Respect for the Aged Day in Japan
Every year on the third Monday of September, Japan celebrates Respect for the Aged Day (敬老の日, Keirō no Hi in Japanese), a national holiday dedicated to honoring the elderly, celebrating their longevity, and recognizing their contributions to society.
Ahead of this year’s holiday on 15 September, LongeviQuest highlights the Life Stories of Japan’s Oldest Residents, focusing on the nation’s top three—Shigeko Kagawa (賀川滋子, 114), Fuyo Kishimoto (岸本ふよ, 113), and Sumiko Mori (森スミ子, 113).
Japan’s Oldest Resident: Shigeko Kagawa (114)
Early Life and Education
Born on 28 May 1911, Shigeko Kagawa lives in Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture, and is currently the oldest living person in Japan. On 12 April 12, 2021, at the age of 109, she served as the world’s oldest Olympic torchbearer during the Tokyo Games, gaining international attention.
Shigeko Kagawa, 109, passing the Olympic torch to the next runner (Tokyo 2021 Olympics)
Kagawa was born into a family of physicians and graduated from Osaka Women’s Medical School (now Kansai Medical University). During World War II, she worked as a medical intern in Osaka.
Career as a Physician
After the war, she married in 1947 and gave birth to her daughter the following year. She later took over her family’s clinic and became a respected obstetrician and gynecologist, serving her community tirelessly.
She often kept a telephone by her bedside. Whenever patients called late at night or early in the morning, she responded immediately and went to assist them. Kagawa practiced medicine until the age of 86. Even after retirement, former patients would stop her in the street to thank her for saving lives.
Habits that Shaped Her Longevity
As a student, she commuted daily from her home in Nara to her school in Hirakata, Osaka. This required walking several kilometers on unpaved roads before boarding the train. Her family believes that this habit of extensive walking in her youth contributed to her vitality and longevity. Kagawa herself once explained her secret to longevity, saying: “When I was a doctor, there were no cars like now, so I used to wear clogs and walk a lot when I went to see my patients. Maybe that’s why I’m strong and healthy.”
After retiring, Kagawa lived alone with the support of her daughter until the age of 108. She enjoyed sewing and created a variety of fabric items, both by machine and by hand. She made pouches, bags, and covers, and would also adjust skirts or trousers whenever her family asked. Sewing remained one of her pleasures well into her later years.
Diet and Preferences
During the earlier decades of her life, Kagawa enjoyed eating sashimi. In her later years, however, she ate less fish and meat, preferring tofu, eggs, and black beans. She seems to favor soft foods, and today she especially enjoys potage, sweet red-bean soup (oshiruko), pudding, chocolate, and wasanbon, a fine-grained traditional Japanese sugar. She has loved red bean–based sweets since middle age, and they remain among her favorite treats.
Later Years and Current Life
She was also an avid viewer of Omoikkiri TV, a once-popular Japanese health program. She recorded episodes on videotape and carefully wrote down health tips in her notebooks.
In February 2025, at the age of 113 years and 9 months, she underwent hip surgery after a fracture. Today, she lives at home, reads the newspaper daily with a magnifying glass, and attends a day-care center twice a week, where she uses a tablet to play brain-training games—maintaining her intellectual curiosity even at 114.
Shigeko Kagawa, 114, with her handwritten calligraphy reading “114 years old” (2025)
Japan’s Second-Oldest Resident: Fuyo Kishimoto (113)
Early Life and Wartime Struggles
Fuyo Kishimoto (岸本ふよ) was born on 20 December 1911, in Hyōgo Prefecture and currently resides in Kyoto City. At 113, she is Japan’s second-oldest living person.
Kishimoto lost her husband during World War II and raised her children alone. To provide for her family, she worked in a mine alongside men in physically demanding labor.
Working Life and Daily Routine
Even after her children became independent, she continued working as a school lunch cook until her mid-80s. Each day, she walked several kilometers to and from her workplace, demonstrating her persistence and work ethic.
Religious Devotion and Recovery
Kishimoto was deeply religious. She maintained a practice of three hours of daily sutra recitation until around the age of 107. To fulfill this commitment, she sometimes woke up in the middle of the night to chant.
At age 103, her health declined so severely that her family was told to prepare for the end. Yet, she made a full recovery. This remarkable turnaround surprised everyone.
Personality and Later Years
She is known for celebrating joyful moments with a cheerful “Banzai!” gesture, raising both arms high in the air. When LongeviQuest Japan visited her for her 112th birthday in December 2023, she happily demonstrated this tradition.
In February 2025, at the age of 113 years and 2 months, Kishimoto underwent hip surgery following a fracture. She recovered quickly and left the hospital just a week later. Today, she lives comfortably in a nursing home in Kyoto.
Fuyo Kishimoto raising her arm in a cheerful “Banzai” gesture, alongside a flower basket and a plaque presented by LongeviQuest to mark her verified supercentenarian status.
Japan’s Third-Oldest Resident: Sumiko Mori (113)
Childhood and Education
Sumiko Mori (森スミ子) was born in Nakatsu, Ōita Prefecture, on 30 January 1912, and raised in a family that valued education. She attended Nakatsu Girls’ High School, where one year above her was Miyoko Hiroyasu, who was once Japan’s oldest resident. It is said that Mori did not particularly enjoy studying, her competitive spirit kept her among the top students.
Marriage and Wartime Years
In her early twenties, she married a naval officer in Tokyo. During the war, while her husband was away at the front, she lived with her three young daughters in Fukuoka.
Just before the war ended, she crossed the Kanmon Strait with her children and moved to her husband’s hometown of Ise, Mie Prefecture. There, she quickly adapted to the new environment—clearing bamboo forests to make a small field for vegetables and gathering shellfish from the nearby shore, supporting her children’s daily life with a forward-looking spirit until her husband’s return. This shellfish gathering remains a vivid and happy memory for her eldest daughter, now 89, who still recalls it with fondness.
Raising a Family and Later Life
After the war, the family moved to a large property of about 1,190 square meters, where she raised five children. In her later years, she enjoyed singing with her daughter. Until around the age of 111, she sang along to CDs. At 113, she still keeps rhythm with the music.
Hobbies and Sociability
At the age of 60, she began painting watercolors, which she often gave as gifts to family and friends.
Until her 90s, she traveled with her daughter almost every month. She enjoyed hot springs, saunas, and theatrical performances at inns. Known for her cheerful and sociable personality, she quickly made friends on these trips and cherished time spent in conversation and laughter.
Diet and Current Life
Her diet has been another key factor in her longevity. Having eaten small fish from a young age, she has never suffered a fracture and has maintained strong bones throughout her life. She has also avoided serious illness.
Today, she continues to live at home with the support of her family. Her meals are prepared by her son, and she typically eats twice a day—brunch and dinner—consisting of rice porridge, eggs, natto, miso soup with vegetables, Yakult, seasonal fruits, and yogurt.
Sumiko Mori shortly before her 112th birthday (27 January 2023)
As of September 2025, Mori uses a wheelchair but can still stand briefly when moving between bed and chair. She continues to live at home with her family, enjoying a peaceful life.
Looking back at the lives of Kagawa, Kishimoto, and Mori, a few common threads emerge. They put family and community first. They ate in ways that suited their bodies. They kept small joys alive in very old age. They maintained a high level of independence close to 110, and even after that they showed resilience by returning to daily life after injuries or illness.
Every September, Japan announces its oldest residents, in connection with Respect for the Aged Day (Keirō no Hi), giving us the chance to learn about more of Japan’s oldest residents and their longevity stories across the country. We hope that this tradition will continue for many years to come, and we look forward to meeting more of Japan’s remarkable elders and discovering the richness of their life stories and aging.
