was a member of the Japanese imperial family and a field marshal

Field Marshal (Japan)

was the highest title in the prewar Imperial Japanese Military.The term gensui, which was used for both the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy, was at first a rank held by Saigō Takamori as the Commander of the Armies in 1872...

 in the Imperial Japanese Army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

 during the Meiji

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 and Taishō period

Taisho period

The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...

s. He was the father of Empress Kōjun

Empress Kojun

' was empress consort of Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Born , she was the mother of the present Emperor .Her posthumous name is Kōjun, which means "fragrant purity"...

 (who in turn was the consort of the Shōwa Emperor), and therefore, the maternal grandfather of the present emperor of Japan, Akihito

Akihito

is the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...

.

Early life

Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was born in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, the third son of Prince Kuni Asahiko

Prince Kuni Asahiko

align=right|, was a member of a collateral line of the Japanese imperial family who played a key role in the Meiji Restoration. Prince Asahiko was an adopted son of Emperor Ninkō and later a close advisor to Emperor Kōmei and Emperor Meiji...

 (Kuni-no-miya Asahiko Shinnō) and the court lady Isume Makiko. His father, Prince Asahiko (also known as Shōren-no-miya Sun'yu and Nagakawa-no-miya Asahiko), was a son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye

Prince Fushimi Kuniye

was a Japanese minor royal, he was the 20th prince Fushimi-no-miya 1817/1848, married and had issue, at least 17 sons and 4 daughters....

 (Fushimi-no-miya Kuniie Shinnō), the head of one of ōke

Oke

The , were branches of the Japanese Imperial Family created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house. All but one of the ōke were formed by the descendants of Prince Fushimi Kuniye. The ōke were stripped of their membership in the Imperial Family by the American Occupation Authorities in...

branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the throne of Japan

Chrysanthemum Throne

The is the English term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, such as the takamikura throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace....

. In 1872, Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

 granted Prince Asahiko the title "Kuni-no-miya

Kuni-no-miya

The was the second oldest collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family created from the Fushimi-no-miya, the oldest of the four branches of the imperial dynasty allowed to provide a successor to the Chrysanthemum throne should the main imperial line fail to produce an heir.The Kuni-no-miya...

" and authorized him to begin a new branch of the imperial family.

Prince Kuniyoshi succeeded to the title upon his father's death on October 29, 1891. His half-brothers, Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, Prince Nashimoto Morimasa, and Prince Kaya Kuninori

Prince Kaya Kuninori

align=right| was a member of the Japanese imperial family and the founder of one of the nine ōke in the Meiji period.-Early life:...

, all formed new branches of the imperial family during the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

.

Military career

Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi graduated from the 7th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1897. During the Russo-Japanese War

Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...

, he served as a major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in the infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 assigned to the staff of General Kuroki Tamemoto

Kuroki Tamemoto

Count was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the head of the Japanese First Army during the Russo-Japanese War; and his forces enjoyed a series of successes during the Manchurian fighting at the Battle of Yalu River, the Battle of Liaoyang, the Battle of Shaho and the Battle of...

, commander of the IJA 1st Army

Japanese First Army

The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was raised and demobilized on three separate occasions.-History:The Japanese 1st Army was initially raised during the First Sino-Japanese War from September 1, 1894 to May 28, 1895 under the command of General Yamagata Aritomo...

. For his war services he was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite

Order of the Golden Kite

The ' was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan."-Background:...

 (4th class). He then graduated from the Army War College

Army War College (Japan)

The ; Short form: of the Empire of Japan was founded in 1882 in Minato, Tokyo to modernize and Westernize the Imperial Japanese Army. Much of the empire's elite including prime ministers during the period of Japanese militarism were graduates of the college....

 and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of the Imperial Guards Division

Imperial Guard of Japan

The Japanese is an organization which is dedicated to protection of the Emperor of Japan and his family, palaces and other imperial properties. Following the end of World War II the traditional Guard, which also served as a unit in the Imperial Japanese Army, was dissolved and in 1947 a civil...

.

From 1907 to 1910, he studied military tactics in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and was attached to Second Regiment of the Prussian Foot Guards. Upon returning to Japan, Prince Kuni rose to the rank of major general

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 and given command of the 38th Infantry Regiment. Later he commanded the Imperial Guard of Japan

Imperial Guard of Japan

The Japanese is an organization which is dedicated to protection of the Emperor of Japan and his family, palaces and other imperial properties. Following the end of World War II the traditional Guard, which also served as a unit in the Imperial Japanese Army, was dissolved and in 1947 a civil...

 and rose to the rank of lieutenant general

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 in 1918 and commander of the IJA 15st Division. Along with that command, he received the additional post of chief priest

Kannushi

A , also called , is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine as well as for leading worship of a given kami. The characters for kannushi are sometimes also read jinshu with the same meaning....

 of Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine

', located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.-History:...

.

Prince Kuni became a full general

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 and a member of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in 1923. Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was an early advocate of military aviation

Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...

. One of his protégés was Yamamoto Isoroku, the future admiral and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

. On January 27, 1929 (two days before his death), Emperor Hirohito promoted him to the honorary rank of field marshal

Field Marshal

Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

 and granted him the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum

Order of the Chrysanthemum

is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the collar of the Order was added on January 4, 1888. Although technically the order has only one class, it can either be awarded with collar , or with grand cordon...

.

Prince Kuni's death occurred soon after he arrived at his villa at Atami, of an acute onset of an undisclosed disease.

Marriage and Family

On December 13, 1889, Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi married Shimazu Chikako (19 October 1879 - 9 September 1956), the seventh daughter of Prince Shimazu Tadayoshi, the last daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

of Satsuma Domain. The marriage represented an alliance between the imperial family and the Satsuma clan.

3. : married Emperor Showa in 1924.