Princess Chichibu
Encyclopedia
was the wife of Prince Chichibu
(Yasuhito) of Japan.
Princess Chichibu was born as Matsudaira Setsuko in Walton on Thames, England
. She was the daughter of Matsudaira Tsuneo
(1877–1949), Japanese ambassador
to the United States
(1924) and later to Great Britain
(1928), and still later, Imperial Household Minister
(1936–45, 1946–47) and his wife, the former Nabeshima Nobuko.
Although technically born a commoner, she was a scion
of distinguished aristocratic families with close ties to the Japanese Imperial Family on both sides. Her paternal grandfather, Matsudaira Katamori
, was the last daimyo
of Aizu
, a cadet branch
of the Tokugawa dynasty
. Her maternal grandfather was Marquis
Nabeshima Naohiro
, former daimyo of Saga
. Her mother's elder sister, Itsuko (1882–1976), married Prince Nashimoto (Morimasa), an uncle of Empress Nagako.
In 1925, while her father was ambassador to the United States, Setsuko was educated at the Sidwell Friends School
in Washington, D.C.
(1925–1928). Upon her return to Japan, Empress Sadako chose Setsuko to marry her second son, Prince Chichibu. She married the Prince after her uncle, Viscount Matsudaira Morio
, formally adopted her, thus removing the status incongruity between the prince and his bride, by making Setsuko the adopted daughter of a viscount.
, and she became Princess Chichibu. Prince and Princess Chichibu had no children, as Princess Chichibu's only pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. But by all accounts their marriage was filled with love and happiness for each other.
In 1937, the prince and princess were sent on a tour of Europe
which took several months. They represented Japan at the May 1937 coronation
of Britain's King George VI
and Queen Elizabeth
in Westminster Abbey
and subsequently visited Sweden
and the Netherlands
as the guests of King Gustav V and Queen Wilhelmina
, respectively. Princess Chichibu stayed in Switzerland
while her husband met Adolf Hitler
in Nuremberg
at the end of the trip. She felt a great love for the United States and for England and, as an anglophile, was greatly saddened by Japan's entry into the Second World War on the side of the Axis powers
.
in 1953, Princess Chichibu became president of the Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, honorary president of the Britain-Japan Society, the Sweden-Japan Society, and an honorary vice president of the Japanese Red Cross
. The Princess, who was fluent in English
, made several semi-official visits to Great Britain and Sweden
.
on 8 April 1969. On 23 July 1962, she became an Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
. On 9 October 1978, Princess Margaret (on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II) invested Princess Chichibu as an Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
.
Her autobiography
, which was published posthumously as The Silver Drum: A Japanese Imperial Memoir, was translated in English by Dorothy Britton
.
Prince Chichibu
, also known as Prince Yasuhito, was the second son of Emperor Taishō and a younger brother of the Emperor Shōwa. As a member of the Imperial House of Japan, he was the patron of several sporting, medical, and international exchange organizations...
(Yasuhito) of Japan.
Princess Chichibu was born as Matsudaira Setsuko in Walton on Thames, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She was the daughter of Matsudaira Tsuneo
Matsudaira Tsuneo
was a Japanese diplomat of the 20th century.- Diplomatic and political career :The son of Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu, Tsuneo served as Japanese Ambassador to the United States. In 1929–1935 served as Ambassador to Britain, and in that capacity represented his country at the London Conference on...
(1877–1949), Japanese ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(1924) and later to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
(1928), and still later, Imperial Household Minister
Imperial Household Agency
The is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
(1936–45, 1946–47) and his wife, the former Nabeshima Nobuko.
Although technically born a commoner, she was a scion
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
of distinguished aristocratic families with close ties to the Japanese Imperial Family on both sides. Her paternal grandfather, Matsudaira Katamori
Matsudaira Katamori
was a samurai who lived in the last days of the Edo period and the early to mid Meiji period. He was the 9th daimyo of the Aizu han and the Military Commissioner of Kyoto during the Bakumatsu period. During the Boshin War, Katamori and the Aizu han fought against the Meiji Government armies, but...
, was the last daimyo
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 Aizu
Aizu
is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. The principal city of the area is Aizuwakamatsu.During the Edo period, Aizu was a feudal domain known as and part of Mutsu Province.-History:...
, a cadet branch
Cadet branch
Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...
of the Tokugawa dynasty
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. Her maternal grandfather was Marquis
Marquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
Nabeshima Naohiro
Nabeshima Naohiro
was a Japanese daimyo of the mid-Edo period, who ruled the Hasunoike Domain in Hizen Province .-References:...
, former daimyo of Saga
Saga Domain
Saga Domain was a han, or feudal domain, in Tokugawa period Japan. Largely contiguous with Hizen Province on Kyūshū, the domain was governed from Saga Castle in the capital city of Saga by the Nabeshima clan of tozama daimyō...
. Her mother's elder sister, Itsuko (1882–1976), married Prince Nashimoto (Morimasa), an uncle of Empress Nagako.
In 1925, while her father was ambassador to the United States, Setsuko was educated at the Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker private school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas Sidwell, its motto is "Eluceat omnibus lux" , alluding to the Quaker concept of inner light...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1925–1928). Upon her return to Japan, Empress Sadako chose Setsuko to marry her second son, Prince Chichibu. She married the Prince after her uncle, Viscount Matsudaira Morio
Matsudaira Morio
Viscount was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy.-Biography:Matsudaira Morio was the son of Matsudaira Katamori, the former daimyō of Aizu-Wakamatsu domain in what is now Fukushima prefecture. He was born at the Matsudaira's Tokyo residence in 1878.Matsudaira graduated from the 28th class of...
, formally adopted her, thus removing the status incongruity between the prince and his bride, by making Setsuko the adopted daughter of a viscount.
Marriage
On 28 September 1928, aged 19, she wed Prince ChichibuPrince Chichibu
, also known as Prince Yasuhito, was the second son of Emperor Taishō and a younger brother of the Emperor Shōwa. As a member of the Imperial House of Japan, he was the patron of several sporting, medical, and international exchange organizations...
, and she became Princess Chichibu. Prince and Princess Chichibu had no children, as Princess Chichibu's only pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. But by all accounts their marriage was filled with love and happiness for each other.
In 1937, the prince and princess were sent on a tour of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
which took several months. They represented Japan at the May 1937 coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of Britain's King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and subsequently visited Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as the guests of King Gustav V and Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Wilhelmina was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. She ruled the Netherlands for fifty-eight years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War I and World War II, the economic crisis of 1933, and the decline of the Netherlands as a major colonial...
, respectively. Princess Chichibu stayed in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
while her husband met Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
at the end of the trip. She felt a great love for the United States and for England and, as an anglophile, was greatly saddened by Japan's entry into the Second World War on the side of the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
.
Widowhood
After the Prince's death of tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1953, Princess Chichibu became president of the Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, honorary president of the Britain-Japan Society, the Sweden-Japan Society, and an honorary vice president of the Japanese Red Cross
Japanese Red Cross
The ' is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross.The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with Empress as Honorary President and other royal family members as vice-presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47...
. The Princess, who was fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, made several semi-official visits to Great Britain and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Awards/Honours
King Gustav VI Adolph of Sweden invested her with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the SeraphimOrder of the Seraphim
The Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish Royal order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star...
on 8 April 1969. On 23 July 1962, she became an Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. On 9 October 1978, Princess Margaret (on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II) invested Princess Chichibu as an Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
.
Death
Princess Chichibu died of heart failure on 25 August 1995.Her autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, which was published posthumously as The Silver Drum: A Japanese Imperial Memoir, was translated in English by Dorothy Britton
Dorothy Britton
Dorothy Guyver Britton, Lady Bouchier MBE was born in Yokohama and educated in the United States and England, returning to Japan after the American Occupation. She is best-known as a translator into English of Oku no Hosomichi by Basho: A Haiku Journey – Basho's Narrow Road to a Far Province...
.