Princess Deokhye

Princess Deokhye of Korea (Japanese: 徳恵姫, Tokue-hime; 25 May 1912 – 21 April 1989) was the last princess of the Korean royal family.

She was born on 25 May 1912, at Changdeok Palace, in Seoul, as the youngest daughter of Emperor Gojong from his concubine, then known as Yang Gwi-in.

After her birth, Gojong bestowed the royal title Boknyeong on Lady Yang.

Yi Deokhye was born as the daughter of Yang Gwiin (later Lady Boknyeong) and the then-60-year-old Emperor Emeritus Gojong on 25 May 1912, nearly two years after the Japanese annexation of Korea.

Immediately after birth, she was called Agi (아기, 阿只, meaning "baby") and then named Deokhye.

Her mother was a low-ranking court lady working in the kitchen of Deoksugung.

Gojong had 16 children with his 10 wives, but Deokhye was his first daughter; his four other daughters were not counted as they all died under the age of one.

Gojong was delighted with the birth of his first daughter and raised her with meticulous love.

In 1916, he established the Deoksugung Kindergarten dedicated to her, where Deokhye would attend.

However, apart from her father, because she didn't have an official title, she was ignored and treated like she did not exist.

Later, she was nicknamed "Boknyeong-dang".

Deokhye was not formally recognized as a princess by Japan until 1917, because she was not the daughter of a Queen.

In 1917, her name was formally entered into the Imperial Family's registry.

Her father loved her greatly and established the Deoksugung Kindergarten for her in Junmyungdang (준명당), Hamnyeong Hall.

Girls her age from noble families attended the kindergarten.

In South Korea, she is called Deokhye Ongju, not Gongju.

Gongju refers to the daughters of the Queen, and Ongju refers to the daughters of concubines.

In 1917, her father persuaded Terauchi Masatake, the then-ruling Governor-General of Korea, to enter her name into the registry of the Imperial Family, offering her legitimacy and granting her the title of princess.

In 1919, Emperor Gojong planned a secret engagement between Princess Deokhye and Kim Jang-han, the nephew of Kim Hwang-jin, a court chamberlain.

He had sought to protect his daughter through it, but the engagement failed due to Japan's intervention and Kim Hwang-jin was not permitted to enter Deoksu Palace again.

Emperor Gojong died suddenly on 21 January 1919.

In 1921, Princess Deokhye started going to Hinodae Elementary School, in Seoul.

In 1925, the Princess was taken to Japan under the pretense of continuing her studies.

Like her brothers, she attended the Gakushuin, where Yukika Sohma was among her schoolmates.

In Japan she was known as Princess Tokue (徳恵姫, Tokue-hime).

According to Yukika, she was untalkative and struggled with exercising.

Upon the news of her mother's death in 1929, Deokhye was finally given permission to visit Korea temporarily, in order to attend the funeral.

However, she was not allowed to wear the proper clothing.

In the spring of 1930, upon the onset of a psychological condition (manifested by sleepwalking), she moved to King Yi's Palace, the Tokyo house of her brother, Crown Prince Eun.

During this period, she often forgot to eat and drink.

Her physician diagnosed her illness as precocious dementia (today called schizophrenia), but by the following year, her condition seemed to have improved.

This may be attributed to her upbringing.

The marriage had in fact been decided in 1930.

Her brother had protested against it, and it had been postponed because of her condition, but when she recovered, she was immediately given instructions that the wedding was to take place.

In May 1931, after "matchmaking" by Empress Teimei, the consort of Emperor Taishō of Japan, Princess Deokhye married Count Sō Takeyuki (武志; 1908–1985), a Japanese aristocrat.

She gave birth to a daughter, Masae (正惠), or Jeonghye (정혜) in Korea, on 14 August 1932.

In 1933, Deokhye was again experiencing mental illness, and after this, she spent many years in various mental health clinics.

With the defeat of Japan in World War II, Korea once again became independent and her husband lost his noble title, as the Japanese peerage was abolished.

Her daughter, Masae, graduated from Waseda University's Department of Literature and met Suzuki Noboru, whom she married in 1955.

Her son-in-law would eventually take on her husband’s last name as the heir to the family.