Tsuru Yamamoto (Japanese: 山本つる) is a Japanese supercentenarian whose age has been validated by LongeviQuest.
BIOGRAPHY
Tsuru Yamamoto (山本つる) was born on 25 March 1915 in Honjo, Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture (present-day Sumida City, Tokyo), Japan. Her father owned a movie theater in Asakusa, one of Tokyo’s traditional downtown districts. She grew up with an older brother, an older sister, and a younger sister. Longevity ran in the family—her younger sister, Umeko Kanamori, later became the oldest living resident of Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, and lived to the age of 107.
When the Great Kantō Earthquake struck on 1 September 1923, Tsuru was eight years old. Near her home stood the former Army Clothing Depot in Honjo, where tens of thousands of people sought refuge. While many people fled there, her grandfather judged the direction of the wind and urged the family to head toward Chiba instead. His decision ultimately saved their lives, as the depot became the site of one of the disaster’s deadliest fire whirls, claiming approximately 38,000 lives. The family spent a short time in Chiba before eventually returning to Tokyo.
After graduating from elementary school, Tsuru enrolled at Ōtsuma Girls’ High School (now Ōtsuma Junior and Senior High School). During her school years, she excelled in gymnastics and dance and was selected to perform demonstration routines. According to her family, it has remained one of her proudest memories.
While she was still in elementary school, her older brother began attending church. Through his influence, Tsuru also became interested in Christianity and was later baptized. She eventually worked alongside her younger sister at a church-operated nursery school.
Following the Great Tokyo Air Raid of 10 March 1945, she assisted in the evacuation of the 13 survivors from the church-operated nursery school to Honjo. They were later evacuated to Fukushima Prefecture. According to her family, she occasionally spoke about her wartime experiences.
After the war, she married a high school teacher, and together they raised three children.
Tsuru enjoyed learning new things and embraced new experiences throughout her life. Hoping to keep her family healthy, she attended cooking classes and learned to prepare Western-style dishes such as gratin, as well as seasonal meals made with fresh vegetables.
Her curiosity extended well beyond cooking. She enjoyed cycling, swimming, dressmaking, leathercraft, knitting, calligraphy, and haiga, a traditional Japanese art form that combines haiku poetry with ink painting. She became particularly skilled in calligraphy and taught neighborhood children until her eighties. She also continued attending haiga classes into her nineties.
Her active lifestyle extended beyond her many hobbies. Until around her seventies, she enjoyed traveling overseas with friends, visiting five or six European countries as well as Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
In her nineties, Tsuru was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She began postoperative rehabilitation the day after surgery and made a quick recovery.
With the support of her family, she continued living independently in Tokyo until the age of 105. She then moved in with one of her daughters and her family in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, where she continues to live today.
Today, at the age of 111, Tsuru attends adult day care twice a week and receives home rehabilitation twice a week. She folds her own laundry and spends her days reading monthly magazines, classical Japanese poetry collections such as the Man’yōshū and the Kokin Wakashū, books on calligraphy, or watching television.
One of her favorite television personalities is Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whenever he appears on screen, she smiles and says, “He seems like such a nice young man.”
Her favorite food is sushi, especially tuna sashimi, which she enjoys about twice a week. She is also fond of grilled eel.
Even after turning 110, she continues to enjoy annual hot spring trips with her family.
According to her family, the keys to her longevity are her habit of never speaking ill of others, not dwelling on problems, her strong will, and the fact that she has never suffered from any major internal organ diseases. They also describe her as someone who readily puts advice into practice. If her rehabilitation therapist recommends a new exercise, she faithfully follows the recommendation, no matter how difficult or inconvenient it may be.
At the age of 106, she fractured her right femur and underwent surgery. At the age of 110, she fractured her left femur and also underwent surgery. She recovered from both injuries through rehabilitation. She is now able to walk with a walker under the supervision of her family.
She is currently the oldest registered resident of Ōta Ward, Tokyo.
RECOGNITION
Her age was verified by Ōta Ward of Tokyo, Yumi Yamamoto and Eli Logan, and validated by LongeviQuest on 16 July 2026.
ATTRIBUTION
(The biography and photographs of Tsuru Yamamoto (山本つる) was compiled entirely through interviews with her family.)
GALLERY
As a child. (Source: Courtesy of the family).
Around 20 years old. (Source: Courtesy of the family).
Tsuru Yamamoto (山本つる) on her 111th birthday in March 2026. (Courtesy of the family)
Tsuru Yamamoto (山本つる) at the age of 111 in July 2026. (Photo courtesy of Tsuru Yamamoto’s family)
Tsuru Yamamoto (山本つる) walking with a walker, aged 111, in July 2026. (Courtesy of the family)
Tsuru Yamamoto (山本つる) reading a newspaper at the age of 110 in February 2026. (Tsuru Yamamoto’s family.)
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