Toshiko Higashikuni


Toshiko Higashikuni, born Toshiko, Princess Yasu, was the fourteenth child and ninth daughter of Emperor Meiji of Japan and one of his consorts, Sachiko Sono.

Biography

Toshiko was born in Japan, the daughter of Emperor Meiji and Lady Sachiko Sono. She held the childhood appellation "Yasu no miya".
She married Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni on 18 May 1915. Emperor Meiji granted Prince Naruhiko the title Higashikuni-no-miya and permission to start a new branch of the imperial family before their marriage on 3 November 1906. The couple had four sons:
  1. Prince Higashikuni Morihiro; married Princess Shigeko, the eldest daughter of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun.
  2. Prince Moromasa; died in the Great Kantō earthquake.
  3. Prince Akitsune; renounced imperial title and created Marquis Awata Akitsune, 1940
  4. Prince Toshihiko; relocated to Lins, São Paulo, Brazil, 1950 after being adopted and becoming the heir to Kinu, widow of Tetsusuke Tarama.
In October 1947, the Higashikuni and the other branches of the Imperial Family were divested of their titles and privileges during the American occupation of Japan and became commoners. Toshiko died on 5 March 1978, aged 81. She was the last surviving child of Emperor Meiji.

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