Hiro Saga – China’s only Japanese Princess (Part two)

Hiro Saga was the only Chinese Princess from Japan. She was the second wife of Prince Pujie (Emperor Puyi’s younger brother and heir to the puppet state of Manchukuo). In my last article, I have discussed how Princess Hiro Saga was separated from her husband. She would not reunite with him for sixteen years. During those sixteen years, Princess Hiro Saga would experience many sorrows. This article explores Princess Hiro Saga’s relationships with her daughters. One of her daughters would come to a tragic end.

Princess Hiro Saga and Princess Husheng accompanied Empress Wanrong to Yanji. Then, they were forced to leave Empress Wanrong behind and move to Mudanjiang. Princess Hiro Saga felt regret that she had to leave the Empress behind, but there was nothing that she could do.^[1] She also wondered what would happen to Empress Wanrong since there would be no one to care for her.^[2] Later, they were transferred from Mudanjiang to Kiamusze. In January 1947, Princess Hiro Saga and Princess Husheng were finally permitted to return to Japan because they were related to the Japanese royal family.^[3] They lived with her parents as she waited for news about Prince Pujie’s whereabouts.

Princess Hiro Saga became a calligraphy teacher at a prestigious private school.^[4] She enrolled her daughters in private schools. She was very strict with her daughters.^[5] She reminded them that they were Manchukuo princesses and descendants of the imperial Qing Dynasty.^[6] She always told them that they were Chinese and not Japanese.^[7] Therefore, they had to continue learning the Chinese language.^[8] She made it clear to them that they must marry Chinese men.^[9] In 1955, Princess Hiro Saga and her daughters were finally in contact with Prince Pujie, who was imprisoned in China.^[10] They continued to stay in contact through letters.^[11]

In 1957, Princess Huisheng fell in love with a Japanese man named Okubo Budo.^[12] However, Princess Hiro Saga refused to let them get married because the man was Japanese and not Chinese.^[13] Princess Hiro Saga’s objections prevented her daughter from marrying the man she loved.^[14] On 4 December 1957, Princess Huisheng and Okubo Budo committed a murder-suicide pact on Mount Amagi.^[15] She was nineteen years old. Princess Huisheng’s death crushed her mother’s heart.^[16] Princess Hiro Saga refused to believe that her daughter was willing to be in a murder-suicide pact.^[17] Instead, she believed that Princess Huisheng was murdered by her lover against her will.^[18]

In November 1960, Prince Pujie was finally released from prison. In 1961, Princess Hiro Saga left Princess Husheng behind in Japan and went to China.^[19] In Beijing, she was finally reunited with Prince Pujie. For the rest of their lives, she stayed with him in China.^[20] She even became a Chinese citizen.^[21] She only made two trips to Japan after Prince Pujie’s release.^[22]

In 1968, Princess Husheng fell in love with a Japanese man named Kenji Fukunaga. Because of what happened to Princess Huisheng, Princess Hiro Saga made no objections to the match.^[23] Princess Husheng and Kenji Fukunaga had three sons and two daughters. Princess Husheng later became a Japanese citizen. She also changed her first name to Kosei.

On 20 June 1987, Princess Hiro Saga died of illness in a Beijing hospital. She was seventy-three years old. Her husband, Prince Pujie, died on 28 February 1994. Both of their remains were cremated.^[24] Half of their ashes are in Beijing, and the other half is in Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan.^[25]

Princess Hiro Saga married Prince Pujie for political purposes. However, it became a very strong and loving relationship. Princess Hiro Saga was very devoted to Prince Pujie and to China. However, she was strict with her daughters and pressured them to marry Chinese men. Because of her stubbornness, she lost one of her daughters. Princess Hiro Saga learned from her mistake and was able to spend the rest of her life in peace with Prince Pujie. Even though Princess Hiro Saga was Japanese, she was truly a daughter of China.

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.

DayDayNews. (June 21, 2020). “She has the blood of the Japanese imperial family, but she resolutely married a Chinese to become a Chinese citizen and never taught her children to speak Japanese”. Retrieved on 29 November 2022 from https://daydaynews.cc/en/history/amp/629191.html.

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 29 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 29 November 2022 from https://inf.news/en/history/d51a413369e3f77140c7532af67766b7.html.

iNews. (n.d.). “Saga Hiroshi: The only Japanese princess in China, who became Chinese nationality in his later years, and her daughters are not allowed to marry Japanese.”. Retrieved on 29 November 2022 from https://inf.news/en/history/0240962fed838fc76ed94d741e719544.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 29 November 2022 from https://inf.news/en/history/19d6bc9b361f6d4c22bbca3a126f4907.html.