Early life Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi was born in
Kyoto, the third son of
Prince Kuni Asahiko (
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 (Fushimi-no-miya Kuniie Shinnō
), the head of one of the ōke'' branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the
throne of Japan. In 1872,
Emperor Meiji granted Prince Asahiko the title "
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 29 October 1891. His half-brothers,
Prince Asaka Yasuhiko,
Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko,
Prince Nashimoto Morimasa, and
Prince Kaya Kuninori, all formed new branches of the imperial family during the
Meiji period.
Military career Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi graduated from the 7th class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1897 as a second lieutenant, and was promoted to lieutenant in February 1899 and to captain in March 1901. Promoted to major in the
infantry in November 1904, during the
Russo-Japanese War he was assigned to the staff of General
Kuroki Tamemoto, commander of the
IJA 1st Army. For his war services he was awarded the
Order of the Golden Kite (4th class). He then graduated from the
Army War College and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of the
Imperial Guards Division. From 1907 to 1910, he studied
military tactics in
Germany and was attached to the Second Regiment of the
Prussian Foot Guards. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1908 and to colonel in December 1910. Upon returning to Japan, Prince Kuni rose to the rank of
major general in August 1913 and was given command of the 38th Infantry Regiment. Later he commanded the
Imperial Guard of Japan and rose to the rank of
lieutenant general in August 1917 and commander of the
IJA 15th Division. Along with that command, he received the additional post of
chief priest of
Meiji Shrine. Prince Kuni became a full
general and a member of the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in August 1923. An early advocate of
military aviation, one of his protégés was
Yamamoto Isoroku, the future admiral and commander-in-chief of the
Imperial Japanese Navy. On 27 January 1929 (the day of his death),
Emperor Hirohito promoted him to the honorary rank of
field marshal and granted him the Grand Cordon of the Supreme
Order of the Chrysanthemum. He was the target of a failed assassination attempt by in
Taichung. Prince Kuni's death occurred soon after he arrived at his villa at
Atami, of an acute onset of an undisclosed disease. ==Honours==