BIOGRAPHY

Yoshiko Araki was born in Yokota (present-day Okuizumo), Shimane Prefecture, Japan, on 31 March 1905, as the third of five children. After graduating from elementary school, her daily routine was waking up at 4 AM every morning and taking her three horses to the mountain to cut grass. At some point, she married a man from the same town.

At the age of 111, she ate three meals on a regular basis, and sweet shrimp sashimi was her favorite food. At the time, she still enjoyed singing and dancing, and it was customary to sing to her doctor when he would visit her home.

Yoshiko Araki passed away in Okuizumo, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, on 28 February 2017, at he age of 111. Her health had deteriorated earlier that month.

RECOGNITION

Araki once appeared on NHK’s TV program “Hyakusai Banzai”.

In September 2008, at the age of 103, she received a visit from the Mayor of Okuizumo, who congratulated her on her longevity. On that occasion, she gave the mayor her handmade drawstring bag as a thank-you gift.

On 3 November 2015, following the death of 111-year-old Fujino Kuroda, she became the oldest living person in Shimane Prefecture, at the age of 110.

At the time of her death, she was the third-oldest person to ever die in Shimane Prefecture, after Kitsuyo Yamamoto (1902–2015) and Yoki Yonehara (1892–2005). Following her death, Kameno Kato succeeded her as the new oldest living residents of Shimane Prefecture.

ATTRIBUTION

* “いつまでもお元気で 長寿を祝い県や町から記念品を贈呈” – Public Relations (Okuizumo), October 2008 issue

* “元気秘訣　くよくよせん　県内最高齢１１１歳・荒木さん＝島根” – Yomiuri Shimbun (Osaka morning edition, page 19), 19 September 2016

* “県内最高齢の女性亡くなる” – NHK NEWS WEB, 28 February 2017

GALLERY