The ōke (王家 literally Princely Houses?),Also call Old Imperial Family(旧皇族) were branches of the Japanese Imperial Family created from branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house. All but one of the ōke were formed by the descendants of Prince Fushimi Kuniye. The ōke were stripped of their membership in the Imperial Family by the American Occupation Authorities in October 1947, as part of the abolition of collateral imperial houses. After that point, only the immediate family of Hirohito and those of his three brothers retained membership in the Imperial Family. However, unofficial heads of these collateral families still exist for most and are listed herein.
In recent years, conservatives have proposed to reinstate several of the former imperial branches or else to allow the imperial family to adopt male members of the former princely houses, as a solution to the Japanese succession controversy.
The ōke were, in order of founding:
Unless otherwise stated, all princes listed herein are the sons of their predecessor.
The Nashimoto-no-miya house was formed by Prince Moriosa, son of Prince Fushimi Sadayoshi (father of Prince Fushimi Kuniye)
The Kuni-no-miya house was formed by Prince Asahiko, fourth son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye
The Yamashina-no-miya house was formed by Prince Akira, eldest son of Prince Fushimi Kuniye.