Education
The Prince graduated from the Department of Political Studies in the Faculty of Law of Gakushuin University in 1971. Between 1971 and 1973 he studied at the Graduate School of the Australian National University, in Canberra, Australia.
桂宮宜仁親王
The Prince graduated from the Department of Political Studies in the Faculty of Law of Gakushuin University in 1971. Between 1971 and 1973 he studied at the Graduate School of the Australian National University, in Canberra, Australia.
He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. Originally known as Prince Yoshihito of Mikasa, he received the title Prince Katsura (Katsura-no-miya) and authorization to start a new branch of the Imperial Family on 1 January 1988. He died of a heart attack on 8 June 2014, aged 66.
After his return to Japan, he worked as an administrator at the Japan Broadcasting Corporation from 1974 to 1985.
In 1982, the Prince returned to Australia as part of the Japanese delegation in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Australia-Japan Society. He also visited New Zealand to strengthen ties and friendly diplomatic relations.
Despite his disabilities following a series of strokes in 1988, he took an active role in public service, and appeared regularly at award ceremonies, diplomatic events, and as President of various charity organizations. In July 1997, Prince Katsura again visited Australia, to help promote an exhibition of the traditional sport of sumo, with exhibition matches held in Sydney and Melbourne.
Prince Katsura suffered a series of strokes in May 1988 and had surgery for acute subdural hematoma.
Finally he became paralyzed from the waist down, forcing him to use a wheelchair. Despite this, he remained active in public life and appeared regularly at award ceremonies, diplomatic events, and as president of various charity organizations. However, he had been hospitalized on and off since 2008 due to sepsis.
In early 2014, the Prince was diagnosed with an unspecified illness that affected and deteriorated his heart.
In the early morning hours of 8 June 2014, he suffered a massive heart attack, and despite best efforts he was pronounced dead at 10:50 Department of Administration and Management local time. He was 66 years old. On 17 June, the main funeral service for Prince Katsura, called "Renso no Gi", was held at Toshimagaoka Imperial Cemetery in Tokyo.
Prince Katsura never married and left no legitimate children. As a result, the number of households in the Imperial family dropped to four, excluding those led by Emperor Akihito and Crown Prince Naruhito.
11 February 1948 – 1 January 1988: His Imperial Highness Prince Yoshihito of Mikasa
1 January 1988 – 8 June 2014: His Imperial Highness The Prince Katsura.
About 560 dignitaries including the members of Imperial Family attended the funeral.