Imperial Prince Fushiminomiya Yoshihito (伏見宮栄仁親王)

Imperial Prince Fushiminomiya Yoshihito
(1351 - December 9, 1416) was Japanese Imperial family member during the period of the Northern and Southern Courts and the Muromachi period.
His name was also pronounced 'Nakahito.'

The hereditary Imperial family, the first head of the Fushiminomiya family. He was called Fushimi dono or Arisugawa dono.

Genealogy
He was the first Prince of the third Northern Dynasty Emperor, Emperor Suko. His mother was Dainagon, Shigesuke NIWATA's daughter, Naishinosuke (Naishinosuke (Tenji) (a court lady of the first rank), MINAMOTO no Shishi (Sukeko).

His Miyasundokoro (a consort of the imperial Prince) was Saneharu SANJO's (the Seiga family) daughter, FUJIWARA no Haruko (Nishi no Onkata).

Brief Personal History
He received title of Imperial Prince in the New Year of 1368, and was named Yoshihito.

He had a coming-of-age ceremony in November 1375 and received Nihon (the second rank for a Prince).

His father, the Grand Emperor Suko wished Imperial Prince Yoshihito to succeed to the throne, who was the first Prince within the successors of the Jimyoin Imperial line.

However the Imperial line was separated into a few different ones such as the retired Emperor Suko's line of the Northern Court and Emperor Gokogon's line who was Emperor Suko's younger brother during the period of the Northern and Southern Courts. It was not the best situation for Imperial Prince Yoshihito to succeed to the throne.

After the retired Emperor Suko died in the New Year of 1398, Imperial Prince Yoshihito lost his powerful political supporter and went into the priesthood in May 1398.

His Buddhist name was Tsuchi. He moved to Hagiwara-dono Palace on the northern part of Kyoto in August 1398.

He then moved to Fushimi-dono Palace in December 1399, however it was burnt down (1401) and the Prince moved to Koonin in Saga (Kyoto City). In 1403 the Prince moved to Arisugawa mountain villa (Arisugawa-dono Palace) and named it Arisugawa dono.

Although the Prince had to wander around different places, in June 1409 he moved back to Fushimi, where the Imperial estate of successive Imperial generations was called Fushimi dono.

The Prince's Imperial estate was successively passed to his descendants from generation to generation after that, it became the origin of Fushiminomiya.

He died on December 18, 1416. He was sixty six years old. His posthumous Buddhist name was Daitsuin.

He had many talents in art such as Biwa (a four-stringed Japanese lute), a sho (a wind instrument composed of a mouthpiece and seventeen bamboo pipes of various lengths), waka poems, and established the origin for the Fushiminomiyha family to start music as their family business.

[Original Japanese]