Princess Kikuko

The Imperial household had hoped that the princess' marriage would lift the gloom in the country after a year of natural disasters. The wedding announcement was delayed in November out of respect for victims of October's deadly earthquake in Niigata Prefecture.

Princess Nori

The aunt of Emperor Akihito, Princess Kikuko, also known as Takamatsu, the name of her royal line, died in a Tokyo hospital of blood poisoning related to kidney problems, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The princess had been in and out of the hospital since having a lump removed from her breast in February and had undergone dialysis.

The princess was the widow of Emperor Hirohito's younger brother, Prince Takamatsu, who died in 1987.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 25, 2004
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