BIOGRAPHY

Kiyoko Takagi was born in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, on 15 March 1908. She lost her mother when she was 5 years old. At the age of 11, she moved to Kitakyushu City, where her relatives lived. In 1922, after she graduated from school, she joined the Kokura station of the Japanese National Railways as a telephone operator, and she worked for the
Japanese National Railways until 1964.

In 1941, when she was 33, her husband, an army captain, died in a fierce battle on the Malay Peninsula. She then raised her three sons as a single mother, with
some help; including leaving the three children with her relatives for several years. Upon retiring from the National Railways, she spent her time teaching flower arrangement – something she started doing in her 30s. She supported a company (where her second son served as chairman) that specialized in water supply products and water filters.

Kiyoko Takagi passed away in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on 7 August 2019, at the age of 111.

RECOGNITION

On 17 September 2007, the mayor of Kitakyushu visited her home and presented her with a letter of commendation to celebrate her longevity.

On 10 May 2008, a celebration was held at a hotel in Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu City to celebrate the annual sales of her second son’s company (in which Kiyoko used to be a chairman), reaching 10 billion yen, as well as to celebrate Kiyoko’s 100th birthday.

In September 2017, Takagi was reported as the 10th-oldest person in Fukuoka Prefecture.

In September 2018, Takagi was reported as the eighth-oldest person in Fukuoka Prefecture.

ATTRIBUTION

* “１００歳迎える高城さんを祝う　北九州市市長が長寿者訪問　敬老の日 ずっと元気で！！／北九州” – Nishinihon Shimbun, 18 September 2007

* “㈱タカギ、年商100億円達成、髙城清子会長100歳祝賀会” – Fukunichi Housing Newspaper, 6 June 2008

* “高城清子さん　１１１歳＝高城寿雄タカギ会長の母　／福岡” – Mainichi Shimbun, 10 August 2019

* “清子（1955年頃）”

* “寿雄と母・清子（1938年）“

GALLERY