Haya Kurogi

BIOGRAPHY

Haya Kurogi (黒木ハヤ) was born in Hyūga City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, on January 10, 1897. She made her living as a fish peddler, pulling a handcart until the age of 60.

At the age of 103, she fractured her right leg and was hospitalized. She spent her 104th birthday in the hospital, where the deputy mayor of Hyūga City presented her with a commemorative gift and a monetary token in recognition of being the city’s oldest resident. From then on, the mayor and city officials visited her each year around her birthday to celebrate her longevity.

At her 107th birthday celebration, when asked about the secret to her long life, she said, “It is important not to think too deeply about things and to try to live positively.” Until the age of 110, she resided in a special nursing home, but after her leg fracture, she was hospitalized. At 110, though she spent most of her days bedridden, she would sing nursery rhymes on good days.

Kurogi passed away from natural causes in a hospital in Hyūga City, Miyazaki Prefecture, on February 2, 2008, at the age of 111 years and 23 days. At the time of her death, she was the oldest living woman in Miyazaki Prefecture and the second-oldest resident of the prefecture overall, after Tomoji Tanabe, who was then the world’s oldest living man.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group on 14 August 2007 and later recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

• “県内女性最高齢・黒木さんの長寿、黒木・日向市長が祝う　／宮崎県” ― Asahi Shimbun, January 10, 2008

GALLERY

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