Early Life
The future Princess was born in Tokyo on 26 December 1911, as Tokugawa Kikuko. She was the second daughter of Tokugawa Yoshihisa (2 September 1884 - 22 January 1922) (peer) and his wife Princess Mieko of Arisugawa (14 February 1891 - 25 April 1933). Her paternal grandfather was Tokugawa Yoshinobu, Japan's last shogun. Her maternal grandfather, Prince Arisugawa Takehito, was the seventh head of the Arisugawa-no-miya, one of the four shinnÅke or collateral branches of the Imperial Family during the Edo period entitled to provide a successor to the throne in default of a direct heir. Lady Tokugawa Kikuko received her primary and secondary education at the then-girls' department of the Gakushuin. At age eighteen, she became engaged to Prince Takamastu, who was then third-in-line to the Chrysanthemum throne.
Read more about this topic: Princess Takamatsu
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)