Setsuko, Princess Chichibu – “An average, ordinary girl” (Part one)

Setsuko Matsudaira was born on 9 September 1909 as the daughter of Tsuneo Matsudaira and Nobuko Nabeshima. The future Princess was born in Walton-on-Thames, England, as her father was an attaché to the Japanese embassy in London.

Setsuko’s family was closely related to several prestigious families in Japan, but she was officially considered a commoner. Setsuko’s aunt, Itsuko Nashimoto, married Prince Morimasa Nashimoto in 1900. Eight months after her birth, the family returned to Japan. By the age of four, Setsuko was enrolled in a Japanese kindergarten in Beijing, China. They were in China because of her father’s job. After kindergarten, she enrolled in a primary school in Japanese Concession in Tientsin, China. By 1918, Setsuko and her family were back in Japan, where she enrolled in the Peeresses’ School.

In 1923, the Great Kantō Earthquake took place. Setsuko wrote in her memoirs, “On the day of the earthquake, I was in my room doing my homework. I heard a roar that seemed to be coming up from the bowels of the earth, and suddenly the room started shaking up and down and sideways. I was thrown out of my chair and rolled about, and remembering being taught to get under a table in an earthquake, I grabbed the legs of my desk and rolled under it. As I did so, the house started to collapse. I wasn’t scared so much as in a state of shock, so much so that I could not even cry out for help, but simply waited until somebody came and rescued me and took me outside. I was in such a daze I could scarcely think.”¹ Over 100,000 lives were lost. Setsuko fled to her uncle Prince Nashimoto’s palace, where she was joined by her cousins, Masako (Yi Bangja), who was married to Crown Prince Euimin of Korea, and Princess Noriko.

In 1924, Setsuko’s father was appointed Ambassador to the United States, and in February 1925, shortly before Setsuko set out for Washington, she met her future husband for the first time. She had been invited to the palace by Empress Teimei. She wrote in her memoirs, “The Empress received us warmly, and complimented us on our apparel. […] My first impression of His Highness the Prince was the sparkle of his glasses and his fine, tall figure.”²

A second meeting came by chance as they waited out a storm before sailing to the United States. To pass the time, Setsuko and her father headed to Nagaoka by train, and coincidentally, Prince Chichibu was in the same carriage. Setsuko wrote, “His Highness was in uniform of an infantry cadet and was accompanied by an aide. My father went up to pay his respects, with my sister and me following behind. The Prince acknowledged our rather stiff bows with a slight nod and asked where we were going. I think my father explained about our ship being delayed, but I do not remember anything else about the meeting at all. I was so happy to be going on a journey with my father that it must have absorbed all my attention.” ³

On 17 February, they were finally able to depart Japan. The ship headed to San Francisco, where it arrived on time. They then spent eight days on a train and reached Washington on 11 March. Setsuko did not speak English, as she had chosen French as her foreign language in Japan. In September, she enrolled in the Friends School, a private high school. Setsuko carried her dictionary with her everywhere as she navigated the new language. Of her time there, she later wrote, “When I discovered what a happy, cheerful atmosphere pervaded friendships and studies at the Friends School, I began to enjoy it thoroughly, and look back with nothing but nostalgia at the happy days I spent there.”⁴ She added, “Those were truly happy, carefree days for me.”⁵ She spent three years at the school.

On 25 December 1926, Emperor Taishō (Yoshito) died at the age of 47. Far away in Washington, the family nevertheless went into mourning. During this time, Setsuko saw her future husband again. Prince Chichibu, who had been studying in London, was coming to Washington and would be staying overnight at the embassy. Following the Emperor’s death, Prince Chichibu’s brother Hirohito had become Emperor, and he was now first in the line of succession. The Prince was given the use of the second floor of the embassy, while Setsuko’s family moved up to the third. Setsuko and her sister were sent to serve the Prince refreshments. He enquired after her schooling, and they spoke briefly. After a few days, the Prince continued his journey to Japan.

A visit in October 1927 would change Setsuko’s life. Count Kabayama arrived with an offer of marriage from the dowager empress in the name of her son, Prince Chichibu. Setsuko later wrote, “I was overwhelmed. I was speechless. My head went quite blank, and I sat there stiff and tense, like a stone.”⁶ Setsuko learned that he had made the offer to her parents before, who had refused him. Count Kabayama told her the reasons for their initial refusal. She wrote, “My father had said that while he felt greatly honoured, he felt unworthy and that it was his duty as Her Majesty’s loyal subject to decline the offer.”⁷ Her mother had said, “Setsuko is just an average, ordinary girl, quite natural and unrestrained, who has never been taught any of the refinements that would prepare her for life at court.”⁸ Nevertheless, the empress dowager had her sights set on Setsuko, which is why the count had returned to Washington.

Her parents finally said, “As parents of a girl who is not qualified to become the consort of the heir to the throne, propriety obliged us to decline the offer, but if Her Majesty’s heart is so set upon it, it would surely be discourteous on our part to continue to refuse.”⁹

Part two coming soon.

1. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.13
2. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.23
3. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.24
4. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.33
5. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.34
6. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.58
7. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.59
8. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.59
9. The silver drum: a Japanese imperial memoir by Princess Chichibu p.60