Nashimoto Itsuko

Itsuko Nashimoto (梨本 伊都子, February 2, 1882 – August 19, 1976) was a Japanese noblewoman and former member of the Imperial Family. She was born in Rome, Italy, as the second daughter of Naohiro Nabeshima, who served as the Japanese Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Italy, and Nagako Hirohashi, the fifth daughter of Taneyasu Hirohashi. Her birth name was Itsuko Nabeshima; her given name was chosen to symbolize "the child of the capital of Italy."

At approximately seven months old, her family returned to Japan, and she was raised at the Nabeshima residence in Nagatacho, Tokyo. In 1888, at the age of seven, she enrolled in the Peeresses' School.

Her engagement to Prince Morimasa Nashimoto was approved by Emperor Meiji on October 13, 1896, with a formal betrothal ceremony occurring on October 17 of that year. Upon her marriage to Prince Morimasa Nashimoto on November 28, 1900, she acquired the title Princess Itsuko Nashimoto. As a princess, her honorific title was Her Imperial Highness (殿下, Denka). Following her marriage, she received various gifts from the Imperial Household, including a diamond and pearl bracelet from Empress Dowager Shoken and a tiara from Paris, valued at over 20,000 yen at the time, along with other jewelry items.

Around 1902, Itsuko Nashimoto received medical training based on Western medicine from the Japanese Red Cross Society and was awarded a nursing certificate on June 17, 1903. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), she engaged in volunteer nursing activities, providing support to wounded soldiers. In 1909, she traveled to Europe under the title Countess Tada, accompanying her husband, Prince Morimasa Nashimoto, who was returning from studies in France, on a tour of European royal courts.

During World War II, she sustained involvement in wartime relief efforts, including travel to the Liaodong Peninsula. Her perspective on Japan’s military successes and emerging anti-American sentiment initially aligned with national pride; however, by 1944, her living conditions deteriorated due to frequent air raid warnings. Her residence in Shibuya was destroyed in an air raid on May 26, 1945. On August 15, 1945, she listened to the Emperor’s surrender broadcast on the radio, recording her feelings in her diary with notes of relief and resentment directed at the United States and Britain.

After the war, she continued her charitable activities, focusing on supporting war orphans. On October 14, 1947, she left the Imperial Family under Article 11, Clause 1 of the Imperial House Law, which permitted members 15 years or older to leave the Imperial Family with Imperial House Council approval. Her departure resulted in the loss of her royal title, and she adopted the name Itsuko Nashimoto (梨本 伊都子). Despite her change in status, she maintained her dignity and was often referred to as "the last noblewoman." Financial difficulties followed, leading her to sell her villa, personal belongings, and parts of her main residence to pay taxes.

Her husband, Prince Morimasa Nashimoto, died of a heart attack on January 2, 1951. They had two daughters: Princess Nashimoto Masako (1899–1989), who married Yi Un, the half-brother and heir of Korea's last monarch Sunjong, and was the mother of two sons, Yi Jin and Yi Ku; and Princess Nashimoto Noriko (1907–1985), who married Count Hirohashi Tadamitsu.

In 1958, she publicly opposed the "Mitchy Boom," a media-driven surge in public interest surrounding the engagement of Crown Prince Akihito and Michiko Shoda, expressing disappointment in her diary but refraining from further criticism after the Emperor's approval. In her later years, she enjoyed kabuki performances and gatherings organized by the Tokiwakai, an association of noblewomen who graduated from Gakushūin Middle School. She lived on her late husband's widow’s pension until her death due to complications following breast cancer surgery on August 19, 1976, at the age of 94.