BIOGRAPHY

Shigeko Toda was born in Tonbara Town (now Iinan Town), Shimane Prefecture, Japan, on 31 July 1908. After graduating from the upper division of elementary school (now junior high school) in 1923, she entered Shimane Women’s Normal School (now Shimane University). Upon graduating in 1927, she became an elementary school teacher in Yoshida Village, Shimane Prefecture. After working there for three years, she decided to enter the Tokyo Music School (now Tokyo University of the Arts) to master the piano. In preparation for the exam, she took lessons from a teacher in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture for several months. She passed the entrance exam for the music school and graduated in 1932.

After graduating from the Tokyo Music School, she returned to Shimane. Her father had passed away, and her mother was living alone. She worked as a music teacher at a high school for girls in Izumo City, and later at high schools in Awaji City and Nara Prefecture. After World War II, she worked at a high school in Hiroshima Prefecture. Until she retired at the age of 50, she focused on teaching choruses, particularly split singing.

After retiring in 1958, she moved to Saeki-ku, Hiroshima City, and devoted herself to early childhood music education, which became her lifelong passion. She opened a music school called “Suginoko-kai” and continued to teach students even after she turned 100, with the educational philosophy of “Opening your ears to music and your heart (opening your ears to music at an early age will enrich your life).” She taught more than 500 students.

Her students included conductor Eiji Ōue and composer and Tokyo College of Music professor Tomiko Kōjiba. Toda later received an autograph from American conductor and pianist Leonard Bernstein, who wrote, “You are a great music teacher.”

Toda held her last annual piano class recital at the age of 108 and then moved into a nursing home. Even after moving into the nursing home, her students continued to visit her. Toda passed away on 31 March 2019, at the age of 110 years, 243 days. After her death, the grand piano she had used for many years was donated to her hometown, Iinan City, Shimane Prefecture.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), as well as Ryohei Asano, Yumi Yamamoto, and Yu Li, and validated by LongeviQuest on 14 June 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

* Music Yearbook, 1968 edition

* Tokyo University of the Arts Centennial History, Chapter 3 – March 2003

* “音楽を生涯の共に 愛用ピアノ 故郷島根・飯南に寄贈” – Chugoku Shimbun, 19 November 2020

* “生きて” – Chugoku Shimbun, 23 October 2023

GALLERY

Recommended