Yuriko, Prinzessin Mikasa

Vorlage:Japanese Imperial Family

Vorlage:Nihongo, born Vorlage:Nihongo on 4 June 1923, is a member of the Imperial House of Japan as the widow of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. The Princess is the last surviving paternal aunt of the present emperor, Akihito, and currently is the oldest member of the Imperial Family, and the only living member who was born in the Taishō period during the reign of her father-in-law.

Biography

Princess Mikasa was born on 4 June 1923 in Tokyo as Yuriko Takagi. She is the second daughter of Viscount Masanari Takagi (1894–1948) and the Hon. Kuniko Irie (1901–1988). Her father was a member of the Takagi clan, formerly lords of the small feudal domain of Tan'an; through her father, she is a great-great-granddaughter of Hotta Masayoshi, a prominent rōjū, or shōgunal minister, during the Bakumatsu period. Her mother was descended from the noble Yanagihara clan, and was a second cousin of the Shōwa Emperor. Yuriko graduated from Gakushuin Women's Academy in 1941.

Marriage

On 29 March 1941, Yuriko's engagement to her second cousin once removed, Takahito, Prince Mikasa, was announced. The engagement ceremony was held on 3 October 1941, and the wedding ceremony took place on 22 October 1941. Prince and Princess Mikasa were married for 75 years, until Prince Mikasa's death in October 2016. Princess Mikasa frequently visited her husband who was hospitalized during his final months. On 22 October 2016, they celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in his hospital room. Prince Mikasa died on 27 October 2016, with Princess Yuriko at his side. The Princess hosted her husband's funeral ceremony as the chief mourner.

The Prince and Princess had five children, of whom two are still living. In addition to their five children, they had nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren as of 2015. The couple's two daughters left the Imperial Family upon marriage. All of their sons predeceased them.

Children

Princess Yuriko and her three eldest children

• Vorlage:Nihongo (formerly Vorlage:Nihongo; married on 16 December 1966 to Tadateru Konoe, younger brother of former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and adopted grandson (and heir) of former Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, currently President of the Japanese Red Cross Society; has a son, Tadahiro, who has three children.
• Vorlage:Nihongo; heir apparent; married on 7 November 1980 to Nobuko Asō (born 9 April 1955), third daughter of Takakichi Asō, chairman of Aso Cement Co., and his wife, Kazuko, the daughter of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida; had two daughters.
• Vorlage:Nihongo; created Katsura-no-miya on 1 January 1988.
• Vorlage:Nihongo (formerly Vorlage:Nihongo; married on 14 October 1983 to Sōshitsu Sen (born 7 June 1956), the elder son of Sōshitsu Sen XV, and currently the sixteenth hereditary grand master (iemoto) of the Urasenke Japanese tea ceremony School; and has two sons, Akifumi and Takafumi, and a daughter, Makiko.
• Vorlage:Nihongo; created Takamado-no-miya on 1 December 1984; married on 6 December 1984 to Hisako Tottori (born 10 July 1953), eldest daughter of Shigejiro Tottori, former President, Mitsui & Co. in France; and had three daughters.

Public service

Princess Mikasa is honorary president of various charitable organisations, especially those concerned with the preservation of traditional Japanese culture. She also plays an active role in the Japanese Red Cross Society.

In 1948, the Princess became President of the Imperial Gift Foundation Boshi-Aiiku-kai, a position that she resigned from in September 2010. She has participated on several formal occasions in Tokyo and other parts of Japan and she associates with charities that are concerned with mother and child health.

Titles and styles

Vorlage:Infobox hrhstyles Born as a daughter of Viscount Masanari Takagi, she was styled as The Honourable Yuriko Takagi. After her marriage, she is styled as Her Imperial Highness The Princess Mikasa.

Honours

National honours

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
• Dame of the Decoration of the Red Cross
• Recipient of the Red Cross Medal

Foreign honours

• Vorlage:Flagicon Empire of Iran: Member of the Order of the Pleiades, 2nd Class
• Vorlage:Flagicon Empire of Iran: Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (14 October 1971)

Honorary positions

• Reserve Member of the Imperial House Council.
• Honorary Vice-President of the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Marriage		Issue
Princess Yasuko of Mikasa	26 April 1944		16 December 1966	Tadateru Konoe	Tadahiro Konoe
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa	5 January 1946	6 June 2012	7 November 1980	Nobuko Asō	Princess Akiko of Mikasa Princess Yōko of Mikasa
Yoshihito, Prince Katsura	11 February 1948	8 June 2014
Princess Masako of Mikasa	23 October 1951		14 October 1983	Soshitsu Sen	Akifumi Sen Takafumi Sen Makiko Sen
Norihito, Prince Takamado	29 December 1954	21 November 2002	6 December 1984	Hisako Tottori	Princess Tsuguko of Takamado Princess Noriko of Takamado Princess Ayako of Takamado

Ancestry

16. Takagi NN

8. Takagi Mamoru

4. Viscount Takagi Masayoshi, 13th Lord of Tan'an (1853–1920)

2. Viscount Takagi Masanari (1894–1948)

20. Ōkōchi Masakata, 6th Lord of Ōtaki (1794–1832)

10. Matsudaira Terutoshi, 9th Lord of Takasaki (1827–1860)

21. Akashi NN

5. Matsudaira Saneko (1858–1927)

22. Hotta Masayoshi, 5th Lord of Sakura (1810–1864)

11. Hotta Kazu (1831–1888)

23. Hirata NN

1. Yuriko, Princess Mikasa

24. Reizei Tametake (1802–1845)

12. Reizei Tametada (1824–1885)

25. Bukkōji Matsuko (d. 1873)

6. Viscount Irie Tamemori (1868–1936)

26. Yanagihara Takamitsu (1793–1851)

13. Lady Yanagihara Ryōko (1824–1909)

27. Lady Ōgimachisanjō Tomiko (1797–1859)

3. Hon. Irie Kuniko (1901–1988)

28. Yanagihara Mitsunaru (1818–1885)

14. Count Yanagihara Sakimitsu (1850–1894)

29. Lady Hasegawa Utano (1832–1891)

7. Lady Yanagihara Nobuko (1876–1953)

30. Marquess Date Munenari, 8th Lord of Uwajima (1818–1892)

15. Lady Date Hatsune (1854–1936)

31. Nabeshima Mashiko (1808–1866)

External links

• Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Mikasa and their family at the Imperial Household Agency website
• Japan Red Cross Society | At a glance

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