Princess Kosei Fukunaga is the niece of the late Puyi, the Last Emperor of China. She is the only surviving daughter of Prince Pujie (Emperor Puyi’s younger brother and former heir to the state of Manchukuo) and his Japanese wife, Princess Hiro Saga. After the fall of Manchukuo, Princess Kosei Fukunaga was sent to multiple prisons. It traumatised her so much that once she arrived in Japan, she decided never to return to China. As the only surviving daughter of Prince Pujie, Princess Kosei Fukunaga continues to preserve her father’s memory and legacy. Even though she is the daughter of Prince Pujie, she is not the head of the living descendants of the Aisin-Gioro family because she is a female. Princess Kosei Fukunaga is currently eighty-three years old.
On 13 March 1940, Kosei Fukunaga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her original name was Aisin-Gioro Husheng. Her parents were Prince Pujie and Princess Hiro Saga. She had an older sister named Huisheng. She was the niece of Puyi, the Emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo. She was also a cousin of Emperor Hirohito.[1] After she was born, her family moved back to Changchun. The family moved periodically between Japan and China. In December 1944, Prince Pujie, Princess Hiro Saga, and Princess Husheng returned to Changchun. Because Princess Huisheng was enrolled in a Japanese primary school, they left her older sister behind in the care of her aunt.[2]
When the puppet state of Manchukuo fell in 1945, Prince Pujie was captured with Emperor Puyi and was imprisoned by the Soviet Union. Princess Hiro Saga and Princess Husheng were captured with Empress Wanrong and Imperial Concubine Li Yuqin (Emperor Puyi’s fourth wife). They were imprisoned in Changchun. Li Yuqin was allowed to go back home. Then, Princess Hiro Saga and Princess Husheng were sent to multiple prisons.
Princess Hiro Saga, Princess Husheng, and Empress Wanrong were imprisoned in Yanji. Then, Princess Hiro Saga and Princess Husheng were forced to move to Mudanjiang. Princess Hiro Saga felt regret for leaving Empress Wanrong behind, but there was nothing that she could do.[3] Princess Hiro Saga wondered what would happen to Empress Wanrong since there would be no one left to care for her.[4] From Mudanjiang, they went to Kiamusze. Because Princess Hiro Saga was related to the Japanese royal family, she and Princess Husheng were allowed to return to Japan in January 1947.[5] They lived with Princess Hiro Saga’s parents. Because Princess Husheng experienced many hardships in China, she never wanted to return.[6] Instead, she decided to live in Japan for the rest of her life.[7]
Princess Husheng spent her childhood attending elite schools in Japan. In 1957, her older sister, Princess Huisheng, fell in love with a Japanese man named Okubo Budo.[8] However, Princess Hiro Saga refused to let them get married. She believed that since Huisheng was a Manchukuo princess and a descendant of the Qing Dynasty, then she should marry a Chinese man.[9] Because Princess Huisheng could not marry the man she loved, she and Okubo Budo committed a murder-suicide pact on Mount Amagi on 4 December 1957.[10] She was nineteen years old. Princess Huisheng’s death crushed her family’s hearts.[11] Princess Hiro Saga refused to believe that Princess Huisheng was willing to make this murder-suicide pact.[12] Instead, she believed that Princess Huisheng wanted to live but was murdered by her lover against her will.[13]
In November 1960, Prince Pujie was finally released from prison. However, Princess Husheng decided not to accompany her mother to China to see him.[14] Princess Husheng explained, “I was confused about what to do. I was unable to rid my feelings of panic from my youth…I wanted to live in peaceful Japan…I wanted the happiness of an ordinary, conventional life.” [15] Thus, in 1961, Princess Hiro Saga left Japan and returned to China to live with her husband. Princess Husheng stayed in Japan.[16]
In 1968, Princess Husheng married Kenji Fukunaga, the second son of their family friend. Due to Princess Huisheng’s murder-suicide pact, Princess Hiro Saga made no objections to the match.[17] Kenji Fukunaga owned a Kobe factory.[18] The couple had three sons and two daughters. She changed her name from Husheng to Kosei and became a Japanese citizen.
On 28 February 1994, Prince Pujie died. Princess Kosei Fukunaga donated her father’s residence to the government of China.[19] In 2006, Princess Kosei Fukunaga was the focus of a television documentary about Prince Pujie.[20] In 2013, she donated her parents’ letters to Kwansei Gakuin University. In 2018, Princess Kosei Fukunaga attended the 70th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition, where she talked to the Japanese Emperor and Empress about her father’s calligraphy work.[21]
Sources:
Birnbaum, P. (2015). Manchu Princess: Japanese Spy: The Story of Kawashima Yoshiko, the Cross-Dressing Spy who Commanded Her Own Army (Asia Perspectives: History, Society, Culture). NY: Columbia University Press.
iMedia. (n.d.). “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”. Retrieved on 17 November 2022 from https://min.news/en/history/911781be385237aa74a2e3b604b42be3.html.
iNews. (n.d.). “Aisin Gioro Huisheng: Once the “Prince of Manchukuo” that the Japanese hoped for, was shot to death by a suitor at the age of 19″. Retrieved on 17 November 2022 from https://inf.news/en/history/d51a413369e3f77140c7532af67766b7.html.
iNews. (n.d). “The wandering princess Sagaho and Pu Jie have 50 years of love: Pu Jie was born on April 16, 1907”. Retrieved on 17 November 2022 from https://inf.news/en/history/19d6bc9b361f6d4c22bbca3a126f4907.html
The Mainichi. (July 26, 2018). “Imperial Couple view calligraphy works at Mainichi Shodo Exhibition”. Retrieved on 17 November 2022 from https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180726/p2a/00m/0na/026000c.
The Washington Post. (March 1, 1994). “Pu Jie Dies”. Retrieved on 17 November 2022 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/03/01/pu-jie-dies/6dede564-d45c-4ad6-8c38-e75583c924cc/.
[1] Birnbaum, 2015
[2] iNews, n.d., “Aisin Gioro Huisheng: Once the “Prince of Manchukuo” that the Japanese hoped for, was shot to death by a suitor at the age of 19″
[3] iNews, n.d., “The wandering princess Sagaho and Pu Jie have 50 years of love: Pu Jie was born on April 16, 1907”
[4] iNews, n.d., “The wandering princess Sagaho and Pu Jie have 50 years of love: Pu Jie was born on April 16, 1907”
[5] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[6] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[7] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[8] iNews, n.d., “Aisin Gioro Huisheng: Once the “Prince of Manchukuo” that the Japanese hoped for, was shot to death by a suitor at the age of 19″
[9] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[10] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[11] iNews, n.d., “Aisin Gioro Huisheng: Once the “Prince of Manchukuo” that the Japanese hoped for, was shot to death by a suitor at the age of 19″
[12] iNews, n.d., “Aisin Gioro Huisheng: Once the “Prince of Manchukuo” that the Japanese hoped for, was shot to death by a suitor at the age of 19″
[13] iNews, n.d., “Aisin Gioro Huisheng: Once the “Prince of Manchukuo” that the Japanese hoped for, was shot to death by a suitor at the age of 19″
[14] Birnbaum, 2015
[15] Birnbaum, 2015, p. 174
[16] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[17] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[18] The Washington Post, 1 March 1994, “Pu Jie Dies”
[19] iMedia, n.d., “Puyi’s younger brother, Pu Jie, married a Japanese wife. The elder brother’s strong opposition was unsuccessful. What happened to the two daughters?”
[20] Birnbaum, 2015
[21] The Mainichi, 26 July 2018, “Imperial Couple view calligraphy works at Mainichi Shodo Exhibition”
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