Yasuko Kimura

BIOGRAPHY

Yasuko Kimura was born in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan on 10 August 1900.

At some point, she got married, but her husband passed away shortly after the Second World War, leaving her to raise their four children on her own. In 2011, at the age of 111, Kimura had a large family spanning five generations. She had five children, eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. When she was around the age of 90, she moved to Itō, Shizuoka Prefecture, and into a nursing home for the elderly in the same city around the age of 102.

Her hobbies included pressed flower crafts and making paper dolls, activities she enjoyed for many decades. At the age of 110, it was mentioned that although Kimura lived in a wheelchair and no longer devoted much time to her hobbies, she remained in good health with a hearty appetite. She drank coffee every morning, relished eating meat, and favored snacks such as Japanese custard pudding and jelly. She had never experienced serious illness. She claimed the secret to longevity was to “Not worry about little things, and enjoy each day as it comes.” On another occasion, she said it was eating meat.

Yasuko Kimura passed away at the nursing home in Itō City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, on 3 August 2012, at the age of 111 years, 359 days.

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RECOGNITION

In September 2009, at the age of 109, Kimura was visited by the city mayor and given flowers in celebration of Respect for the Aged Day. She was said to be healthy and in good spirits. She was the oldest living person in Itō and the second-oldest living person in Shizuoka Prefecture. She was visited twice more by the city mayor and received congratulatory gifts, including potted plants, in 2010 and 2011. By the time of the third visit, she had become the oldest person in Shizuoka Prefecture.

On 23 June 2011, following the death of 111-year-old Toshiko Kurita, she became the oldest living person in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Upon her passing, she was succeeded as the Prefecture’s oldest living resident by Teru Sugita.