LongeviQuest had the privilege to conduct an online interview with Kyōko Mizoguchi (溝口京子) of Chiba Prefecture, Japan, and her family, with the kind cooperation of her nursing home. Mizoguchi is the oldest living resident of Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture. Through our conversation with Mizoguchi and her family, we were able to learn more about her life journey and the daily habits that have supported her long and healthy life.
Early Life and Education
Kyōko Mizoguchi was born on 8 March 1915 in Shizuhama Village, Shida District, Shizuoka Prefecture (present-day Yaizu City), as the fourth of eight siblings in a landowning family. She enjoyed studying from an early age, and after finishing elementary school, she went on to attend Shizuoka Prefectural Fujieda Girls’ High School. After graduating, she began working as a clerk at a local post office, taking her first step into working life.
Marriage and the Start of Family Life
She was later transferred to Tokyo, and at the age of 23, she married a man who worked at the Ministry of Communications, having been introduced through relatives. The couple had three children. After marriage, Mizoguchi devoted herself to supporting her husband and raising their children as a homemaker, quietly sustaining her family through everyday life.
Tea Ceremony, Knitting, and Lifelong Friendships
Once her children were grown, she developed a strong interest in the tea ceremony and obtained an instructor’s qualification. She continued practicing until around the age of 90, making it a long-standing part of her life. She also enjoyed machine knitting and once taught it to her daughter-in-law. During her 50s and 60s, she maintained friendships from her school days and regularly looked forward to annual trips with them, which became cherished occasions in her middle years.
An Active Life in Later Years
Mizoguchi remained active well into her later years. After her husband retired, the couple moved from Tokyo to Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture. She continued riding her bicycle even after turning 90. Later, concerned for her safety, her family gently encouraged her to stop, and she gave up cycling at the age of 92. After that, she used a hand-pushed walking aid and continued going out for errands and hair appointments until around the age of 104. She and her husband, who was six years older, lived together until he passed away at the age of 104. Afterwards, when she was 98, she moved in with her third son’s family.
Daily Meals, Health, and Everyday Habits
Her diet has long centered on traditional Japanese meals and has remained well balanced throughout her life. She has no strong food dislikes and prefers fish to meat. As a personal preference, she is also known to enjoy more strongly seasoned dishes, which her family describes as one of her distinctive traits. According to her family, she rarely became ill or injured. Although she once contracted COVID-19, they recall that she recovered within the same day. Reading the newspaper carefully was long part of her daily routine, a habit she maintained for many years.
Moving into a Nursing Home at 104
At the age of 104, following a family member’s illness, Mizoguchi made the decision on her own to move into a nursing home. Even after moving, she continued to walk inside the facility as much as possible for her health, particularly until around the age of 107. Her family affectionately calls her “Cha-chan.” As of age 110, she has seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
With her nursing home staff at 110 years old. (Source: Courtesy of the nursing home).
What May Have Supported Her Long Life
Her family believes that one of the keys to her longevity may be her long involvement with tea ceremony, which she continued from her 50s into her 90s. Through tea, she built and maintained long-standing connections with fellow practitioners over many years. Even at home, she enjoyed preparing and drinking matcha as part of her daily life. In addition, the regular consumption of matcha may also have supported her health. Matcha is known to contain catechins and other antioxidants, which are believed to contribute to overall well-being. As noted earlier, she remained in generally good health throughout her life and reached the age of 110 without experiencing any major illnesses aside from a single COVID-19 infection.
Her family describes her as a calm and patient woman who quietly supported her reserved and strict Meiji-born husband throughout their life together. It may be that this way of being, along with her positive and composed outlook on life, also contributed to her long life.
Her Life Today at 110
Today, Mizoguchi continues to live in a nursing home in Matsudo City, receiving attentive care from the staff and living a calm and peaceful daily life.
Kyōko Mizoguchi during an online interview with her family and LongeviQuest.
LongeviQuest extends its sincere gratitude to Ms. Mizoguchi, her family, and the nursing home staff for their kind cooperation in this online interview, and respectfully wishes her continued health and well-being.
More details about Mrs. Mizoguchi and additional photographs can be found on her profile here.
