Princess Yuriko's funeral held at Tokyo cemetery

The main funeral ceremony for Princess Yuriko, the oldest member of the Japanese imperial family and great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito, was held Tuesday at a cemetery in Tokyo after her death aged 101 earlier this month.

Following a wake on Sunday and Monday, the Shinto ritual, called Renso-no-Gi, took place at the Toshimagaoka Cemetery for the imperial family in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, with her granddaughter Princess Akiko serving as the chief mourner.

Around 500 people attended the ceremony, including Crown Prince Fumihito, Crown Princess Kiko, and Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other government officials were also among the participants.

The emperor and empress, as well as former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko, did not attend the ceremony in line with custom.

Following a cremation in the afternoon at a crematorium in Shinjuku Ward, her ashes will be interred alongside those of her husband, Prince Mikasa, in a grave at the cemetery.

A member of Japan's former nobility, she married Prince Mikasa, the youngest brother of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, in 1941 at age 18. The couple had three sons and two daughters.

She outlived all three of their sons -- Princes Tomohito, Katsura and Takamado, who died in 2012, 2014 and 2002, respectively, as well as her husband, who died in 2016.

Princess Yuriko was hospitalized in March due to a mild stroke and aspiration pneumonitis and had been receiving treatment. She died of natural causes at a Tokyo hospital on the morning of Nov 15.