Background
Count Higashifushimi Kunihide was born as Prince Kuni Kunihide (邦英王), the youngest child of Lieutenant Colonel Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni and his wife, the former Shimazu Chikako (19 October 1879 - 9 September 1956).
東伏見 邦英
Count Higashifushimi Kunihide was born as Prince Kuni Kunihide (邦英王), the youngest child of Lieutenant Colonel Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni and his wife, the former Shimazu Chikako (19 October 1879 - 9 September 1956).
Kyoto University.
He was the youngest brother of Empress Kōjun and was the maternal uncle of the present emperor, Akihito. His Dharma name was Jigō (慈洽). Upon leaving the imperial family, he was ennobled as Count Higashifushimi and appointed a Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers.
He held the title of count until October 1947, when the nobility and cadet branches of the imperial family lost their status.
He took a Doctor of Philosophy in Asuka period art from Kyoto University in 1956. As chairman, he led the opposition to a ¥50 temple admission fee imposed by the city of Kyoto, denouncing it as "contrary to the principle of separation of church and state and freedom of religion." The fee was subsequently repealed.
In poor health since 2009, he died on 1 January 2014, aged 103.
If he had kept his imperial status, at the time of his death he would have been the oldest-ever member of the Japanese imperial family.
