Wasa Takano

BIOGRAPHY

Wasa Takano （髙野ワサ） was born in Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture, on December 25, 1903. She was born into a family of hunters and spent her entire life in Isahaya.

Around the age of 18, she began going door to door selling sardines caught by her father. In her early twenties, she married a man who made a living producing soy sauce. Together, they supported their household through this work. Takano was widowed at the age of 60.

She remained active and independent well into old age. At the age of 105, she moved into a nursing home in Isahaya City. According to a 2011 newspaper interview when she was 107, she was reported to be in good spirits and maintained a daily routine of drinking 200 milliliters of milk. That same year, she joined the Lions Club, stating, “I’ve been able to live a long life thanks to the people around me, and I want to give something back.” She also cited her secret to longevity as “not overeating.”

In August 2013, following the death of Shige Fukuhara of Saikai City (aged 110) on August 29, Takano became the oldest living person in Nagasaki Prefecture. At that time, she was reported to be in good health at the age of 109.

Takano passed away from natural causes on November 6, 2015, at the age of 111 years and 316 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group on 15 August 2015 and later recognized by LongeviQuest.

ATTRIBUTION

• “もうすぐ１０８歳　高野ワサさん/感謝の気持ち表したい/諫早のライオンズク入会/世界のクラブで最高齢” – Nagasaki Shimbun, December 7, 2011

GALLERY

[crp limit=’4′ ]