Former 11 imperial houses: Kuninomiya scion recalls childhood and rejects adoption for grandchildren
An 81-year-old member of the former 11 imperial houses, Kuninomiya scion Tomohiro Kuni, spoke in a 60-minute interview on June 29, 2026, about his childhood after leaving the imperial family and said he would tell any grandchild asked to be adopted back into the imperial line to refuse. The interview adds a personal dimension to ongoing debate over a proposal to restore male-line heirs from the former 11 imperial houses through adoption as a way to secure imperial succession.
Former Kuninomiya Member Recounts Exit from Imperial Status
Mr. Kuni said he formally left the imperial household in October 1947 at the age of three under postwar reforms that removed princely status from 11 houses. He recalled moving from the family residence in Tokiwa-matsu, Shibuya, to Nishi-Ochiai in Shinjuku when he entered Gakushuin Primary School in December 1951. He described vivid early memories—catching cicadas and throwing pebbles—yet also noted a gap in personal recollection of his mother, who died shortly before the family’s loss of imperial status.
He said he learned about his family’s former princely identity while at school, in a surprising moment in fourth grade when household staff and classmates explained what “miya” meant. The revelation, he recalled, came with the realization that classmates from other branches of the imperial family were also present at his school, making the family’s past more tangible to a young boy.
School Years and Everyday Life After 1947
Mr. Kuni emphasized that his upbringing after the exit was ordinary in many respects and not governed by special training for royal duties. He said neither his parents nor elders spoke to him about princely responsibilities, and his siblings were addressed by familiar names rather than formal titles in private. He remembered the customary split for New Year’s greetings to the Emperor and Empress—minors on January 3 and adults on January 2—indicating that some ceremonial ties remained even after loss of status.
He also recounted a specific, affectionate memory from childhood: receiving a model airplane as a gift from Empress Kojun at the time of his primary-school graduation. The anecdote underscored a continuing, if informal, connection between former princely families and the imperial household during the postwar decades.
Response to Adoption Proposal from Former 11 Imperial Houses
Against the backdrop of a government and ruling-coalition push to consider adoption of male-line descendants from the former 11 imperial houses as a priority measure, Mr. Kuni expressed clear personal opposition to the idea that his descendants should rejoin the imperial family by adoption. He said, unequivocally, that if a grandchild were approached to become an adopted male-line heir, he would advise them to decline.
His stance highlights a tension in public debate: proposals aimed at securing the imperial line by integrating descendants of the former princely houses confront concerns among some of those descendants about the implications for private life and identity. Mr. Kuni’s remarks add a direct voice from one of the affected families to discussions often dominated by legal, constitutional and political arguments.
Encounters with the Imperial Household After Departure
Though his family lost imperial status, Mr. Kuni recalled occasional encounters with members of the imperial household in later years. He said he met the then-Crown Prince at gatherings where former imperial-line descendants and imperial relatives assembled, and that introductions sometimes prompted curious questions about his identity. He remembered being introduced by his brother on at least one occasion when an elder asked who he was.
Such interactions, he suggested, were episodic and personal rather than institutional, reflecting how social and familial ties persisted in informal ways even as formal status changed under the postwar order.
What Mr. Kuni’s Perspective Adds to the Law Revision Debate
Mr. Kuni’s interview provides first-person testimony from one who experienced the 1947 removal of princely status and the decades that followed. His personal history—leaving the imperial household as a small child, living a largely ordinary life thereafter, and choosing to counsel family members against returning to imperial status by adoption—illustrates the human stakes behind policy choices on imperial succession.
As lawmakers weigh whether to amend the Imperial Household Law to allow adoption from the former 11 imperial houses or pursue other measures to stabilize succession, voices like Mr. Kuni’s may influence public understanding of what restoration would mean for surviving descendants. His remarks underscore that any legal change touching the imperial line carries complex consequences for identity, privacy and the lives of individuals and families close to the monarchy.
The debate over how best to ensure a sustainable succession continues in political and public arenas, and Mr. Kuni’s interview is likely to prompt renewed attention to the preferences of those who would be directly affected by measures to bring former princely-line descendants back into the imperial household.
