Prince Yasuhiko Asaka
Member of the Japanese imperial family and career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Prince Yasuhiko Asaka (朝香宮鳩彦王, Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko-ō, 20 October 1887 – 12 April 1981) was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. He was the son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of Emperor Hirohito. As the commander of Japanese forces outside Nanjing in December 1937, Asaka presided over the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians in what came to be known as the Nanjing Massacre.
Yasuhiko Asaka | |
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Prince Asaka | |
Reign | 10 March 1906 – 14 October 1947 |
Head of Asaka-no-miya | |
Reign | 10 March 1906 – 13 April 1981 |
Born | (1887-10-20)20 October 1887 Kyoto, Japan |
Died | 12 April 1981(1981-04-12) (aged 93) Atami, Shizuoka, Japan |
Spouse | |
Issue |
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Father | Asahiko, Prince Kuni |
Mother | Sugako Tsunoda |
Religion | Catholicism |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
Service/ | Imperial Japanese Army |
Years of service | 1908–1945 |
Rank | General |
Commands held | Imperial Guard Shanghai Expeditionary Army |
Battles/wars | First World War Second Sino-Japanese War Second World War |
Awards | Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class Order of the Golden Kite, 1st Class |
After Japan's defeat in World War II, General Douglas MacArthur granted immunity to the country's Imperial Family. As a result, Asaka was never tried for his involvement in the Nanjing Massacre by SCAP authorities. Nonetheless, by 1947, he and his children were stripped of their imperial status. He later converted to Catholicism and died of natural causes at the age of 93.