Princess Sumiko

Princess Sumiko
Head of Katsura-no-miya
Reign	1863–1881
Predecessor	Prince Katsura Misahito
Successor	Prince Warahito
Born	February 22, 1829
Died	October 13, 1881(1881-10-13) (aged 52)
Spouse	Prince Kan'in Naruhito (1840–1842)
Issue	Prince Warahito
House	Imperial House of Japan
Father	Emperor Ninkō
Mother	Kanroji Kiyoko

Princess Sumiko (22 February 1829 – 3 October 1881) was a Japanese princess. She was the head of the Katsura-no-miya from 1863 until 1881.

Life

Sumiko was the daughter of Emperor Ninko and his concubine Kanroji Kiyoko. She was the half-sister of Shikako, Princess Kazu, and Emperor Komei. On May 3, 1840, she married her cousin, Prince Kan'in Naruhito. She was officially made Imperial Princess on October 18, 1842, to pave the way for the birth of her first son. However, Naruhito died two days later. Princess Sumiko remained single until her death.

In 1863, she succeeded to the head of the Katsura-no-miya house in her own right after the eleventh head, Prince Katsura Misahito, her younger half-brother who died in 1836. The Katsura-no-miya house was one of the four shinnōke, branches of the Imperial Family of Japan which were eligible to succeed to the Chrysanthemum Throne in the event that the main line should die out. This was a very unusual position for a woman.