The was the youngest 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.
History It was founded by Prince Naohito, the son of Emperor Higashiyama.
Fearing extinction of the imperial house, Arai Hakuseki proposed that a new branch of the Imperial Family be created. In 1718, Emperor Emeritus Reigen bestowed upon his grandson the title of Kan'in-no-miya and land worth 1000 koku. This was the first new shinnōke formed since the Arisugawa-no-miya lineage in 1625.
The name Kan'in-no-miya is thought to have come from the title of Prince Sadamoto, a son of the Heian-era Emperor Seiwa.
Arai Hakusei's wisdom was soon proved with the second head of the house, Imperial Prince Sukehito. When Emperor Go-Momozono died in 1779, he had only a daughter. Sukehito's younger son was adopted by the previous emperor and ascended the throne as Emperor Kōkaku.
The Kan'in House became extinct upon the death of its 5th head, Prince Kan'in Naruhito, in 1842, but was revived by Emperor Meiji, who assigned the name to Prince Kotohito, 16th son of Prince Fushimi Kuniie (one of the other shinnoke houses).
In 1988 the line became extinct again with the death of his son, Kan'in Sumihito (formerly Kan'in-no-miya Haruhito shinnō), who had no children.
The Kan'in-no-miya name became extinct, but its male-line bloodline survives in the reigning imperial house through Emperor Kōkaku, from whom all subsequent emperors, including the current emperor, descend.
Name Born Succeeded Resigned Died 1 1704 1718 . 1753 2 1733 1753 . 1794 3 1768 1794 . 1818 4 1792 1818 . 1824 5 1818 1828 . 1842 6 1865 1872 . 1945 7 1902 1945 1947 1988
References
Keane, Donald. Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912. Columbia University Press (2005). Lebra, Sugiyama Takie. Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility. University of California Press (1995).