Mine Kondō (近藤ミネ)

BIOGRAPHY

Mine Kondō (近藤ミネ) was born on 1 September 1910, in the village of Ikuma (伊熊: now part of Toyota City), Aichi, Japan, as the fifth of seven siblings. At the age of 20, she married a farmer from Higashihagihira (Japanese: 東萩平町), and the couple had six children: three sons and three daughters. She gave birth to her youngest child at the age of 40.

Until she broke her hip at the age of 101, she could push a pushcart up and down a steep slope to her home. Around the age of 103, she had an intestinal obstruction and underwent surgery. Her doctors told her it would take 3 months to make a full recovery, but she recovered in 4 days and was discharged in 2 weeks. After she turned 101, she began attending a daycare center in Nagoya, and by the time she was 112, she started going to a daycare service from her home twice a week to enjoy activities such as calligraphy.

Kondō currently lives in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

On August 5, 2024, LongeviQuest made a celebratory visit and sent a bouquet of flowers and a plaque (more information here).

On 19 August 2024, following the death of 117-year-old María Branyas Morera, she entered the top 10 oldest living people.

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RECOGNITION

When she was 105 years old, the mayor of Toyota City visited her. On that occasion, she sang her favorite jikyōgen (地狂言) song to the mayor and presented her handmade cloth sandals as a thank-you gift. At that time, she said the secret to her longevity was: “To eat and sleep well. Also, to make zori sandals and to move my hands.”

On 2 March 2023, following the death of 112-year-old Shizu Narita, she became the oldest living person in Aichi Prefecture.

In an interview with LongeviQuest in May 2023, her family said they never saw her speak ill of others, and how she has a big, positive personality, and how she never got stressed out about smaller issues.

On 5 August 2024, Kondō was visited by LongeviQuest representatives Yumi Yamamoto and Ben Meyers, presenting her with a plaque recognising her status as Aichi Prefecture’s oldest resident.