Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu
Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu was the third son of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako) and a younger brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). He became heir to the Takamatsu-no-miya, one of the four shinnōke or branches of the imperial family entitled to inherit the Chrysanthemum throne in default of a direct heir. From the mid-1920s until the end of World War II, Prince Takamatsu pursued a career in the Japanese Imperial Navy, eventually rising to the rank of captain. Following the war, the prince became patron or honorary president of various organizations in the fields of international cultural exchange, the arts, sports, and medicine. He is mainly remembered for his philanthropic activities as a member of the Imperial House of Japan.
Prince Takamatsu in December 1940
Emperor Taishō's four sons in 1921: Hirohito, Takahito, Nobuhito and Yasuhito
1930: Prince and Princess Takamatsu visit Berlin, Germany, during their World Tour
Yoshihito, posthumously honored as Emperor Taishō, was the 123rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. The era he presided over is known as the Taishō era.
Formal portrait, 1912
Emperor Taishō's four sons in 1921: Hirohito, Takahito, Nobuhito and Yasuhito
Emperor Taishō on his way to the opening ceremony of the Imperial Diet in 1917, during World War I
Emperor Taishō in the robes of the Order of the Garter