Supercentenarian Profile

Shingo Kitamura (北村信吾)

Born:

1904-03-18

Nagasaki Prefecture

Japan

Died:

2014-12-30

Nagasaki Prefecture

Japan

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Shingo Kitamura (Japanese: 北村信吾) was a Japanese supercentenarian.

BIOGRAPHY

Shingo Kitamura (北村信吾) was born on 18 March 1904 in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. After World War II, he worked for a major construction company and remained employed there until the age of 70. He had six children and four great‑grandchildren.

Until he injured his leg in a fall at the age of 109, Kitamura maintained a consistent daily routine: waking up at 6 a.m., doing morning radio calisthenics and dry‑towel rubdowns (kanpu‑masatsu, a traditional practice of rubbing the body with a dry towel to promote circulation), taking a walk at noon, and reading the newspaper every day.

At age 110, he was living in a special nursing home for the elderly in Nagasaki City. On his 110th birthday, his family gathered to celebrate his longevity, and he expressed his wish to “live another ten years.” He attributed his long life to “a regular lifestyle and eating in moderation,” and he reportedly had no chronic illnesses. His favorite food was fish.

Kitamura passed away on 30 December 2014 at a hospital in Isahaya at the age of 110 years and 287 days. At the time of his death, he was the second‑oldest person in Nagasaki Prefecture, after Wasa Takano of Isahaya, and the oldest man in the prefecture.