BIOGRAPHY

Tane Matsubara was born in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, on 15 October 1909, as the eldest of ten children. At the age of 20, she got married and had eight children (five sons and three daughters). Following her marriage, she lived in Imakane in Hiyama Subprefecture. In 1936, she moved to Biratori, where she was selling tofu.

In her later life, she lived with her sons in Tomakomai and Hidaka, until she moved into the nursing home in Tomakomai in 2007. Even as a supercentenarian, she was able to read newspapers, and if there was a character she didn’t know, she would ask around and learn. As of 2022, she had 18 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

Matsubara passed away in Tomakomai, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, on 16 January 2024, at the age of 114 years, 93 days.

RECOGNITION

After 112-year-old Take Taniguchi of Muroran went into limbo in December 2021, Mrs. Matsubara became the oldest living person in Hokkaido Prefecture.

Her age was verified by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), as well as Yu Li, Ryohei Asano, Yumi Yamamoto and Keiko Matsubara, and validated by LongeviQuest on 15 May 2023.

On 3 October 2023, at the age of 113 years, 353 days, she surpassed the final age of Hatsue Ono, becoming the oldest person ever to have lived in Hokkaido Prefecture.

ATTRIBUTION

* “平取の松原さん、１５日で１１３歳に　道内最高齢　勉強への思い強く” – Hokkaidō Shinbun, 5 October 2022

* “道内最高齢１１４歳　松原タネさん死去” – Hokkaidō Shinbun, 16 January 2024

GALLERY