Sada Hada (波田サダ)

BIOGRAPHY

Sada Hada (波田サダ) was born in Japan on 1 December 1883. She and her husband had four sons. Two of them were killed in the war, and the other two passed away before her later years. Her husband also passed away in 1960, and from her late seventies onward, she lived with four family members, including her grandson in his fifties and great-grandchildren.

At the age of 105, she was blessed with a great-greatgrandchild. Although she became hard of hearing, her eyesight and memory remained sharp. Even at 108, she went out to her vegetable garden every day except on rainy days, tending to daikon radishes, turnips, eggplants, and pumpkins. She led a disciplined life—waking up around 6 a.m., spending the day working in the garden, and going to bed at 9 p.m. She never missed her evening drink, enjoying two glasses of beer in the summer and a cup of sake in the winter. She had no food preferences or dislikes, and she said the secret to her long life was “to work as a member of the family and live an ordinary life.”

In September 1991, at the age of 107, she welcomed a visit from the mayor, dressed in a kimono. As usual, she had gone out to the nearby field and was seen hoeing the soil, saying, “The ground is hard because of the drought,” astonishing the mayor. At that time, she was the 20th-oldest person in Japan.

On 1 December 1993, she turned 110. That day, as usual, she took a morning bath, had her hair dyed and cut, and celebrated with a birthday cake sent by her relatives. Although her condition was unchanged, she rarely went out during the cold winter and spent her days at her own pace eating when she wanted and sleeping when she wanted.

In the New Year of 1994, she decided not to visit the shrine as she usually did because of the cold, but she enjoyed drinking otoso (spiced sake) and eating ozoni (rice-cake soup) and osechi (traditional New Year’s dishes). However, on January 3, she developed breathing difficulties and was admitted to a hospital in Masuda City. Despite receiving treatment, she passed away from respiratory failure on the night of January 5. Her grandson said that she passed peacefully, calling it a “Great life well-lived.” At the time of her death, she was the sixth-oldest living person in Japan.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by MHLW, Japan, Ryohei Asano and Yumi Yamamoto, and validated by LongeviQuest on 3 November 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

*“１０７歳元気に畑仕事 県最高齢の波田サダさん（益田）” ― Sanin Chūō Shimpō, September 7, 1991

*“波田サダさん（益田）110歳の誕生日” ― Sanin Chūō Shimpō, December 2, 1993

*“島根県内最高齢110歳 波田サダさん死去” ― Sanin Chūō Shimpō, January 7, 1994

GALLERY

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