In 1868, when the Meiji Restoration took place, he called himself Shogoinnomiya, and then he returned to secular life and called himself the Imperial Prince Yoshikoto again.
慶応4年（1868年）明治維新に際し、聖護院宮（しょうごいんのみや）を称し、還俗し、再び嘉言親王を称する。