Nashimoto no Miya (梨本宮)
Nashimoto no Miya was the Miyake (house of an imperial prince) established by Fushimi no Miya Imperial Prince Sadayoshi's Imperial Prince, Prince Moriosa.
Nashimoto no Miya Imperial Prince Moriosa was born in 1819. The title Prince was given to him by Imperial order in 1833. He entered into Enman-in Temple. He became a priest and was named the Monk Prince Kakujun. In 1835 he succeeded to Kajii Enyu-in Temple and his name was changed to Nashimoto no Miyain. In 1868 he returned to secular life and named Kaji no Miya, he was renamed again as Nashimoto no Miya in 1871. He died in 1881 when he was sixty three years old.
Since Imperial Prince Moriosa did not have any children, Yamashina no Miya Prince Kikumaro came into the family from the Yamashina no Miya family and succeeded to the Miyake in 1881. After that he returned to Yamashina no Miya family in 1885. Kuni no Miya Prince Asahiko's Prince, Prince Tada succeeded after Prince Kikumaro, he was renamed Nashimoto no Miya Prince Morimasa when he inherited the family.
Prince Morimasa was born in 1874. He graduated from the Military Academy and went to France to study in 1903. Before he went to France, in 1900, he married Marquis Naohiro NABESHIMA's second daughter, Itsuko. He had two Princesses, Nashimoto no Miya Princess Masako and Princess Noriko. He fulfilled his duties at the General Staff Office during the Russo-Japanese War. Following that, he went to the front as a military officer accompanying the No. three military force. After the War he went to France to study for a second time. He graduated from a French military college. He reached the rank of general and received the title of marshal. He successively held positions like a government advising officer, President of the Franco-Japanese Society, and President of the association of reservists. He became Lord Custodian of the Great Shrine of Ise in 1943.
After the War, his destiny took a turn for the worse. He was convicted as a War criminal and was sentenced to serve time in Sugamo Prison. He was released six months later, however, it is said that his house was burglarized and most of his furniture was stolen. He became the sixth President of the Koten Kokyusho in 1945. He died in 1951 when he was seventy eight years old.
His oldest daughter, Masako Yi married to Yi Unn who was the last Prince of the Yi Dynasty Korea and succeeded to the Yi Imperial family, and she went to the Republic of Korea after the War and contributed to welfare work, etc. Her son, 李玖 was born in Japan and went to the United States to study. He married an American woman and went back to the Republic of Korea in 1963. He used to run his own company in Korea, however due to the business being slow, he returned back to Japan. He died of heart failure on July 16, 2005. He was seventy three years old. Since he did not have any children, after he died, the direct blood lineage of Yi Imperial Family discontinued.
Empress Itoko acted as 'the last noblewoman' after Prince Morimasa died, she adopted Princess Noriko's second son, 広橋儀光 followed by Kuni no Miya Prince Taka's third son, Norihiko TATSUTA, and she died in 1976. She used to write in her diary everyday, her diary was published as 'Nashimoto no Miya Empress Itoko's diary' after she died.
According to the weekly magazine, it was reported that Takao NASHIMOTO was adopted, and had no blood relationship to the Imperial family, and he joined to carry out fraud under the name of Nashimoto.