He was appointed as an yuushi (猶子) of, or one of the heirs to, his cousin Emperor Sakuramachi on 12 March 1742, and was proclaimed prince on 4 September 1743.

Five years after coming of age, Sukehito married Princess Nariko (成子内親王), fifth daughter of Emperor Nakamikado in 1749.

In 1789, Kōkaku attempted to bestow the title of retired emperor, or Daijō Tennō, on him, but was objected by the chief senior councillor Matsudaira Sadanobu.

[3] Sukehito died on 1 August 1794, at the age of 61, and was buried in the Imperial Mausoleum of Emperor Kyōkō in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto.

[3] In 1884, 90 years after his death, Marquess Nakayama Tadayasu, maternal grandfather of Emperor Meiji, proposed bestowing a posthumous title upon the late prince.