BIOGRAPHY

Toshio Katayama was born in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, on 5 January 1911. At some point, he married a nurse, and they had children together. He was involved in agricultural work. Reportedly, he experienced illness during his youth.

Katayama loved working in the fields and continued riding his motorbike into the mountains for maintenance work into his 80s. He actively engaged in social activities and, reportedly, once angered his wife for being the chairman of the senior citizen’s club for too long.

At some point after turning 90, he moved to Naka Ward in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, to live with his second daughter Kuniko, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren in a four-generation household. During his time here, he regularly took his great-grandchildren, whom he greatly enjoyed caring for, on walks around Peace Memorial Park and frequently visited the library. He learned how to use the internet after the age of 90 with the assistance of his family. He enjoyed creating New Year’s postcards featuring pictures of his great-grandchildren. Every year, on the day these postcards became available for sale, he patiently waited in line outside his local post office. In 2007, at the age of 97, he was featured in a news article describing how he queued up with approximately fifty other people to purchase them.

At the age of 107, he moved to a nursing home for the elderly. By this time, he had lost his sight and was hard of hearing. However, when his family informed him that Japan had entered the Reiwa Period, he hummed the Man’yōshū, the 8th-century anthology of Japanese poetry from which the characters for “Reiwa” (令和) originated. Even as a centenarian, he regularly went on holiday. At the age of 107, he could still stand up with assistance. Displaying no signs of dementia, he possessed a good memory, easily recalling recent events in detail. His daughter Kuniko, commenting after his passing, said, “His flexibility to enjoy new environments made me happy. I think he led a fulfilling life.”

Described as having a gentle personality, he rarely complained and maintained a well-structured daily routine indicative of a life characterized by independence and moderation. He adhered to a disciplined lifestyle, rising and retiring early each day. He read the newspaper and maintained a daily diary until he lost his sight. Following the Japanese saying “Eat until 80% full,” he practiced mindful eating. In his earlier years, he reportedly consumed one glass of sake per day, but he voluntarily ceased this habit in old age.

Toshio Katayama passed away in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, on 19 May 2021, at the age of 110 years, 134 days.

RECOGNITION

On 22 August 2019, following the passing of 109-year-old Shinichi Okada, he became the oldest living person in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Upon his passing, Shigeru Nakamura succeeded him as the oldest living man in Hiroshima Prefecture.

His age was verified by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), as well as Yu Li and Yumi Yamamoto, and validated by LongeviQuest on 13 December 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* “県内最高齢男性 片山さんが死去” – Chugoku Shimbun, 21 May 2021

GALLERY