Princess Hitachi of Japan (Hanako Tsugaru)

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Princess Hitachi of Japan; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Prince Hitachi of Japan, Lady Hanako Tsugaru, was born on July 19, 1940, at her family home in Tokyo, Japan. She is the youngest of the four daughters of Count Yoshitaka Tsugaru and Hisako Mōri. Both her parents were descendants of the Japanese nobility.

Hanako received her primary and secondary education at The Gakushūin (Peers School) in Tokyo, established in 1847 to educate the children of Japan’s nobility. She did not attend the kindergarten at The Gakushūin because it was closed due to World War II. She majored in Science at the Gakushūin Women’s College, graduating in 1961.

Embed from Getty Images 
Wedding of Prince Hitachi and Hanako Tsugaru

Hanako met her future husband, Prince Hitachi, while they were both students at The Gakushuin. Prince Hitachi is the younger of the two sons and the sixth of the seven children of Emperor Shōwa of Japan (Hirohito) and Empress Kōjun (Nagako) and the younger brother of Emperor Akihito of Japan. The Imperial Household Council announced the engagement on February 28, 1964. The formal engagement ceremony was held on April 14, 1964, and the wedding ceremony took place on September 30, 1964. After her marriage, Hanako was styled Her Imperial Highness Princess Hitachi. The couple had no children.

Prince and Princess Hitachi visiting the Netherlands in 1965. Left to right: Princess Beatrix (the future Queen Beatrix), Prince Hitachi, Queen Juliana, Prince Claus, and Princess Hitachi; Credit – Wikipedia

Because her husband was the son and then the brother of The Emperor, Prince and Princess Hitachi were expected to represent Japan internationally and participate in charitable works. As the Prince and Princess got older, these responsibilities lessened but Princess Hitachi still holds the following positions:

Princess Hitachi and her husband, 2011; Credit – By Kounosu1 – File:The New Year Greeting 2011 at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.jpg – Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33377227

In 2007, both Prince and Princess Hitachi were elected by the other members of the Imperial Family to be representatives to the Imperial Household Council.  Both were re-elected in 2011 and 2015. The Imperial Household Council is a ten-member body that approves the statutory matters of the Imperial House of Japan.

Princess Hitachi is very much interested in animal welfare, particularly animal neglect. She has translated from English into Japanese and then published five children’s books about animals. The proceeds from these books are donated to animal welfare causes.

  • The Eighty-Ninth Kitten by Eleanor Nilsson (published in 1987)
  • The Most Obedient Dog in the World by Anita Jeram (published in 1996)
  • It was Jake by Anita Jeram (published in 1997)
  • A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up by Caroline Arnold (published in 2001)
  • Dot the Fire Dog by Lisa Desimini (published in 2005)

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Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Hanako, Princess Hitachi. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanako,_Princess_Hitachi [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].
  • Ja.wikipedia.org. (2019). 正仁親王妃華子. [online] Available at: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A3%E4%BB%81%E8%A6%AA%E7%8E%8B%E5%A6%83%E8%8F%AF%E5%AD%90 [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].
  • Kunaicho.go.jp. (2019). Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi – The Imperial Household Agency. [online] Available at: http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/activity/activity04.html [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].