Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, an aunt of Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan and great-aunt of the current Emperor Naruhito, will undergo cataract surgery on her right eye today at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, according to the Imperial Household Agency. She will need to remain in hospital for several days.
Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, was born Yuriko Takagi on 4 June 1923. She married Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei in 1941. She is currently the oldest member of the Imperial Family. Her husband passed away at the age of 100 in October 2016.
She and her husband had five children: the former Princess Yasuko of Mikasa, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (1946-2012), Yoshihito, Prince Katsura (1948-2014), the former Princess Masako of Mikasa, and Norihito, Prince Takamado (1954-2002). They also have nine grandchildren, including Princess Ayako of Takamado who married a commoner in 2018 and gave up her imperial title. Ayako gave birth to a son in 2019, who is Yuriko’s fifth great-grandchild.
The 96-year-old Princess still attends some events of the Imperial Family. She was hospitalised in early 2019 with influenza, shortly after she took part in the New Year’s greeting, but she made a full recovery after a week in the hospital. She had received the flu vaccination a few weeks before.
