The Most Famous
NOBLEMEN from Japan
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Noblemen of all time. This list of famous Japanese Noblemen is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Noblemen.
1. Akihito (1933 - )
With an HPI of 79.44, Akihito is the most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 111 different languages on wikipedia.
Akihito (明仁, Japanese: [akiꜜçi̥to]; English: AK-ee-HEE-toh or AHK-; born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei (平成) era, Heisei being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Born in 1933, Akihito is the fifth child and first son of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. During the Second World War, he moved out of Tokyo with his classmates, and remained in Nikkō until 1945. In 1952, his Coming-of-Age ceremony and investiture as crown prince were held, and he began to undertake official duties in his capacity as crown prince. The next year, he made his first journey overseas and represented Japan at the coronation of Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. He completed his university education in 1956. In April 1959, he married Michiko Shōda, a commoner; it was the first imperial wedding to be televised in Japan, drawing about 15 million viewers. The couple has three children: Naruhito, Fumihito, and Sayako. When his father died in January 1989, Akihito succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne and became emperor of Japan, with an enthronement ceremony in 1990. He made efforts to bring the imperial family closer to the Japanese people, and made official visits to all forty-seven prefectures of Japan and to many of the remote islands of Japan. He has a keen interest in natural life and conservation, as well as Japanese and world history. Akihito abdicated in 2019, citing his advanced age and declining health, and assumed the title Emperor Emeritus (上皇, Jōkō, lit. 'Retired Emperor'). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Naruhito, whose era is named Reiwa (令和). At age 90, Akihito is the longest-lived verifiable Japanese emperor in recorded history. During his reign 17 prime ministers served in 25 terms, beginning with Noboru Takeshita and ending with Shinzo Abe.
2. Naruhito (1960 - )
With an HPI of 74.28, Naruhito is the 2nd most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 185 different languages.
Naruhito (徳仁, pronounced [naɾɯꜜçi̥to]; born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession. Naruhito was born in Tokyo during the reign of his grandfather Hirohito as the eldest child of Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko. Emperor Hirohito died in January 1989, at which point Akihito became emperor and Naruhito became the heir apparent. Naruhito was formally invested as crown prince in 1991. He attended Gakushūin schools in Tokyo and later studied history at Gakushuin University and English at Merton College, Oxford. In June 1993, he married diplomat Masako Owada. They have one daughter: Aiko. Continuing his grandfather's and father's boycott over the enshrinement of convicted war criminals, Naruhito has never visited Yasukuni Shrine. He is interested in water policy and water conservation and likes to play the viola. He was an honorary president of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and is a supporter of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
3. Fumihito, Prince Akishino (1965 - )
With an HPI of 59.70, Fumihito, Prince Akishino is the 3rd most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.
Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino (秋篠宮皇嗣文仁親王, Akishino-no-miya Kōshi Fumihito Shinnō, born 30 November 1965, Japanese: [ɸɯmiꜜçi̥to]) is the younger brother and heir presumptive of the Emperor of Japan, Naruhito, and the younger son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino (秋篠宮, Akishino-no-miya) and has headed his own branch of the imperial family. Fumihito has a bachelor's degree in political science from Gakushuin University and a PhD in ornithology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies. In 1990, he married Kiko Kawashima, with whom he has three children: Mako, Kako, and Hisahito. In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince (Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi) in Tokyo. Preceding his investiture as Crown Prince, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture, which was implemented in 1889 and reinforced on the constitution of Japan by the Allies after World War II. However, once Fumihito and Kiko had their son Hisahito in September 2006 he became next in the line of succession following his father. Fumihito's niece and Emperor Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko, remains at present legally ineligible to inherit the throne, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues. As active working members of the imperial family, Fumihito and his wife Kiko's schedule includes attending summits, and organizational and global event meetings. The couple has particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving heads of state and VIPs abroad.
4. Prince Yasuhiko Asaka (1887 - 1981)
With an HPI of 59.53, Prince Yasuhiko Asaka is the 4th most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Prince Yasuhiko Asaka (朝香宮鳩彦王, Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko-ō, 20 October 1887 – 12 April 1981) was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese Imperial Family and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese invasion of China and the Second World War. He was the son-in-law of Emperor Meiji and uncle by marriage of Emperor Hirohito. As the commander of Japanese forces outside Nanjing in December 1937, Asaka presided over the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians in what came to be known as the Nanjing Massacre. After Japan's defeat in World War II, General Douglas MacArthur granted immunity to the country's Imperial Family. As a result, Asaka was never tried for his involvement in the Nanjing Massacre by SCAP authorities. Nonetheless, by 1947, he and his children were stripped of their imperial status. He later converted to Catholicism and died of natural causes at the age of 93.
5. Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu (1905 - 1987)
With an HPI of 55.72, Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu is the 5th most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu (高松宮宣仁親王, Takamatsu-no-miya Nobuhito Shinnō, 3 January 1905 – 3 February 1987) 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 (formerly Arisugawa-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.
6. Kiko, Princess Akishino (1966 - )
With an HPI of 53.17, Kiko, Princess Akishino is the 6th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.
Kiko, Crown Princess Akishino (皇嗣文仁親王妃紀子, Kōshi Fumihito Shinnō-hi Kiko) (born Kiko Kawashima (川嶋紀子, Kawashima Kiko); 11 September 1966), is the wife of Fumihito, Crown Prince of Japan. Her husband is the younger brother and heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito and the second son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. Kiko earned a PhD in humanities from Ochanomizu University. Her marriage to Fumihito in 1990 furthered the trend of Japanese imperial males marrying middle class commoners of academic prominence in earlier and current generations. The couple has three children: Mako, Kako, and Hisahito. Preceding Fumihito and Kiko's investiture as Crown Prince and Princess, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture imposed by World War II allies on the constitution of Japan. However, once Kiko and Fumihito had their son Hisahito in September 2006 he became next in the line of succession following his father. Hisahito's cousin and Emperor Naruhito's only child, Princess Aiko, remains at present legally ineligible to inherit the throne, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues. As active working members of the imperial family, Kiko and Fumihito's schedule includes attending summits, and organizational and global event meetings. The couple has particularly represented the Japanese imperial house in ceremonies involving heads of state and VIPs abroad. Kiko's imperial patronages cluster around medical, science and children's causes.
7. Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (1946 - 2012)
With an HPI of 52.51, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa is the 7th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (寛仁親王, Tomohito Shinnō, 5 January 1946 – 6 June 2012) was a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the eldest son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa. He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito, and was formerly sixth in the line of succession to the Japanese throne and the heir apparent to the princely house of Mikasa-no-miya and the title "Prince Mikasa". Prince Tomohito was the first member of the Imperial House of Japan with a full beard since Emperor Meiji, thus earning him the popular nickname of the "Bearded Prince" (ヒゲの殿下 Hige no Denka). He died of cancer on 6 June 2012, aged 66.
8. Sayako Kuroda (1969 - )
With an HPI of 49.85, Sayako Kuroda is the 8th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 29 different languages.
Sayako Kuroda (黒田 清子, Kuroda Sayako, born 18 April 1969), formerly Sayako, Princess Nori (紀宮清子内親王, Nori-no-miya Sayako Naishinnō), is the youngest child and only daughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, and the younger sister of the current Emperor of Japan, Naruhito. She is an imperial Shinto priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine, currently serving as the Supreme Priestess. Kuroda held the appellation "Nori-no-miya" (Princess Nori), until her marriage to Yoshiki Kuroda on 15 November 2005. As a result of her marriage, she gave up her imperial title and left the Japanese Imperial Family, as required by the Article 12 of the Imperial Household Law, and received a payment of approximately US$ 1 million.
9. Princess Mako of Akishino (1991 - )
With an HPI of 43.72, Princess Mako of Akishino is the 9th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.
Mako Komuro (小室 眞子, Komuro Mako, born 23 October 1991), formerly Princess Mako of Akishino (眞子内親王, Mako Naishinnō), is a Japanese art historian and former member of the Japanese imperial family. She is the eldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, niece of Emperor Naruhito, and granddaughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. After marrying outside the imperial family in October 2021, she gave up her title as required by the Imperial Household Law.
10. Aiko, Princess Toshi (2001 - )
With an HPI of 42.31, Aiko, Princess Toshi is the 10th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.
Aiko, Princess Toshi (敬宮愛子内親王, Toshi-no-miya Aiko Naishinnō, born 1 December 2001) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan. She is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan. Following her birth, the ongoing Japanese imperial succession debate had resulted in some politicians holding a favorable view on rescinding agnatic primogeniture (male-only imperial succession) originally implemented in 1889 and reinforced by the World War II allies on the constitution of Japan. However, once her uncle and the current crown prince Fumihito, Prince Akishino had his son, Hisahito in September 2006, he became next in the line of succession following his father. Aiko remains at present legally ineligible to inherit the throne and she cannot succeed her father, while debate about the possibility of having future empresses regnant continues.
Pantheon has 15 people classified as noblemen born between 1887 and 2006. Of these 15, 12 (80.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living noblemen include Akihito, Naruhito, and Fumihito, Prince Akishino. The most famous deceased noblemen include Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu, and Prince Tomohito of Mikasa.
Living Noblemen
Go to all Rankings
Akihito
1933 - Present
HPI: 79.44
Naruhito
1960 - Present
HPI: 74.28
Fumihito, Prince Akishino
1965 - Present
HPI: 59.70
Kiko, Princess Akishino
1966 - Present
HPI: 53.17
Sayako Kuroda
1969 - Present
HPI: 49.85
Princess Mako of Akishino
1991 - Present
HPI: 43.72
Aiko, Princess Toshi
2001 - Present
HPI: 42.31
Princess Kako of Akishino
1994 - Present
HPI: 40.81
Prince Hisahito of Akishino
2006 - Present
HPI: 38.22
Princess Tsuguko of Takamado
1986 - Present
HPI: 35.73
Princess Akiko of Mikasa
1981 - Present
HPI: 35.49
Ayako Moriya
1990 - Present
HPI: 32.23
Deceased Noblemen
Go to all RankingsPrince Yasuhiko Asaka
1887 - 1981
HPI: 59.53
Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu
1905 - 1987
HPI: 55.72
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa
1946 - 2012
HPI: 52.51
Which Noblemen were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Noblemen since 1700.
