The funeral for Princess Takamatsu, an aunt of Emperor Akihito who died Dec. 18 at age 92, was held Sunday at Toshimagaoka Cemetery in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.
Some 560 mourners attended, including Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, along with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
The hearse transporting her casket left her home in Minato Ward shortly after 9 a.m. and passed the Imperial Palace before arriving at the cemetery.
The chief mourner was Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a nephew of the princess and a cousin of Emperor Akihito.
Other members of the Imperial family in attendance included Princess Nori.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko did not attend the memorial service in accordance with Imperial custom.
They dispatched their personal emissaries to the funeral.
The late princess, also known as Princess Kikuko, was a granddaughter of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867).
On what would have been the princess's 93rd birthday, Tsunenari Tokugawa, a direct descendant of the Tokugawa family and the head of Tokugawa Memorial Foundation, presented her lifetime achievements.
She had served as honorary president of such entities as the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund and an association assisting patients of Hansen's disease.
The princess's body was cremated in Shinjuku Ward and her remains were placed at the tomb of her husband Prince Takamatsu, who died in February 1987, in the cemetery.