Prince Komatsu Akihito

Akihito, Prince Komatsu (小松宮彰仁親王, Komatsu-no-miya Akihito shinnō), was born on February 11, 1846, and died on February 18, 1903. He was a member of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the shinnōke branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Early Life:

He was born as Prince Yoshiaki, the seventh son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie. In 1858, he was adopted by Emperor Ninkō as a potential heir to the throne. During the late Edo period, when Japan was under the Tokugawa shogunate, he was sent into the Buddhist priesthood and served at the monzeki temple of Ninna-ji in Kyoto, where he took the title Ninnaji-no-miya Yoshiaki. He returned to secular life in 1867 amidst the Meiji Restoration and participated in military campaigns leading imperial forces to Osaka, Yamato, Shikoku, and Aizu during the Boshin War, which aimed to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.

Marriage and Titles:

He married Arima Yoriko (June 18, 1852 – June 26, 1914), daughter of Arima Yorishige, former daimyō of Kurume Domain, on November 6, 1869. In 1870, Emperor Meiji granted him the title Higashifushimi-no-miya.

Military Career:

Prince Yoshiaki studied military tactics in England from 1870 to 1872. He was regarded as a skilled military tactician and contributed to quelling several samurai rebellions, including the Saga Rebellion of 1874 and the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. The Imperial Japanese Army promoted him to lieutenant general and awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class). In 1882, he changed the name of his house to Komatsu-no-miya and his personal name from Yoshiaki to Akihito, thereafter being known as Prince Komatsu-no-miya Akihito. He attained the rank of general and commanded the First Imperial Guard Division from 1890. He was the nominal commander of Japanese forces during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) and served on the Supreme Military Council. After the death of his uncle, Prince Arisugawa Taruhito, in 1895, he became chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff and was awarded the honorary rank of field marshal.

Diplomatic Service:

Prince Komatsu Akihito also engaged in diplomatic missions. In 1886, he traveled to England, France, Germany, and Russia on behalf of Emperor Meiji. In 1887, he was dispatched to Istanbul to initiate relations between the Ottoman Empire and Japan and was received in audience by Ottoman Emperor Abdülhamid II. In June 1902, he returned to the United Kingdom to represent Emperor Meiji at the coronation of King Edward VII and visited France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and Russia.

Later Life and Legacy:

In his later years, Prince Komatsu was involved with charitable organizations, including the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai. He died without heirs; consequently, the title of Komatsu-no-miya reverted to his younger brother, Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito. To preserve the family name, in 1910, the fourth son of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa was renamed Teruhisa Komatsu with the peerage title of marquis (koshaku).

References:

- Cortazzi, Hugh (2003). Britain and Japan (Japan Library Biographical Portraits). RoutledgeCurzon.

- Dupuy, Trevor N. (1992). Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. HarperCollins Publishers.

- Fujitani, T; Cox, Alvin D (1998). Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan. University of California Press.

- Jansen, Marius B.; Gilbert Rozman (1986). Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji. Princeton University Press.

External Links:

- Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

- Japan-Turkey History of Friendship