Kan’in Sueko

Princess Sueko (Suekō-joō, November 2, 1898 – July 17, 1914) was a member of the Japanese imperial family. She was born as the third daughter (fourth child) of PrinceKun'in Prince Jōji. Her mother was the noblewoman Chieko, daughter of Duke Sanjō Sanetomi. Her rank was princess, and the honorific used within the Imperial Household Law was "Her Highness" ("denka").

In 1905 (Meiji 38), she entered the Ritsumeikan Girls' School. In 1913 (Taisho 2), she suffered from nephritis and convalesced.

On July 1, 1914 (Taisho 3), she developed fever, loss of appetite, headache, and nausea. From around July 8, she began to experience encephalopathic symptoms. On July 12, she entered a sleep state at night and occasionally experienced convulsions in her upper limbs. On July 13, she temporarily regained consciousness, but on July 14, she fell back into a coma, with her heartbeat and respiration becoming shallow. Around 9 p.m. on July 15, she experienced convulsions in her upper body, and by 11:10 p.m. on July 16, she was in critical condition. Ultimately, at 0:10 a.m. on July 17, she died of cardiac arrest at the age of 15.

After her death, on July 20, an imperial envoy from Emperor Taisho, Kan’in no Miya Masamasa, was dispatched to the Princess estate to offer ritual prayers and offerings such as sacred offerings and ritual implements. On July 21, at 7:30 a.m., Oya Norimasa was sent as a proxy to perform the rites on behalf of Emperor Taisho, and Hara Kōtarō on behalf of Empress Teimei to the Princess estate. The funeral procession departed from the Princess estate at 6:30 a.m. on July 22 and was held at the Tōshimaoka Cemetery in Bunkyō, Tokyo. After a ceremony where offerings were presented by Emperor Taisho and Empress Teimei at 9:00 a.m., the funeral ended at 2:20 p.m.

Princess Sueko's father was Prince Jōji, and her mother was Chieko. Her siblings included Prince-Akizane, Princess Kyouko, Princess Shigeko, Prince-Yoshihito, Princess Hiroko, and Princess Hanako.

As an honor, she was posthumously awarded the Second Class of the Order of the Sacred Crown on July 17, 1914.