BIOGRAPHY

Takahashi was born in the village of Komatsu (later the city of Yamoto that merged into the city of Higashi-Matsushima in 2005), Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on 10 July 1909.

At some point, she married Genshō Takahashi, a farmer, and the couple had six sons and four daughters. Her husband died in 1964.

Even after she turned 100, she was still able to work in the fields and help to take care of the cows. At the age of 103, she broke a bone – an injury that would later limit her mobility. At the age of 111, she had 14 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren. At the time, she lived with her 66-year-old grandson. In September 2021, her eldest daughter, Yoneko Hayashizaki, was still alive at the age of 87. As a supercentenarian, she had three meals per day that would usually include porridge and bread, and she would occasionally sing folk songs and Kimigayo (the national anthem of Japan). She celebrated her 112th birthday in the “Yamoto hana noen” nursing home (Japanese: 矢本華の園) in Higashi-Matsushima. According to her daughter-in-law, the secret of her longevity was in “home garden and homemade wild grass tea.”

Takahashi died on natural causes in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on 27 February 2022.

RECOGNITION

Following the death of 110-year-old Fumii Takeda on 8 February 2020, Takahashi became the oldest living person in Miyagi Prefecture.

Her age was verified by Japan’s MHLW, Ryohei Asano and Yu Li, and validated by LongeviQuest on 15 February 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* “長寿祝う　東松島の高橋さん111歳、県内最高齢” – Kahoku, 22 September 2020

* “県内最高齢者” – Miyagi Prefecture, September 2021

* “県内最高齢は東松島の高橋さん　112歳 長寿お祝い　喜びの歌声も披露” – Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun, 20 September 2021

* “敬老の日　県内最高齢、高橋さん112歳　東松島市が記念品” – Kahoku, 21 September 2021

GALLERY

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