Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi
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His Imperial Highness Prince Kuni (Kuniyoshi) of Japan (Kuni-no-miya Kuniyoshi ō) (23 June 1873 - 29 June 1929) was a member of the Japanese imperial family and a career army officer during the Meiji and Taisho periods. He was the father of Empress Kojun (who in turn was the consort of the Showa Emperor), and therefore, the maternal grandfather of the present emperor of Japan, Akihito.
Prince 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 Kuniie (Fushimi no miya Kuniie Shinnō), the head of one of four branch houses of the imperial dynasty entitled to provide a successor to the throne. In 1872, the Emperor Meiji granted Prince Asahiko the title "Kuni no miya" (Prince Kuni) and authorization 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, Prince Higashikuni, Prince Nashimoto, and Prince Kaya, all formed new branches of the imperial family during the Meiji period.
Prince Kuni graduated from the Military Academy in 1897. During the Russo-Japanese War, he served as a major in the infantry assigned to the staff of General Kuroki Tamemoto, commander of the First Army. From 1907 to 1910, he tudied tactics in Germany and was attached to Second Regiment of the Prussian Foot Guards. Upon returning to Japan, he rose to the rank of major general and given command of the 38th Infantry Regiment. Later he commanded the First Brigade of the Imperial Guards and rose to the rank of lieutenant general in 1918. Along with that command, he received the additional post of chief priest of the Meiji Shrine. He became a full general and a member of the Supreme War Council in 1923. Prince Kuni was an early advocate of military aviation. One of his protégés was Yamamoto Isoroku, the future admiral and commander-in-chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet. On 27 January 1929 (two days before his death), Emperor Showa promoted him to the honorary rank of field marshal.
On 13 December 1889, Prince Kuniyoshi married Shimazu Chikako (18 October 1879 - 10 September 1956), the seventh daughter of Prince (or Duke) Shimazu Tadayoshi [peer], the last daimyo of Satsuma. The marriage represented an alliance between the imperial family and Satsuma clan. Prince and Princess Kuni had six children, three sons and three daughters. Their third daughter, Princess Nagako, married then Crown Prince Hirohito in 1924. The eldest son, Prince Asaakira (2 February 1902 - 2 December 1959), succeeded to the Kuni no miya title but lost his princely status as part of the reform of the imperial household during the American occupation in October 1947.