Prince Kachō Hirotsune

Prince Kachō Hirotsune (華頂宮博経親王, Kachō-no-miya Hirotsune Shinnō) was born on April 19, 1851, and died on May 24, 1876. He was a member of the Japanese imperial family and the founder of a collateral branch of the imperial dynasty.

Family and Ancestry:

He was the twelfth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye (1802–1875), who was 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 Chrysanthemum Throne in case the main imperial line failed to produce an heir.

Early Life and Education:

Born during the Edo period under the rule of the Tokugawa Bakufu, Hirotsune was initially sent into the Buddhist priesthood on October 12, 1852. He was assigned to serve at Chion-in, a monzeki temple located in Kyoto. On October 27, 1860, he was recalled by Emperor Kōmei and was formally adopted as a potential heir to the throne.

Role as a Potential Successor:

Later that same year, Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th Tokugawa Shōgun, requested that a prince from the imperial family be assigned to the Tokugawa household as a potential heir to the shogunate. Hirotsune was selected for this role but remained in Kyoto and did not serve directly in the Tokugawa household.

Transition to Imperial Service:

The Meiji Restoration, which began in 1868, abolished the position of shogun, ending Hirotsune's prospects of becoming a shōgun. He returned to the Imperial household, where Emperor Meiji granted him permission to establish a new branch of the imperial family. He adopted the name Kachō-no-miya, derived from the mountain name associated with the temple of Chion-in.

Studies and Military Service:

In 1870, Prince Hirotsune traveled to the United States to study, attending the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. However, he fell ill during his studies and returned to Japan in 1872. On May 13, 1876, he was commissioned as a rear admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy but died later that year, on May 24, 1876.

Marriage and Offspring:

His wife was Nambu Ikuko, daughter of Count Nambu Toshihisa, the last daimyo of Morioka Domain. They had one son, Prince Kachō Hiroatsu.