Shitsui Konishi (小西 志つい)

BIOGRAPHY

Shitsui Konishi (小西 志つい) was born in Komatsu Village, Ibaraki Prefecture (now Shirosato Town), on August 20, 1915, as the eldest of six siblings.

After graduating from elementary school, she spent about four years working as a live-in maid, which was a common path for young women in Japan at the time. She later moved to Hitachi City, where her parents were living, and there she met her future husband. The couple married when she was in her mid-20s.

In 1943, she gave birth to a daughter, but her husband was killed in the war soon afterward. As a young widow, Konishi faced the hardship of raising a child during Japan’s postwar recovery. She entrusted her daughter to her parents’ care. Then she moved to Tokyo and worked in the hospitality industry to provide for her daughter back in Ibaraki. She remained in Tokyo until around the age of 70, when she returned to Ibaraki Prefecture and settled in Tokai Village, near the home of her daughter and son-in-law.

Konishi was known for her singing voice—perhaps shaped in part by her years of work in Tokyo—and she enjoyed singing even in later years. Her family gifted her a home karaoke set, and she would sometimes sing at home.

Aside from a brief episode of depression around the age of 95, which occurred while her daughter and son-in-law were away on a week-long trip, Konishi maintained good mental and physical health well into old age. Her memory has remained sharp, and she continues to recognize all of her grandchildren, always looking forward to their visits. Her primary care doctor attributed her physical resilience to her lifelong habit of keeping her back straight. Both of her parents also lived long lives—her mother to 103 and her father to 96—and were likewise remembered for their upright posture.

Even in her later years, Konishi lived alone in a house close to her daughter and son-in-law until she turned 110. Her daughter and son-in-law visited her three times a day, providing devoted care and support, and every night they stayed by her side until she fell asleep.

She now lives in a nursing home in Tokai Village. Konishi’s ability to preserve both her cognitive health and physical independence up to the age of 110 may reflect not only inherited traits but also the devoted support and close bond she has shared with her family.

RECOGNITION

Konishi became the oldest person in Tokai Village in 2021 and has received a celebratory visit from the village mayor every September for four consecutive years.

Her age was verified by Tokai Village, Yumi Yamamoto and Ryohei Asano, and validated by LongeviQuest on 14 September 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

(The biography of Mrs. Konishi was compiled entirely through interviews with her family.)

GALLERY

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