LongeviQuest is saddened to report the passing of Ushi Makishi. She was born in Okinawa, Japan on 15 February 1909 and passed away in Chatan Town, Okinawa, Japan on 4 July 2023 at 114 years, 139 days. At the time of her death, Makishi was the oldest living person in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. She was also Japan’s 3rd oldest living known person (behind Fusa Tatsumi and Tomiko Itooka) and the world’s 6th oldest living validated person before her passing (behind María Branyas Morera, Fusa Tatsumi, Edie Ceccarelli, Tomiko Itooka, and Inah Canabarro Lucas).
Makishi got married at 18 and the couple had six children. She worked at a spinning factory from the age of 13 until the end of the war, and after the war, she worked at a U.S. military base in Okinawa.
She enjoyed the local Okinawan dish called ‘jūshī’, which is rice cooked with pork, and also enjoyed steamed sweet potatoes. Makishi also loved the Okinawan hand dance called kachāshī. Even at the age of 114, she enjoyed doing it with her friends at the Nursing Home.
LongeviQuest is extending our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends of Mrs. Ushi Makishi.