He was adopted by Emperor Komei in 1860 to become a disciple of the head priest who is a member of nobility or Imperial family of Shogo-in Temple, the Cloistered Imperial Prince Katsuhito (雄仁) (later Imperial Prince Shogoinnomiya Yoshikoto).
万延元年（1860年）孝明天皇の養子となり、聖護院門跡雄仁法親王（後の聖護院宮嘉言親王）附弟となる。