Higashifushimi Yorihito

was the second (and last) head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an ōke cadet branch of the Japanese imperial family. Early life Born on September 19, 1867, as seventeenth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie, head of the Fushimi-no-miya, one of the shinnōke branches of the Imperial Family of Japan, which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out. He was a younger half-brother of Field Marshal Prince Komatsu Akihito, Prince Kuni Asahiko, General Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa, Field Marshal Prince Kan'in Kotohito and Field Marshal Prince Fushimi Sadanaru. Originally styled "Prince Fushimi Sadamaro", he was adopted into the Yamashina-no-miya household in 1869, followed by the Komatsu-no-miya house in 1885. He was then adopted by Emperor Meiji as a potential heir to the throne in 1886. He succeeded to the Higashifushimi-no-miya title upon the death of the first head, Prince Komatsu Akihito, on February 3, 1903. King David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii, visited Japan during his round-the-world tour of 1881. He was the first foreign head of state to visit Japan. During his visit, he proposed a marital alliance between the royal houses of Japan and Hawai'i, wherein his niece (Princess Ka'iulani) would marry Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (then styled Prince Yamashina Yorihito). Nothing came of the proposal, which might have made a significant impact on the eventual fate of the Kingdom of Hawaii.