Setsuko, Princess Chichibu


Setsuko, Princess Chichibu was a member of the Japanese Imperial Family. The Princess was the wife of Prince Chichibu, the second son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. She was, therefore, a sister-in-law of Emperor Shōwa and an aunt of the emperor Akihito.

Early life

She was born in Walton-on-Thames, England. Her father Tsuneo Matsudaira was Japanese ambassador to the United States and later to Great Britain, and still later, Imperial Household Minister. Her mother was the former Nobuko Nabeshima.
Although technically born a commoner, she was a scion of distinguished aristocratic families with close ties to the Japanese Imperial Family on both sides. Her paternal grandfather, Katamori Matsudaira, was the last daimyō of Aizu, a cadet branch of the Tokugawa dynasty. Her maternal grandfather was Marquis Naohiro Nabeshima, former daimyō of Saga. Her mother's elder sister, Itsuko, married Prince Morimasa Nashimoto, an uncle of Empress Kōjun.
In 1925, while her father was ambassador to the United States, Setsuko was educated at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.. Upon her return to Japan, Empress Teimei chose Setsuko to marry her second son, Prince Chichibu. She married the Prince after her uncle, Viscount Morio Matsudaira, formally adopted her, thus removing the status incongruity between the prince and his bride, by making Setsuko the adopted daughter of a viscount.

Marriage

On 28 September 1928, aged 19, she wed Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu, and became Princess Chichibu. The bride and groom were eighth cousins, thrice removed, as both were descended from Nabeshima Katsushige, the first lord of Saga. Prince and Princess Chichibu had no children, as Princess Chichibu's only pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. But by all accounts their marriage was filled with love and happiness for each other.
In 1937, the prince and princess were sent on a tour of Western Europe which took several months. They represented Japan at the May 1937 coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey and subsequently visited Sweden and the Netherlands as the guests of King Gustav V and Queen Wilhelmina, respectively. Princess Chichibu stayed in Switzerland while her husband met Adolf Hitler in Nuremberg at the end of the trip. She felt a great love for the United States and for England and, as an anglophile, was greatly saddened by Japan's entry into the Second World War on the side of the Axis powers.

Widowhood

After the Prince's death of tuberculosis in 1953, Princess Chichibu became president of the Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, honorary president of the Britain-Japan Society, the Sweden-Japan Society, and an honorary vice president of the Japanese Red Cross. The Princess, who was fluent in English, made several semi-official visits to Great Britain and Sweden.

Death

Princess Chichibu died before her 86th birthday of heart failure on 25 August 1995.
Her autobiography, which was published posthumously as The Silver Drum: A Japanese Imperial Memoir, was translated in English by Dorothy Britton.

Titles and styles

Setsuko was styled as "Her Imperial Highness The Princess Chichibu". Prior to her marriage she was styled as "The Honourable Setsuko Matsudaira".

Honours

National honours

King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden invested her with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Seraphim on 8 April 1969. On 23 July 1962, she became an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. On 9 October 1978, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon invested Princess Chichibu as an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.

Patrilineal descent

Setsuko's patriline is the line from which she is descended father to son.
The existence of a verifiable link between the Nitta clan and the Tokugawa/Matsudaira clan remains somewhat in dispute.
  1. Descent prior to Keitai is unclear to modern historians, but traditionally traced back patrilineally to Emperor Jimmu
  2. Emperor Keitai, ca. 450–534
  3. Emperor Kinmei, 509–571
  4. Emperor Bidatsu, 538–585
  5. Prince Oshisaka, ca. 556–???
  6. Emperor Jomei, 593–641
  7. Emperor Tenji, 626–671
  8. Prince Shiki, ????–716
  9. Emperor Kōnin, 709–786
  10. Emperor Kanmu, 737–806
  11. Emperor Saga, 786–842
  12. Emperor Ninmyō, 810–850
  13. Emperor Montoku 826–858
  14. Emperor Seiwa, 850–881
  15. Prince Sadazumi, 873–916
  16. Minamoto no Tsunemoto, 894–961
  17. Minamoto no Mitsunaka, 912–997
  18. Minamoto no Yorinobu, 968–1048
  19. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, 988–1075
  20. Minamoto no Yoshiie, 1039–1106
  21. Minamoto no Yoshikuni, 1091–1155
  22. Minamoto no Yoshishige, 1114–1202
  23. Nitta Yoshikane, 1139–1206
  24. Nitta Yoshifusa, 1162–1195
  25. Nitta Masayoshi, 1187–1257
  26. Nitta Masauji, 1208–1271
  27. Nitta Motouji, 1253–1324
  28. Nitta Tomouji, 1274–1318
  29. Nitta Yoshisada, 1301–1338
  30. Nitta Yoshimune, 1331?–1368
  31. Tokugawa Chikasue?, ????–????
  32. Tokugawa Arichika, ????–????
  33. Matsudaira Chikauji, d. 1393?
  34. Matsudaira Yasuchika, ????–14??
  35. Matsudaira Nobumitsu, c. 1404–1488/89?
  36. Matsudaira Chikatada, 1430s–1501
  37. Masudaira Nagachika, 1473–1544
  38. Matsudaira Nobutada, 1490–1531
  39. Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, 1511–1536
  40. Matsudaira Hirotada, 1526–1549
  41. Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1st Tokugawa Shōgun
  42. Tokugawa Yorifusa, 1st Lord of Mito
  43. Matsudaira Yorishige, 1st Lord of Takamatsu
  44. Matsudaira Yoriyuki
  45. Matsudaira Yoritoyo, 3rd Lord of Takamatsu
  46. Tokugawa Munetaka, 4th Lord of Mito
  47. Tokugawa Munemoto, 5th Lord of Mito
  48. Tokugawa Harumori, 6th Lord of Mito
  49. Matsudaira Yoshinari, 9th Lord of Takasu
  50. Matsudaira Yoshitatsu, 10th Lord of Takasu
  51. Matsudaira Katamori, 9th Lord of Aizu
  52. Tsuneo Matsudaira,
  53. Setsuko Matsudaira,