101-year-old Japan’s Yuriko’s health has deteriorated, as Deputy Director General of the Imperial House Takichiro Kuroda reports with concern, detailing that the function of the heart, kidneys and other organs is deteriorating. The world’s oldest living princess, the great-aunt of the current emperor, has been hospitalized at St Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo since March, when she suffered a stroke and pneumonia from which she is still recovering.
© Getty ImagesDespite his advanced age, his last public appearance was not long ago, three months before the stroke that landed him in hospital. At New Year he attended a ceremony at the Imperial Palace and visited his nephew Akihito and his wife Princess Michiko of Japan. Although he was still active, in recent years his activity had declined precisely because of his health problems. When he turned a century of life, he said in a statement: “I want to spend my days praying for the happiness of people.”
© Getty ImagesEmperor Naruhito’s aunt Yuriko became Princess Mikasa at the age of 18 after her marriage to Prince Takahito, fourth son of Emperor Taisho and his wife Teimei, in 1942. She comes from Japanese aristocracy, as dictated by strict Japanese traditions, and attended Gokushuin Girls’ School, reserved for high society. She had five children with Takahito: Princess Yakuso, Prince Tomohito, Princess Yoshihito, Prince Katsura, Princess Masako, and Prince Norihito. Currently, only Yakuso and Masako live. Both gave up the title of princess when they married, as happened recently with Japan’s Mako.
© Getty ImagesAlways involved in various charities, such as the Red Cross, she often accompanied her husband on international trips, where she acted as a great asset to the Imperial House. He was particularly good at maintaining good relations with his hosts on his foreign trips and helped Prince Mikasa gather useful information about the places they visited, which was very useful for preparing speeches. Her husband, the same age as her, died in 2016 at the age of 100.
Witness the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan’s subsequent surrender in World War II, when Emperor Hirohito had to renounce the divinity of his title while signing the new constitution drafted by the United States, Princess Yuriko is living history from Japan. He observed over the decades how the main problem that threatened the imperial house evolved: the lack of men in houses where Salic law prevailed. Because the Chrysanthemum throne is forbidden to women, there are only three people in the line of succession: the emperor’s brother, Prince Akishino, his son Hisahito, and former emperor Akihito’s brother Prince Hitachi, 87.
