Princess Yuriko, the oldest member of the Imperial Family today, celebrated her 4th birthday on the 100th.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, Yuriko lives in good health at her residence in the Akasaka Imperial Site in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and in the morning she does about 15 minutes of exercise such as gymnastics for TV programs for her health.

Also, when the weather is nice, you can take a walk around the Akasaka Imperial Site in a wheelchair and enjoy the nature of the four seasons.

Yuriko is the second member of the Imperial Family since the Meiji Era to reach the age of 100, following her husband, Prince Mikasa, who died seven years ago at the age of 7.

Yuriko "Praying for the happiness of people"

Yuriko expressed her feelings in writing on the occasion of her birthday.

"More than 18 years have passed since I entered the palace family at the age of 80, and I am now celebrating the milestone of 100 years old. I would like to continue to pray for the happiness of people and spend my days in the future."

Full text of your feelings

More than 18 years have passed since I entered the palace family at the age of 80, and I am now celebrating my 100th birthday.

After getting married, I spent my days supporting the Imperial Palace while fulfilling my official duties as a member of the Imperial Family.

Even under these circumstances, I wanted to keep a record that would be a memory of my family, so I made a photo album so that I could see the progress of each family member, and kept a childcare log for my five children.

When I was raising my children, Japan society as a whole was still in a difficult time, so I remember with deep gratitude that many people, including Mr. Miya, always supported me.

Currently, I am very much looking forward to the growth of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

I would like to continue to pray for the happiness of people every day.

Who is Princess Yuriko Mikasa?

Princess Mikasa's Yuriko was born on June 12, Taisho 6, as the second daughter of Takagi Masatoku, who was a viscount at the time.

In Showa 4, she graduated from the main course of the Women's Gakushuin, and in October of that year, at the age of 16, she married Emperor Showa's younger brother, Prince Mikasa.

He and Mikasa-no-miya had three sons and two daughters, including Prince Hirohito Mikasa, Katsura-no-miya, and Prince Takamado, known as "His Highness the Beard".

During the war, his house was burned down by air raids, and he lived in an air defense system, and after the war, when Mr. Mikasa-no-miya began studying Western history as a research student at the University of Tokyo, he was supported by transcribing notes and organizing materials.

In Showa 3, he became the president of the "Maternal and Child Love Association", and for more than 2 years until his retirement in Heisei 23, he devoted himself to improving maternal and child health, and also served as honorary vice president of the Japan Red Cross Society.

He also visited European and Middle Eastern countries with Mr. Mikasa, and worked for international goodwill.

Yuriko is still participating in public events, and in January this year, she attended the New Year celebration ceremony and the New Year's general pilgrimage, and appeared to be in good spirits.

In addition, Prince Takamado's third daughter and grandson, Ayako Moriya, is blessed with eight great-grandchildren, and is looking forward to growing up.

Grandson Akiko: "As a member of the royal family and as a human being, guidelines"

On the occasion of Princess Mikasa's 100th birthday, her grandson, Akiko Mikasa, gave an interview to NHK on the 26th of last month.

Q.How has Yuriko been doing lately?

A.You read books, magazines, crosswords, jigsaws, and enjoy having fun at your desk.

During the beautiful cherry blossom season, you can drive to see it.

He also likes baseball, so I heard that he watched the WBC until late this year.

Q.Last year, your biography of Mr. Mikasa was published.

A.At the request of Her Imperial Highness (Yuriko), a little over a year after Her Imperial Highness (Prince Mikasa) went into hiding, but she said that she wanted to compile a biography of Her Imperial Highness.

I was also on the path of historical research, so I told her at that time that I wanted Akiko to help.

I strongly felt the strong feelings of Her Imperial Highness the Princess, and I had heard that she wanted to leave her footprints in a proper form, so I felt that this must be given shape at all costs, and I felt that I had desperately put it together for the past few years.

Q.Akiko, in your biography, you listened to Yuriko's oral history.

A.When it comes to oral stories, I think there are many cases where documents are neatly cleaned and put together in a form that is not miscellaneous, but since my grandson and my aunt (Yasuko Konkan) were also present, I hope that the usual conversations and atmosphere of the Mikasa-no-miya family can be properly conveyed.

I hope that this will be conveyed to everyone who reads it, so I have summarized it by trying not to omit unnecessary parts as much as possible.

Her Imperial Highness usually seems to enjoy talking to us, so there was a lot of laughter in the interview.

If we judge it based on our modern values, for example, if Her Imperial Highness says, "Please copy this by tomorrow morning" in the middle of the night, and Her Imperial Highness will copy the notebook, it may be conveyed very much like the Princess Kanpaku, but Her Imperial Highness is really happy about it, I am doing it with the feeling that I am happy to support His Imperial Highness, so I edited it with the hope that such things could be properly conveyed as an atmosphere.

Q.In your biography, you told an episode during the war of Mikasa-sama when Yuriko was a soldier.

A.I think it was six or seven years ago that I heard directly from Her Imperial Highness.

When I visited the Mikasa-no-miya family's villa in Karuizawa, it was the anniversary of the end of the war, and Her Imperial Highness suddenly said, "It was very hot on the day of the end of the war."

"The day before the end of the war, a young officer came and argued with His Highness that the war should be stopped, and the atmosphere was very tense, as if he thought that pistols might really fly around."

It was at that time that Her Imperial Highness realized for the first time that this war was a part of the history of Japan and a part of her own history.

The young officer was a very talented person in the same class as His Imperial Highness, and although we had a quarrel and parted ways, he told His Imperial Highness's military attaché that he should not go up to the Imperial Palace today, and left.

There was a plan for the young officers to take over the Tama Sound Board, so His Imperial Highness was careful not to get involved, but Her Imperial Highness told me at the time, "No matter how different our opinions were, you cared very much about the palace as a 'cherry blossom of the same time.'"

It was very exciting.

"Cherry blossoms of synchronization" was a word that I often heard, but it is rare to really hear about "cherry blossoms of synchronization", so when I heard such stories, when His Imperial Highness was alive, His Imperial Highness himself did not feel that he wanted to talk about the war so actively. I had hardly ever visited her directly, so when I heard from Her Imperial Highness after Her Imperial Highness went into hiding, I thought that I would have liked to have heard a little more from Her Imperial Highness.

Q.What is the relationship between Mikasa-sama and Yuriko?

A.I think again that there really could have been no other combination.

Empress Sadaaki chose Her Imperial Highness as Her Imperial Highness, but I think she was very prescient.

Her Imperial Highness often says, "Her Imperial Highness was a very advanced person who made various decisions and moved forward, so I think that my presence by your side interfered with your work and what you wanted to do." It is not that Her Imperial Highness was neglected, but that Her Imperial Highness is a person who moves forward so much, and I think that it is because Her Imperial Highness the Princess supported Her Imperial Highness in such a gentle and slow manner that Her Imperial Highness was there that Her Imperial Highness was there."

Q.What is the role of Prince Mikasa and Yuriko in the Imperial Family?

A.During the war, as a soldier went to various places, His Imperial Highness inevitably stood upright and bowed their heads and said, "There was no human-like contact before the war."

The fact that the Imperial Family and the people danced hand in hand through activities to spread folk dance throughout the country at the Recreation Association was probably beyond the imagination of the people at that time, but Their Imperial Highnesses took the initiative and said, It was really expanded to gymnasiums and community centers in small towns.

In that sense, I feel that His Imperial Highness Mikasa has always worked to shorten the distance between the Imperial Family and the people, and Her Imperial Highness has always supported them.

At that time, in a world where men inevitably went to work and women took care of the family, Their Imperial Highnesses visited various places together and had various experiences, so I think it was really difficult at that time for them to fulfill their duties as Their Imperial Highnesses.

The reason why I was able to do it firmly and without wavering is that now I shake it.Looking back, I think it was amazing again.

Q.What are your thoughts on Yuriko?

A.I am truly happy that you are still living peacefully and peacefully, even as a grandchild.

Even now, I am very happy to have time to visit your main residence and talk to Her Imperial Highness and have a meal with her, and I have learned a lot from casual conversations, and for me, as a member of the Imperial Family and as a person, Her Imperial Highness is like a guide. I look forward to hearing many stories from you in the future.