| history of use | Kishiro Morikawa was the Consul General of Japan from 1902-1908 and is likely in the photo. Prince Fushimi was welcomed by the Japanese community in Vancouver on June 22, 1907, respectfully sent off by many at the CP Wharf in Vancouver June 23, 1907, in Victoria on June 24, 1907, met with Mr. Yoshimatsu Sabato, a member of the board of directors of the Steveston Japanese Fishermen's Association in Victoria, Mr. Asanosuke Wanibe of the Victoria Japanese Community, and on June 26, 1907 was escorted by the HMNS cruiser Monmouth with a twenty one gun salute on way to Japan on June 26, 1907.
Prince Fushimi (Hiroyasu), cousin of Emperor Meiji was the second Japanese royalty to visit Canada & Vancouver. The first royal visitor was Prince Arisugawa, the Emperor's uncle in 1897. Prince Fushimi was en route home from England where he had been on a special mission for the Emperor. He arrived by train to Vancouver on June 22 to a tumultuous welcome of specially staged fireworks and thousands of well wishers, including a lantern parade led by some 2,000 Japanese residents. Throughout his visit the prince was accompanied by Consul Kishiro Morikawa. In honor of the Prince's visit, Fushimi Lake Provincial park in northern Ontario bears his name.
Prince Hiroyasu entered the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy on 5 April 1886, but resigned in September 1889 and moved to Germany and enrolled in the Naval Academy of the Kaiserliche Marine on 8 April 1892. Promoted to midshipman on March 30, 1893 and to ensign on April 20, 1894, he graduated from the academy on 15 August 1895 and returned to service in the IJN. He spoke fluent German. He then served aboard the cruisers Itsukushima and Matsushima. On December 1, 1897, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and assigned to the battleship Fuji, receiving a promotion to lieutenant on December 27. Promoted to lieutenant-commander on July 29, 1903, he served in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), and sustained wounds aboard the battleship Mikasa in the Battle of the Yellow Sea (August 1904). He later served as executive officer on the cruiser Niitaka, battleship Okinoshima, and cruisers Naniwa and Nisshin, was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite, 4th class, for his services in the Russo-Japanese War, and was promoted to commander on September 28, 1906.
He studied in Great Britain from 1907 to 1910 and upon his return to Japan was promoted to captain on December 1, 1910. He commanded the cruiser Takachiho (1910), and later the Asahi and the battlecruiser Ibuki. Promoted to rear admiral on August 31, 1913, he rose to vice admiral on December 1, 1916 and to full admiral on December 1, 1922. He was a member of the Supreme War Council from 1920 onward. He was a strong supporter of the Fleet Faction within the Navy, pushing for cancellation of the Washington Naval Agreement and the building of a more powerful navy.
Prince Hiroyasu succeeded his father as the twenty-third head of the house of Fushimi in 1923. He was appointed commander of the Sasebo Naval District in 1924. Admiral Prince Fushimi became the chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff on February 2, 1932, replacing Admiral Abo Kiyokazu, and held the post to April 9, 1941.
Prince Fushimi received the largely honorary rank of marshal admiral on May 27, 1932, and the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1934.
While he was Chief of Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service used strategic bombing against Chinese cities including Shanghai and Chongqing. The bombing of Nanjing and Guangzhou, which began on September 22–23, 1937, resulted in widespread international condemnation of Japan and a resolution against Japan by the Far Eastern Advisory Committee of the League of Nations.
As Chief of Staff, he supported the "southward advance" into northern French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies, but expressed reservations about the Tripartite Pact during the September 19, 1940, Imperial Conference.
Hiroyasu Fushimi was awarded the Order of the Golden Kite, 1st class, in 1942. He remained a member of the Supreme War Council throughout the Pacific War, but officially retired from the active list in 1945.
After the war, Fushimi was the honorary president of the Imperial Life Boat Association, the Japan Seamen's Relief Association, the Cancer Research Society, the Naval Club, the Japan-German Society, and the Scientific and Chemical Research Institute.
Like all members of the Imperial family involved in the conduct of the war, Prince Fushimi was exonerated from criminal prosecutions before the Tokyo tribunal by Douglas MacArthur. He died in Tokyo shortly after the end of World War II on August 16, 1946
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