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{{Short description|Japanese prince and prime minister (1887–1990)}}
{{redirect|Prince Higashikuni|the Japanese title|Higashikuni-no-miya}}
{{family name hatnote|Higashikuni|lang=Japanese}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=June 2020}}
{{expand Japanese|topic=bio|otherarticle=東久邇宮稔彦王|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[His Imperial Highness]] [[General]]
| name = Naruhiko
| honorific_suffix = Prince Higashikuni
| native_name = {{Nobold|東久邇宮稔彦王}}
| native_name_lang = ja
| image = HIGASHIKUNI Naruhiko.jpg
| caption = Formal portrait, {{circa|1936}}
| office = [[Prime Minister of Japan]]
| monarch = [[Hirohito|Shōwa]]
| term_start = 17 August 1945
| term_end = 9 October 1945
| predecessor = [[Kantarō Suzuki]]
| successor = [[Kijūrō Shidehara]]
| office1 = [[Army Ministry|Minister of the Army]]
| primeminister1 = ''Himself''
| term_start1 = 17 August 1945
| term_end1 = 23 August 1945
| predecessor1 = [[Korechika Anami]]
| successor1 = [[Sadamu Shimomura]]
| office2 = Member of the [[House of Peers (Japan)|House of Peers]]
| term_start2 = 3 December 1907
| term_end2 = 23 May 1946
| father = [[Prince Kuni Asahiko]]
| mother = Terao Utako
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Toshiko Higashikuni|Toshiko, Princess Yasu]]|18 May 1915|5 March 1978|reason=died}}
| children = [[Morihiro Higashikuni]]<br />Moromasa Higashikuni<br />Akitsune Higashikuni<br />Toshihiko Higashikuni
| birth_date = {{birth date|1887|12|3|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kyoto City]], [[Empire of Japan]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|1|20|1887|12|3|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Tokyo Metropolis]], [[Japan]]
| signature = HigashikuniN kao.png
| occupation = [[Imperial House of Japan|Imperial Prince]]<br />[[General]]
| alma_mater = [[Imperial Japanese Army Academy]]<br />[[Army War College (Japan)|Army War College]]
| party = [[Independent (politician)|Independent]]
| allegiance = {{flag|Empire of Japan}}
| branch = [[File:War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army.svg|22x20px|border]] [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
| serviceyears = 1908–1945
| rank = [[General]] [[File:帝國陸軍の階級―襟章―大将.svg|35px]]
| commands = [[IJA 4th Division]], [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]], [[Japanese Second Army|IJA 2nd Army]], [[General Defense Command]]
| unit =
| battles =
{{tree list}}
* [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]
* [[World War II]]
** [[Pacific War]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards = [[Order of the Chrysanthemum]]<br />[[Order of the Rising Sun]] with Paulownia Flowers, [[Order of the Golden Kite]]
| family =
| module = {{Infobox royalty
|embed=yes
|succession=[[Higashikuni-no-miya|Prince Higashikuni]]
|reign=3 November 1906 – 14 October 1947
|reign-type=Tenure
|successor = ''Title abolished''
|succession1=[[Higashikuni-no-miya|Head of the ''House of Higashikuni'']]
|reign1=3 November 1906 – 20 January 1990
|reign-type1=Tenure
|successor1 = [[Nobuhiko Higashikuni]]
}}
| module2 = {{Infobox Chinese |child =yes
| kanji = 東久邇宮稔彦王
| romaji = Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko Ō
}}
}}
{{nihongo|'''Naruhiko, Prince Higashikuni'''|東久邇宮稔彦王|Higashikuni-no-miya Naruhiko Ō |extra=3 December 1887 – 20 January 1990}} was a member of the [[Imperial House of Japan|Japanese imperial family]] and general of the army who served as [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister of Japan]] from 17 August to 9 October 1945. He is the only member of the Japanese imperial family to head a cabinet, and Japan's shortest-serving prime minister, serving for only 54 days.
Born in [[Kyoto]], Prince Higashikuni was a son of [[Prince Kuni Asahiko]] and married [[Toshiko Higashikuni|Toshiko, Princess Yasu]], a daughter of [[Emperor Meiji]], thus making him an uncle-in-law of [[Hirohito|Emperor Hirohito]]. He graduated from the Army Academy and War College, and studied military tactics in France from 1920 to 1926. Upon his return to Japan, he was promoted to general in 1930 and held several military posts, including as commander of the [[General Defense Command]] from 1941 to 1944. Prince Higashikuni's appointment as prime minister following the war reflected a hope that his prestige as an imperial prince would help to unite the defeated country. He presided over the signing of the surrender on 2 September 1945 and the disbandment of the armed forces before resigning in opposition to an order by the [[Occupation of Japan|Allied occupation]] authorities to abolish the [[Peace Preservation Law]]. He became a commoner after the abolition of the princely houses in 1947, and later formed a Buddhist sect. He is the longest-lived of Japan's premiers, dying in 1990 at the age of 102.
==Early life==
Prince Naruhiko was born on 3 December 1887 in [[Kyoto]], the ninth son of [[Prince Kuni Asahiko]] (''Kuni no miya Asahiko Shinnō'') and the court lady Terao Utako. His father, Prince Asahiko, was a son of [[Prince Fushimi Kuniie]] (''Fushimi no miya Kuniie Shinnō''), the twentieth head of the [[Fushimi-no-miya]], the oldest of the ''[[shinnōke|sesshu shinnōke]]'' or cadet branches of the imperial dynasty from whom an emperor might be chosen in default of a direct heir. Prince Naruhiko was a half-brother of [[Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi]], the father of the future [[Empress Kōjun]], the wife of Emperor Shōwa. His other half-brothers, [[Prince Asaka Yasuhiko]], [[Prince Nashimoto Morimasa]], and [[Prince Kaya Kuninori]], all formed new branches of the imperial family (''[[ōke]]'') during the [[Meiji period]].
==Marriage and family==
[[Emperor Meiji]] granted Prince Naruhiko the title ''Higashikuni-no-miya'' and permission to start a [[ōke|new branch of the imperial family]] on 3 November 1906. Prince Naruhiko married the ninth daughter of Emperor Meiji, [[Toshiko Higashikuni|Toshiko, Princess Yasu]] (11 May 1896 – 5 March 1978), on 18 May 1915. The couple had four sons.
# {{nihongo|Prince [[Higashikuni Morihiro]]|盛厚王| Morohiro ō|extra= 6 May 1916 – 1 February 1969}}; married [[Shigeko Higashikuni|Shigeko, Princess Teru]], the eldest daughter of [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] and [[Empress Nagako|Empress Kōjun]].
# {{nihongo|Prince Moromasa|師正王|Moromasa ō|extra= 3 November 1918 – 1 September 1923}}; died in the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake|Great Kantō earthquake]].
# {{nihongo|Prince Akitsune|彰常王|Akitsune ō|extra= 13 May 1920 – 30 August 2006}}; renounced imperial title and created [[Marquis]] Awata Akitsune, 1940
# {{nihongo|Prince Toshihiko|俊彦王|Toshihiko ō|extra= March 24, 1929 – April 15, 2015}}; renounced imperial title and created [[Count]] Tarama Toshihiko, 1943; relocated to [[Lins, São Paulo]], [[Brazil]], 1950.
== Military career ==
Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko was a career officer in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. In 1908, he graduated from the [[Imperial Japanese Army Academy]] as a second lieutenant, was promoted to lieutenant in 1910 and to captain in 1913. In 1914, he graduated from the [[Army War College (Japan)|Army War College]]. He was commissioned a [[captain (land)|captain]] in the 29th Infantry Brigade and promoted to [[Major (rank)|major]] in the [[IJA 7th Division]] in 1915.
Prince Higashikuni then studied [[military tactics]] at the [[École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr]] and [[École Polytechnique]] in [[Paris]] [[France]], from 1920 to 1926, during which time he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1920 and to colonel in 1926. Always somewhat of a rebel, Prince Higashikuni's behavior in Paris scandalized the Imperial Court. He had a French mistress, and enjoyed fast cars and high living. He left his wife and children in Japan, and the death of his second son did not prompt his return. In 1926, the [[Imperial Household Agency|Imperial Household Ministry]] dispatched a chamberlain to Paris to collect him.
Upon his return to Japan, he was assigned to the [[Imperial Japanese Army General Staff]] Headquarters. Promoted to major-general in August 1930 and appointed commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade (1930–1934), he was promoted to lieutenant-general in August 1934 and given command of the [[IJA 4th Division]] (1934–1937). After the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], he headed the [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]] (1937–1938), and the [[Japanese Second Army|IJA 2nd Army]] stationed in [[China]] from 1938–1939. He was promoted to general in August 1939.
According to a memo discovered by historian [[Yoshiaki Yoshimi]], Prince Higashikuni authorized the use of [[poison gas]] against the Chinese on 16 August 1938.<ref>Wakabayashi, Bob Tadashi (1991). "[http://chinajapan.org/articles/04.1/04.1wakabayashi4-27.pdf Emperor Hirohito on Localized Aggression in China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721021647/http://chinajapan.org/articles/04.1/04.1wakabayashi4-27.pdf |date=2011-07-21 }}". ''Sino-Japanese Studies'' '''4''' (1), p. 7.</ref> Prince Higashikuni encouraged and enabled human experiments, providing advice, money, men and equipment. He personally witnessed [[Unit 731|human experiments conducted by the military physicians]] during his tours in [[Manchukuo]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan, A Political Biography
|last=Large|first=Stephen|publisher=Routledge|year=1995|isbn=9781-138009110|pages=67–68, 134, 117–119, 144–145}}</ref>
On 13 May 1939 the Imperial General Headquarters authorized the use of poison gas to [[Japanese Northern China Area Army]] (大陸指第四百五十二号). Only riot control agents were used till then. Prince Higashikuni moved to the post at home dated 4 January 1939. Promoted to full [[general]], the prince was awarded the [[Order of the Golden Kite]], 1st Class in 1940.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}}
Before Japan entered the [[World War II|Second World War]], on 15 October 1941, outgoing [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Fumimaro Konoe]] proposed Prince Higashikuni to Emperor Shōwa as his successor for prime minister.<ref>Peter Wetzler, ''Hirohito and War'', 1998, p. 41</ref> Konoe believed that only a member of the Imperial Family with a distinguished military background could restrain the pro-war faction led by Generals [[Hajime Sugiyama]], [[Hideki Tōjō]], and [[Akira Mutō]]. Prince Higashikuni was also the choice of both Chief of Staffs of the Army and the Navy.
However, both Emperor Shōwa and the [[Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan|Lord Privy Seal]], [[Kido Kōichi]], believed that it would be inappropriate for a member of the Imperial Family to serve in that position, as he could be blamed for anything which went wrong in the war. Thus, two days later, the Emperor chose army minister General [[Hideki Tōjō]] as prime minister. In 1946, he explained this decision: "I actually thought Prince Higashikuni suitable as Chief of Staff of the Army; but I think the appointment of a member of the Imperial house to a political office must be considered very carefully. Above all, in time of peace this is fine, but when there is a fear that there may even be a war, then more importantly, considering the welfare of the imperial house, I wonder about the wisdom of a member of the Imperial family serving [as prime minister]."<ref>Wetzler, ibid., p. 44, Terasaki Hidenari, ''Shōwa tennō dokuhakuroku'', 1991, p. 118</ref>
Six weeks later, Japan [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked Pearl Harbor]]. During the early stages of the [[Pacific War]], Prince Higashikuni served as commander of the [[General Defense Command]] from 1941 to 1944.
[[File:1920 Prince Naruhito Higashikuni.jpg|thumb|[[Autochrome Lumière|Autochrome]] portrait by Auguste Léon, 1920]]
Prince Higashikuni remained steadfast in his opposition to the war with the [[Allies of World War II|Allied powers]], and was part of the conspiracy (with [[Prince Yasuhiko Asaka]], [[Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu|Prince Nobuhito Takamatsu]], and former prime minister Konoe) which finally ousted Tōjō in July 1944 following the [[Battle of Saipan|fall of Saipan]] to American forces. The American researchers with [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers|SCAP]] also found out that he had planned towards the end of the war to depose Emperor Shōwa, placing the Crown Prince [[Akihito]] on the throne instead, governing the country with himself as regent.<ref>vgl. [https://www.archives.gov Records of the Army Staff: The Investigative Records Repository (IRR)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070725204231/http://www.archives.gov/ |date=2007-07-25 }} released under the ''Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act of 2000''</ref>
==Prime Minister==
[[Image:Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni Cabinet 19450817.jpg|right|[[Higashikuni Cabinet]] with [[Mamoru Shigemitsu]], [[Mitsumasa Yonai]] and [[Fumimaro Konoe]] in front row.|thumb]]
After the course of the war turned against Japan, and the decision was made to [[Surrender of Japan|accept]] the [[Potsdam Declaration]], the Emperor Shōwa appointed Prince Higashikuni to be prime minister on 17 August 1945, replacing navy Admiral [[Kantarō Suzuki]]. The mission of the [[Higashikuni Cabinet]] was twofold: first, to ensure the orderly cessation of hostilities and [[demobilization]] of the Japanese armed forces; and second, to reassure the Japanese people that the imperial institution remained secure. Prince Higashikuni resigned in October over a dispute with the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers|Allied occupation forces]] over the repeal of the 1925 [[Peace Preservation Law]]. This law was largely intended to prevent the spread of [[Communism]] to Japan.
==Post-premiership==
On 27 February 1946, Prince Higashikuni gave an interview to the ''[[Yomiuri Shimbun#History|Yomiuri-Hōchi]]'' newspaper in which he claimed that many members of the imperial family had approved Emperor Shōwa's abdication, with [[Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu]] serving as regent until Crown Prince [[Akihito]] came of age.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/133011|title=Inventing the 'Symbol Monarchy' in Japan, 1945-52|author=Bix, Herbert P.|year=1995|journal=Journal of Japanese Studies|volume=21|issue=2|page=338|doi=10.2307/133011|jstor=133011|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the government, only Prime Minister [[Kijūrō Shidehara]] and the Imperial Household Minister [[Yoshitami Matsudaira]] opposed this. On 4 March 1946, Higashikuni gave a similar interview to the ''[[Associated Press]]'' (reported in ''[[The New York Times]]'') indicating that he had proposed to the Emperor possible dates for abdication.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/03/04/88336189.html?pageNumber=6 |page=6 |title=Prince Suggested That Hirohito Quit; Higashi-Kuni Says He Gave Emperor Three Suitable Times for Abdication Considered Abdication; Admiral Ueda Released |date=March 4, 1946 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] }}</ref>
In 1946, Prince Higashikuni asked the emperor for permission to renounce his membership in the Imperial Family and become a commoner. The emperor denied the request. However, along with other members of the Imperial branch families (''[[shinnōke]]'' and ''[[ōke]]''), Prince Higashikuni lost his title and most of his wealth as a result of the American occupation's abolition of the princely houses on 17 October 1947.
As a private citizen, Higashikuni operated several unsuccessful retail enterprises (including a provisions store, second-hand goods store, and dressmaker's shop). He even created his own new [[Zen]] [[Buddhism]]-based religious sect, the [[Higashikuni-kyo]], which was subsequently banned by the American occupation authorities.
The former prince became the honorary chairman of the [[International Martial Arts Federation]] (IMAF) in 1957, and honorary president of several other organizations.
In 1958, Higashikuni published his wartime journals under the title, ''Ichi Kozoku no Senso Nikki'' (or ''The War Diary of a Member of the Imperial Family''). He published his autobiographical memoirs, ''Higashikuni Nikki'', in 1968.
==Death and legacy==
Higashikuni died of [[heart failure]] in Tokyo on 20 January 1990 at the age of {{age in years and days|1887|12|3|1990|1|20}}, having outlived his wife, two of his sons, his siblings, and his nephew, Emperor Shōwa. Higashikuni is today mainly remembered as the first postwar prime minister of Japan. He is the shortest-serving prime minister, resigning after eight weeks (54 days) and one of the longest-lived prime ministers of all time, along with [[Antoine Pinay]], [[Willem Drees]] and [[Christopher Hornsrud]]. At his death, he was the last surviving full general of the Imperial Japanese Army. From 14 May 1988, when former [[Netherlands]] [[List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands|Prime Minister]] [[Willem Drees]] died, until his own death, Higashikuni was the world's oldest living former head of government.
==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}
==Gallery==
{{commons category|Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko}}
<gallery>
Image:HIH Prince Naruhiko of Higashikuni.jpg|HIH Prince Naruhiko
Image:HIH Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko.jpg|HIH Prince Naruhiko in France
Image:Princess Higashikuni Toshiko.jpg|HIH [[Toshiko Higashikuni|Princess Toshiko]], [[Emperor Meiji]]'s daughter (wife)
Image:HIH Prince Higashikuni Morihiro.jpg|HIH [[Morihiro Higashikuni|Prince Morihiro]] (son and heir)
Image:Dochter van de Keizer van Japan , Shigeko Higashikuni op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 910-7440.jpg|HIH [[Shigeko Higashikuni|Princess Shigeko]], [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]]'s daughter (daughter-in-law)
</gallery>
==References==
* [[John W. Dower|Dower, John W.]] ''[[Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II]]''. W.W. Norton & Company (2000). {{ISBN|0-393-32027-8}}
* [[Richard B. Frank|Frank, Richard B.]] ''Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire''. Penguin (Non-Classics); Reissue edition (2001). {{ISBN|0-14-100146-1}}
* [[William Manchester|Manchester, William]]. ''[[American Caesar|American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964]]''. Little, Brown and Company (1978). {{ISBN|0-316-54498-1}}
* [[Ronald H. Spector|Spector, Ronald]]. ''Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan''. Vintage; Vintage edition (1985). {{ISBN|0-394-74101-3}}
* [[John Toland (author)|Toland, John]]. ''[[The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936–1945]]''. Modern Library; Reprint edition (2003). {{ISBN|0-8129-6858-1}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kantarō Suzuki]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Japan]]|years=Aug – Oct 1945}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kijūrō Shidehara]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Korechika Anami]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of War of Japan|Army Minister]]|years=Aug 1945 – Aug 1945}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sadamu Shimomura]]}}
|-
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | before=[[Otozō Yamada]]| title=[[General Defense Command|Commander, General Defense Command]] | years=Dec 1941 – Apr 1945| after=none}}
{{succession box | before=[[Toshizō Nishio]]| title=[[Second Army (Japan)|Commander, IJA 2nd Army]] | years=Apr 1938 – Dec 1939| after=none}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| title = [[List of oldest living state leaders|Oldest living state leader]]
| years = 14 May 1988 – 20 January 1990
| before = [[Willem Drees]]
| after = [[Antoine Pinay]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Prime Ministers of Japan}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higashikuni, Prince Naruhiko}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century prime ministers of Japan]]
[[Category:Nobility from Kyoto]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II]]
[[Category:Japanese princes]]
[[Category:Higashikuni-no-miya|Naruhiko]]
[[Category:Japanese men centenarians]]
[[Category:Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Army]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Peers (Japan)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers]]
[[Category:École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni]]
[[Category:Japanese human subject research]]
[[Category:Japanese war criminals]]
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