The health of Yuriko of Japan, 101 years old, has worsened, as Takeichiro Kuroda, deputy director general of the Imperial House, has reported with concern, detailing that the functioning of the heart, kidneys and other organs is deteriorating. The oldest living princess in the world, great aunt of the current emperorhas been admitted to Saint Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo since March, when she suffered a stroke and pneumonia from which she is still recovering.
© Getty ImagesDespite her advanced age, her last public appearance was not that long ago, three months before suffering the stroke that took her to the hospital. It was on New Year’s when he attended a ceremony at the imperial palace and visited his nephew Akihito of Japan and his wife, Princess Michiko. Although he was still active, in recent years his activity had been reduced precisely due to his health problems. When he turned a century of life, he said in a statement: “I would like to continue spending my days while praying for the happiness of people.”
© Getty ImagesYuriko, great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito, became Princess Mikasa at age 18 following her marriage in 1942 to Prince Takahito, fourth son of Emperor Taisho and his wife Teimei. She came from the Japanese nobility, as dictated by the strict Japanese traditions, and studied at the prestigious Gakushuin girls’ school reserved for high society. With Takahito she had five children: Princess Yakuso, Prince Tomohito, Princess Yoshihito, Prince Katsura, Princess Masako and Prince Norihito. Currently, only Yakuso and Masako live. Both renounced the title of princess when they married, just like what happened recently with Mako from Japan.
© Getty ImagesAlways involved in various charities, such as the Red Cross, she often accompanied her husband on international trips, where she acted as the great asset she was to the Imperial House. She was especially good at maintaining good relations with her hosts on her visits abroad and also helped Prince Mikasa gather useful information about the places they visited that were very useful for preparing speeches. Her husband, as old as she, died in 2016 at the age of 100.
Witness to the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent surrender of Japan in World War II, when Emperor Hirohito had to renounce the divinity of his title when signing the new Constitution drafted by the United States, Princess Yuriko is history alive from Japan. He has also observed for decades how the main problem that threatens the imperial house: the scarcity of men in a house in which the Salic law prevails. With the Chrysanthemum throne banned for women, the line of succession has only three people: the emperor’s brother, Prince Akishino, his son Hisahito, and Prince Hitachi, 87, brother of the former emperor Akihito.