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Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda

December 07, 2023

In this Japanese name, the surname is Takeda.

Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda (竹田宮恒徳王, Takeda-no-miya Tsuneyoshi-ō, 4 March 1909 – 11 May 1992) was the second and last heir of the Takeda-no-miya collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family.

Tsuneyoshi Takeda
Prince Takeda
In office
23 April 1919 – 14 October 1947
Head of Takeda-no-miya
In office
23 April 1919 – 11 May 1992
Personal details
Born(1909-03-04)4 March 1909
Tokyo, Japan
Died11 May 1992(1992-05-11) (aged 83)
SpouseMitsuko Sanjo
ChildrenTsunetada Takeda
Motoko Takeda
Noriko Takeda
Tsuneharu Takeda
Tsunekazu Takeda
Parents
Military career
Allegiance Japan
Service/branch Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service1930–1945
RankLieutenant-Colonel
UnitUnit 731
Southern Expeditionary Army Group
Kwantung Army
Battles/warsSecond Sino-Japanese War
Second World War

Biography edit

Early life edit

Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi was the only son of Prince Takeda Tsunehisa and Masako, Princess Tsune (1888–1940), the sixth daughter of Emperor Meiji. He was, therefore, a first cousin of Emperor Shōwa.

Prince Tsuneyoshi became the second head of the Takeda-no-miya house on 23 April 1919. After being educated at the Gakushūin Peers' School, and serving for a session in the House of Peers, he graduated from the 32nd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in July 1930, and received a commission as a sub-lieutenant in the cavalry.

Marriage and family edit

On 12 May 1934, Prince Takeda married Sanjo Mitsuko.[1] She was the youngest daughter of Prince Sanjo Kimiteru, with whom he had five children (3 sons and 2 daughters):

  1. Prince Tsunetada Takeda (恒正王), born on (1940-10-11) 11 October 1940 (age 83)[1]
  2. Princess Motoko Takeda (素子女王), (b. 1942)
  3. Princess Noriko Takeda (紀子女王), (b. 1943)
  4. Prince Tsuneharu Takeda (恒治王) (b. 1944) Japanese ambassador to Bulgaria[2]
  5. Tsunekazu Takeda (竹田恒和), (b. 1947)

Military career edit

The Prince served a brief tour with a cavalry regiment in Manchuria, and rose to the rank of lieutenant in August 1930 and captain in August 1936. He then graduated from the 50th class of the Army War College in 1938 as the build-up to World War II was beginning. He was promoted to the rank of major in August 1940, and attached to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in Tokyo, where he headed the Personnel Department. He became lieutenant colonel in August 1943. Author Sterling Seagrave contends that between 1940 and 1945 Prince Takeda oversaw the looting of gold and other precious items in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines.[3] Seagrave says that most of this loot was stored in 175 vaults located in the Philippines, and that considerable amounts have since been recovered by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and others.

 
Takeda with his wife, Princess Mitsuko, and their two eldest children in 1942

Prince Takeda held executive responsibilities over Unit 731 in his role as chief financial officer of the Kwantung Army. Unit 731 conducted biological weapons research on human subjects with a variety of bacterial cultures and viruses during World War II. According to Daniel Barenblatt, Takeda received, with Prince Mikasa, a special screening by Shirō Ishii of a film showing imperial planes loading germ bombs for bubonic plague dissemination over the Chinese city of Ningbo in 1940.[4]

Moreover, historian Hal Gold has alleged in his work "Unit 731 Testimony" that Prince Takeda had a more active role as "Lieutenant Colonel Miyata" – an officer in the Strategic Section of the Operations Division. Gold reports the testimony of a veteran of the Youth Corps of this unit, who testified in July 1994 in Morioka during a traveling exhibition on Shirō Ishii's experiments, that Takeda watched while outside poison gas tests were made on thirty prisoners near Anda. After the war, a staff photographer also recalled the day the Prince visited Unit 731's facility at Pingfang, Manchukuo and had his picture taken at the gates.[5]

Prince Takeda briefly served as the emperor's personal liaison to the Saigon headquarters of Field Marshal Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group. During that assignment, he observed first-hand the desperate conditions of the Japanese forces at Rabaul, Guadalcanal, and in Luzon. After his return, he was then assigned to the Kwantung Army headquarters. After Emperor Shōwa's radio address announcing the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, he went to Shinkyo in Manchukuo to ensure the Kwantung Army's compliance with the surrender orders.[citation needed]

Post-war edit

With the abolition of the collateral branches of the imperial family by the American occupation authorities on 14 October 1947, Prince Tsuneyoshi and his family became commoners. Initially, he retired to his estate in Chiba Prefecture to raise racehorses, thus escaping the financial hardship many of his cousins experienced during the American occupation of Japan.

Takeda turned his attention to promoting and developing amateur and professional sports. As a participant in equestrian events as part of Japan's delegation to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, he already had a reputation as the "sports prince". He became president of the Japan Skating Association in 1948 and a member of the north Tokyo Rotary Club. He became president of the Japanese Olympic Committee in 1962 and was an important figure at the Organizing Committees of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1967 to 1981, during which he was director of its executive board for five years.

In 1987, the former Prince published a volume of autobiographical essays entitled "Kumo no ue shita: Omoide-banashi" (Above and Below the Clouds: Remembrances).

The former prince died of heart failure on 12 May 1992, at the age of 83. The current heir to the Takeda-no-miya family is Prince Tsuneyoshi's eldest son, Tsunetada Takeda (b. 1940), a graduate of the Gakushuin and Keio University, with a degree in economics, and formerly employed by Mitsubishi Shoji. He married Kyoko Nezu, the third daughter of Nezu Kaichirō, former chairman of Tobu Railways, and has a son, Tsunetaka Takeda (b. 1967), and daughter, Hiroko Takeda (b. 1971).

The former Takeda palace and a portion of its gardens in Tokyo survives as a part of the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, and is open to the public.

Ancestry edit

[6][7]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Nihon Gaiji Kyōkai. (1943). The Japan Year book, p. 5.
  2. ^ [1][permanent dead link].
  3. ^ Chen, Charmaine. "Secret of Hirohito's hidden billions". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  4. ^ Daniel Barenblatt, A Plague upon Humanity, 2004, p. 32.
  5. ^ Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, p. 168
  6. ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Genealogy". Reichsarchiv (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 September 2017.

References edit

Sporting positions
Preceded by President of the Japanese Olympic Committee
1962–1969 		Succeeded by

December 07, 2023
prince, tsuneyoshi, takeda, this, japanese, name, surname, takeda, 竹田宮恒徳王, takeda, miya, tsuneyoshi, march, 1909, 1992, second, last, heir, takeda, miya, collateral, branch, japanese, imperial, family, tsuneyoshi, takedaprince, takedain, office, april, 1919, o. In this Japanese name the surname is Takeda Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda 竹田宮恒徳王 Takeda no miya Tsuneyoshi ō 4 March 1909 11 May 1992 was the second and last heir of the Takeda no miya collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family Tsuneyoshi TakedaPrince TakedaIn office 23 April 1919 14 October 1947Head of Takeda no miyaIn office 23 April 1919 11 May 1992Personal detailsBorn 1909 03 04 4 March 1909Tokyo JapanDied11 May 1992 1992 05 11 aged 83 SpouseMitsuko SanjoChildrenTsunetada TakedaMotoko TakedaNoriko TakedaTsuneharu TakedaTsunekazu TakedaParentsTsunehisa Prince Takeda father Masako Princess Tsune mother Military careerAllegiance JapanService wbr branch Imperial Japanese ArmyYears of service1930 1945RankLieutenant ColonelUnitUnit 731Southern Expeditionary Army GroupKwantung ArmyBattles warsSecond Sino Japanese WarSecond World War Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Marriage and family 1 3 Military career 1 4 Post war 2 Ancestry 3 Notes 4 ReferencesBiography editEarly life edit Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi was the only son of Prince Takeda Tsunehisa and Masako Princess Tsune 1888 1940 the sixth daughter of Emperor Meiji He was therefore a first cousin of Emperor Shōwa Prince Tsuneyoshi became the second head of the Takeda no miya house on 23 April 1919 After being educated at the Gakushuin Peers School and serving for a session in the House of Peers he graduated from the 32nd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in July 1930 and received a commission as a sub lieutenant in the cavalry Marriage and family edit On 12 May 1934 Prince Takeda married Sanjo Mitsuko 1 She was the youngest daughter of Prince Sanjo Kimiteru with whom he had five children 3 sons and 2 daughters Prince Tsunetada Takeda 恒正王 born on 1940 10 11 11 October 1940 age 83 1 Princess Motoko Takeda 素子女王 b 1942 Princess Noriko Takeda 紀子女王 b 1943 Prince Tsuneharu Takeda 恒治王 b 1944 Japanese ambassador to Bulgaria 2 Tsunekazu Takeda 竹田恒和 b 1947 Military career edit The Prince served a brief tour with a cavalry regiment in Manchuria and rose to the rank of lieutenant in August 1930 and captain in August 1936 He then graduated from the 50th class of the Army War College in 1938 as the build up to World War II was beginning He was promoted to the rank of major in August 1940 and attached to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in Tokyo where he headed the Personnel Department He became lieutenant colonel in August 1943 Author Sterling Seagrave contends that between 1940 and 1945 Prince Takeda oversaw the looting of gold and other precious items in China Hong Kong Vietnam Laos Cambodia Burma Malaya Singapore Sumatra Java Borneo and the Philippines 3 Seagrave says that most of this loot was stored in 175 vaults located in the Philippines and that considerable amounts have since been recovered by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and others nbsp Takeda with his wife Princess Mitsuko and their two eldest children in 1942Prince Takeda held executive responsibilities over Unit 731 in his role as chief financial officer of the Kwantung Army Unit 731 conducted biological weapons research on human subjects with a variety of bacterial cultures and viruses during World War II According to Daniel Barenblatt Takeda received with Prince Mikasa a special screening by Shirō Ishii of a film showing imperial planes loading germ bombs for bubonic plague dissemination over the Chinese city of Ningbo in 1940 4 Moreover historian Hal Gold has alleged in his work Unit 731 Testimony that Prince Takeda had a more active role as Lieutenant Colonel Miyata an officer in the Strategic Section of the Operations Division Gold reports the testimony of a veteran of the Youth Corps of this unit who testified in July 1994 in Morioka during a traveling exhibition on Shirō Ishii s experiments that Takeda watched while outside poison gas tests were made on thirty prisoners near Anda After the war a staff photographer also recalled the day the Prince visited Unit 731 s facility at Pingfang Manchukuo and had his picture taken at the gates 5 Prince Takeda briefly served as the emperor s personal liaison to the Saigon headquarters of Field Marshal Terauchi Hisaichi commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group During that assignment he observed first hand the desperate conditions of the Japanese forces at Rabaul Guadalcanal and in Luzon After his return he was then assigned to the Kwantung Army headquarters After Emperor Shōwa s radio address announcing the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945 he went to Shinkyo in Manchukuo to ensure the Kwantung Army s compliance with the surrender orders citation needed Post war edit With the abolition of the collateral branches of the imperial family by the American occupation authorities on 14 October 1947 Prince Tsuneyoshi and his family became commoners Initially he retired to his estate in Chiba Prefecture to raise racehorses thus escaping the financial hardship many of his cousins experienced during the American occupation of Japan Takeda turned his attention to promoting and developing amateur and professional sports As a participant in equestrian events as part of Japan s delegation to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin he already had a reputation as the sports prince He became president of the Japan Skating Association in 1948 and a member of the north Tokyo Rotary Club He became president of the Japanese Olympic Committee in 1962 and was an important figure at the Organizing Committees of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo He was also a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1967 to 1981 during which he was director of its executive board for five years In 1987 the former Prince published a volume of autobiographical essays entitled Kumo no ue shita Omoide banashi Above and Below the Clouds Remembrances The former prince died of heart failure on 12 May 1992 at the age of 83 The current heir to the Takeda no miya family is Prince Tsuneyoshi s eldest son Tsunetada Takeda b 1940 a graduate of the Gakushuin and Keio University with a degree in economics and formerly employed by Mitsubishi Shoji He married Kyoko Nezu the third daughter of Nezu Kaichirō former chairman of Tobu Railways and has a son Tsunetaka Takeda b 1967 and daughter Hiroko Takeda b 1971 The former Takeda palace and a portion of its gardens in Tokyo survives as a part of the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and is open to the public Ancestry edit 6 7 Ancestors of Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda16 Prince Fushimi Sadayuki 1776 1841 8 Prince Fushimi Kuniie 1802 1872 4 Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa 1847 1895 18 Horiuchi Mamoru9 Horiuchi Nobuko2 Prince Takeda Tsunehisa 1882 1919 5 Saruhashi Sachiko1 Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi24 Emperor Ninkō 1800 1846 12 Emperor Kōmei 1831 1867 25 Lady Ōgimachi Naoko 1803 1856 6 Emperor Meiji 1852 1912 26 Marquess Nakayama Tadayasu 1809 1888 13 Lady Nakayama Yoshiko 1836 1907 27 Matsura Aiko 1818 1906 3 Princess Masako Takeda 1888 1940 28 Sono Motoshige 1793 1840 14 Count Sono Motosachi 1833 1905 29 Matsura Kiko7 Lady Sono Sachiko 1867 1947 30 Koide Fusaoki 8th Lord of Sonobe 1810 1862 15 Koide31 Matsudaira MinematsuNotes edit a b Nihon Gaiji Kyōkai 1943 The Japan Year book p 5 1 permanent dead link Chen Charmaine Secret of Hirohito s hidden billions South China Morning Post Retrieved 10 July 2012 Daniel Barenblatt A Plague upon Humanity 2004 p 32 Hal Gold Unit 731 Testimony p 168 Genealogy Reichsarchiv in Japanese Retrieved 7 September 2017 Genealogy Reichsarchiv in Japanese Retrieved 6 September 2017 References editDower John W Embracing Defeat Japan in the Wake of World War II W W Norton amp Company 2000 ISBN 0 393 32027 8 Gold Hal Unit 731 Testimony Tuttle 2003 ISBN 0 8048 3565 9 Harries Meirion Soldiers of the Sun The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army Random House Reprint edition 1994 ISBN 0 679 75303 6 Nihon Gaiji Kyōkai 1943 The Japan Year Book Tokyo Foreign Affairs Association of Japan OCLC 1782308 Williams Peter and Wallace David Unit 731 The Japanese Army s Secret of Secrets New York Free Press 1991 ISBN 0 340 39463 3Sporting positionsPreceded byJuichi Tsushima President of the Japanese Olympic Committee1962 1969 Succeeded byHanji Aoki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda amp oldid 1188474084, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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