The Most Famous

NOBLEMEN from Japan

This page contains a list of the greatest Japanese Noblemen. The pantheon dataset contains 1,415 Noblemen, 15 of which were born in Japan. This makes Japan the birth place of the 12th most number of Noblemen behind Poland, and Sweden.

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 (b. 1933)

With an HPI of 78.63, Akihito is the most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 113 different languages on wikipedia.

Akihito (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 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 in London. 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. Akihito succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne and became emperor upon his father's death in 1989, 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. He is the current oldest living member of Japanese imperial family, following Yuriko, Princess Mikasa's death on 15 November 2024.

2. Naruhito (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 74.87, Naruhito is the 2nd most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 184 different languages.

Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following his father's abdication on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession. Naruhito is the elder son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. He was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather, Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa), and became heir apparent following his father's accession in 1989. He was formally invested as Crown Prince of Japan 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 Owada Masako. 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. Yodo-dono (1569 - 1615)

With an HPI of 58.57, Yodo-dono is the 3rd most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Yodo-dono (淀殿) or Yodogimi (淀君) (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor Hideyori, she acted as Hideyori's guardian in the restoration of the Toyotomi clan after the fall of the Council of Five Elders, and alongside her son, led the last anti-Tokugawa shogunate resistance in the siege of Osaka. She was the daughter of Oichi and sister of Ohatsu and Oeyo. When her two younger sisters became prominent members linked to the Tokugawa clan, Oichi's three daughters were vital to maintaining a diplomatic relationship between the two most powerful clans of the time, Toyotomi and Tokugawa. Her sister, Oeyo, was the wife of the second shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, and matriarch of the successive shoguns' lineage, thus receiving the political title Omidaidokoro. Due to the attempt to exalt the Tokugawa Shogunate, Yodo-dono was frequently portrayed as a "wicked and wanton" woman who planned the Toyotomis' death. After the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, she took the tonsure, becoming a Buddhist nun and taking the name Daikōin (大広院). She was the founder of the temple Yogen-in (養源院). Her time period being that of large turmoil and overhaul, Yodo-dono had an interest toward both politics and administration. The great wealth and changing fortunes of her family affected Yodo-dono's life as well. Surviving record books from luxury goods merchants provide insight into patterns of patronage and taste amongst the privileged class of women like Yodo-dono and her sisters.

4. Prince Yasuhiko Asaka (1887 - 1981)

With an HPI of 57.15, 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. Fumihito, Prince Akishino (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 56.88, Fumihito, Prince Akishino is the 5th most famous Japanese Nobleman. His biography has been translated into 44 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 heir presumptive to the Japanese throne. He is the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, and the younger son of Emperor Akihito and Empress 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.

6. Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu (1905 - 1987)

With an HPI of 55.86, Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu is the 6th 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.

7. Kiko, Princess Akishino (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 53.53, Kiko, Princess Akishino is the 7th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 38 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.

8. Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (1946 - 2012)

With an HPI of 53.05, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa is the 8th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 20 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.

9. Sayako Kuroda (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 51.71, Sayako Kuroda is the 9th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 35 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.

10. Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu (1911 - 2004)

With an HPI of 50.75, Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu is the 10th most famous Japanese Nobleman. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu (宣仁親王妃喜久子, Nobuhito Shinnōhi Kikuko), born Tokugawa Kikuko (徳川喜久子, 26 December 1911 – 18 December 2004), was a member of the Japanese imperial family. The Princess was married to Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu, the third son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. She was, therefore, a sister-in-law of Emperor Shōwa and an aunt by marriage of the following emperor, currently the Emperor Emeritus. She was mainly known for philanthropic activities, particularly her patronage of cancer research organizations. At the time of her death, Princess Takamatsu was the oldest member of the Imperial Family.

People

Pantheon has 19 people classified as Japanese noblemen born between 1569 and 2006. Of these 19, 14 (73.68%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese noblemen include Akihito, Naruhito, and Fumihito, Prince Akishino. The most famous deceased Japanese noblemen include Yodo-dono, Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, and Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu. As of April 2024, 4 new Japanese noblemen have been added to Pantheon including Yodo-dono, Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu, and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa.