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| Morimasa | |
|---|---|
| Prince Nashimoto | |
 Prince Nashimoto Morimasa, 1935 | |
| Prince Nashimoto | |
| Reign | 2 December 1885 – 14 October 1947 |
| Head ofNashimoto-no-miya | |
| Reign | 2 December 1885 – 2 January 1951 |
| Born | (1874-03-09)9 March 1874 Kyoto,Japan |
| Died | 2 January 1951(1951-01-02) (aged 76) Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
| Spouse | Itsuko Nashimoto (m. 1897) |
| Issue | Yi Bangja (Ri Masako), Crown Princess of Korea Hirohashi Noriko |
| Father | Prince Kuni Asahiko |
| Mother | Harada Mitsue |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1899–1944 |
| Rank | field marshal |
| Commands | 1st Brigade 16th Division |
| Battles / wars | Russo-Japanese War Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
| Awards | |
Morimasa, Prince Nashimoto (梨本宮守正王,Nashimoto no miya Morimasa ō; 9 March 1874 – 2 January 1951) was a member of theJapanese Imperial Family and afield marshal in theImperial Japanese Army. An uncle-in-law ofHirohito (Emperor Shōwa), an uncle of his consort,Empress Kōjun, and the father-in-law ofCrown Prince Euimin of Korea, Prince Nashimoto was the only member of the Imperial Family arrested forwar crimes during theAllied occupation of Japan followingdefeat in theSecond World War.
Prince Nashimoto Morimasa was born inKyoto, the fourth son ofPrince Kuni Asahiko and Harada Mitsue, a court lady. His father, a prince of the blood and one-timeBuddhistpriest, was the head of one of theōke collateral branches of the Imperial Family created during the earlyMeiji period. Originally named Prince Tada, his half-brothers includedPrince Kaya Kuninori,Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni (served asprime minister in 1945),Prince Yasuhiko Asaka,Prince Kuni Taka, andPrince Kuni Kuniyoshi.
On 2 December 1885,Emperor Meiji named him successor to theNashimoto-no-miya, another cadet branch of the imperial family. He adopted the personal name "Morimasa" the following year.
On 28 November 1897, Prince Nashimoto married Nabeshima Itsuko (2 February 1879 – 18 August 1977), the second daughter ofMarquisNabeshima Naohiro, a former Japanese ambassador to Italy and the son of the last feudal lord(daimyō) ofSaga Domain. Itsuko was the maternal aunt ofSetsuko, Princess Chichibu,Emperor Taishō's daughter-in-law.
The couple had two daughters and one adopted son.
Like the other princes of the imperial blood at the time, Prince Nashimoto Morimasa pursued a military career. Educated at the Central Military Preparatory School and theImperial Japanese Army Academy, he received a commission as asecond lieutenant in the IJA 39th Infantry Regiment in 1899. In 1903, he went to theÉcole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr atSt. Cyr, France, but returned to Japan the following year and served with his regiment as a captain under GeneralOku Yasukata in theRusso-Japanese War. Prince Nashimoto then returned to France in August 1906 and remained until July 1909. The Prince rose to the rank of major of theInfantry in 1906,lieutenant colonel in 1908, andcolonel in 1910. He was promoted tolieutenant general and commander of theIJA 16th Division in August 1917.
Prince Nashimoto became a member of theImperial Japanese Army General Staff Office in November 1919 and was promoted to the rank of general in August 1922. On 8 August 1932, he was given the largely honorary rank offield marshal and became a member of the Board of Marshals and Fleet Admirals. However, the prince held no major military commands during thePacific War (1941–1945). Unlike his younger half-brothers andEmperor Meiji's sons-in-law,Prince Yasuhiko Asaka andPrince Naruhiko Higashikuni (served asprime minister in 1945), he remained largely removed from the mounting radicalism within the army, which culminated in theFebruary 26 Incident of 1936.[citation needed] In October 1937, he became chief priest (saishu) of theIse Shrine, upon the death of his half-brother, Prince Kuni Taka.
Prince Nashimoto retired from the active list aged 70 in 1944. He served as president of the Imperial Association, the honorary president of the Franco-Japanese Society, the Japan Forestry Association, the Japan Agricultural Association, the Imperial Air-Association, the Japan Martial Arts Association, and the Italian Society of Japan.
On 2 December 1945,GeneralDouglas MacArthur, the military governor of Japan during the American occupation, ordered the arrest of Prince Nashimoto as a"class A" war criminal, largely for his role in supportingState Shintoism (Prince Nashimoto was the chief priest of theGrand Shrine of Ise from 1937 until 1947). Prince Nashimoto was also the second most senior member of the Imperial Family (afterPrince Kan'in Kotohito) during World War II.
The prince's arrest caused great consternation among the Japanese, as it opened the possibility that Emperor Shōwa and more senior members of the imperial household might also face prosecution for war crimes. Few people on either side regarded Prince Nashimoto as more than a symbol, but he was regarded more as a hostage to ensure Emperor Shōwa's compliance with American-directed political reforms.[according to whom?] After four months' imprisonment in Tokyo'sSugamo Prison, American authorities released him without charges on 13 April 1946. By action of the reconstitutedImperial Household Council, Prince and Princess Nashimoto were divested of their imperial status and became commoners on 14 October 1947.
However, unlike other former members of the Japanese imperial family, theAmerican Occupation authorities (SCAP)purged former Prince Nashimoto allegedly because of his military career, denying him any compensation for the loss of his title and properties.American bombing raids had already destroyed his Tokyo residence, and he was forced to sell his country villa to pay taxes. He spent his last years in poverty, unlike many other former nobles with more extensive war records.
The former prince died of a heart attack on 2 January 1951 at the age of 76. His widow, former Princess Nashimoto Itsuko, maintained close ties to the Imperial Household until her death in August 1976. She published her memoirs under the titleNashimoto-no-miya Itsuko-ohi Nikki (The Memoirs of Princess Nashimoto Itsuko) in 1972.
Qing dynasty:Order of the Double Dragon, Class I Grade II,20 May 1903[1]
United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross of theRoyal Victorian Order,7 June 1909[2]
France: Grand Cross of theLegion of Honour,22 July 1908[1]
Spain: Grand Cross of theOrder of Charles III,July 1909[1]
Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of theOrder of St. Stephen,1909[3]