Kan'in Shigeko (1897–1991), Princess Kan'in Sueko (1898–1914), Prince Kan'in Haruhito (1902–1988), Princess Kan'in Hiroko (1906–1923), and Princess Kan'in Hanako (1909–2003).

His military career began when he entered the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1877, graduating in 1881. The following year, he was dispatched as a military attaché to France for the study of military tactics and technology. He graduated from the Army Staff College in 1894, with a specialization in cavalry. He commanded the 1st Cavalry Regiment from 1897 to 1899 and participated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). In 1901, he became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade.

He achieved the rank of lieutenant general in 1905, commanding the IJA 1st Division in 1906 and the Imperial Guard Division in 1911. He was promoted to full general and became a Supreme War Councilor in 1912. In 1919, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal, becoming the youngest in the Imperial Japanese Army at that time. In 1921, he accompanied Crown Prince Hirohito (later Emperor Shōwa) on a diplomatic tour of Western Europe.

On December 1, 1931, he succeeded General Kanaya Hanzo as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. During his tenure, the Japanese army committed numerous war crimes against Chinese civilians, including the Nanjing Massacre. He authorized the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons in China; directives were issued under his name for the deployment of tear gas, sneezing gas, mustard gas, and other chemical agents. Notably, the directive on July 28, 1937, authorized the use of chemical weapons, with further orders following in September 1937 and April 1938. Gas was used in battles such as Wuhan and in regions like Inner Mongolia and Shanxi Province against Chinese forces.

In July 1940, Prince Kan'in Kotohito played a role in political affairs by forcing the resignation of War Minister General Shunroku Hata. He participated in liaison conferences supporting the Tripartite Pact and the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Throughout his life, he received numerous honors, including the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, the Order of the Golden Kite, 1st Class, and various foreign awards such as the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour from France, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky from Russia, and the Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George from the United Kingdom.