World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePrince Tada was born in Kyoto, Japan as the fourth son of Prince Asahiko of Kuni and Mitsue Harada in 1874. In 1885, he was made the successor to the House of Nashimoto, a cadet branch of the imperial family. In 1886, he adopted the personal name Morimasa. In 1897, he married Itsuko Nabeshima, the second daughter of Marquis Naohiro Nabeshima; they would have two daughters together, Princess Masako and Princess Noriko. He attended the Central Military Preparatory School and the Japanese Army Academy. In 1899, he was made a second lieutenant and was assigned to the 39th Infantry Regiment. Between 1903 and 1904, he studied at the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr at St. Cyr, France. Returning to the 39th Infantry Regiment for the Russo-Japanese War, he was promoted to the rank of captain and saw action. In Aug 1906, he returned to France, and remained there until Jul 1909. He was promoted to the rank of major in 1906, lieutenant colonel in 1908, colonel in 1910, and lieutenant general in command of the 16th Division in Aug 1917. In Nov 1919, he was made a member of the Army General Staff. In 1920, his daughter Princess Masako married Crown Prince Euimin Yi Un of Korea. In Aug 1922, he was promoted to the rank of general. In Aug 1932, he was made a field marshal. He held no major military command during the conflict with China in the 1930s, and was not involved with the February 26 Incident of 1936. In Oct 1937, he was made the chief priest of the Ise Grand Shrine in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan, upon the death of his half brother Prince Taka of Kuni. In the 1940s, through the expanded war, he continued to hold no major military commands. He retired from military service in 1944 at the age of 70. He served as president of the Imperial Association, the honorary president of the Franco-Japanese Society, the Japan Forestry Association, the Japan Agricultural Association, the Imperial Air Association, the Japan Martial Arts Association, and the Italian Society of Japan. In Dec 1945, for his role as the chief priest of Ise Grand Shrine, he was deemed a Class A war criminal by General Douglas MacArthur, and was arrested. Because he was the only member of the imperial family to be arrested for war crimes, some regarded this arrest MacArthur's subtle threat toward the Japanese Emperor, that the imperial family members could still be held accountable, and that the Emperor must be compliant with American-directed political reforms. Prince Morimasa was imprisoned at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan for four months, and then was released without any charges in Apr 1946. In Oct 1947, his princely title was abolished, and he became a commoner. Unlike other former members of the imperial family, however, he was explicitly denied any compensation for the loss of his title and properties. Having lost his Tokyo home from aerial bombing during the war, and having been forced to sell his country side home to pay taxes, he spent his final years in relative poverty. He passed away from a heart attack in Jan 1951. His widow, the former Princess Itsuko, adopted Norihiko, born in 1922 to Morimasa's half brother Prince Taka of Kuni, to carry on the Nashimoto name in 1966.

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