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In September 2022, while celebrating her longevity at the age 110. (Source: Tamba Shimbun).

Supercentenarian Profile

Yoshiko Yoshitake (吉竹芳子)

Born:

1912-02-02

Kaibara, Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture,

Japan

Died:

2024-04-09

Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture,

Japan

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Yoshiko Yoshitake (Japanese: 吉竹芳子) was a Japanese supercentenarian whose age has been validated by LongeviQuest.

BIOGRAPHY

Yoshiko Yoshitake (吉竹芳子) was born in Kaibara, Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, on 2 February 1912, and grew up there. After graduating from elementary school, she attended Hyogo Prefectural Kaibara Girls’ High School and later worked as a home economics teacher at a local junior high school, dedicating herself to educating children in her community. After retirement, she taught traditional Japanese folk dance and Nihon buyo (classical dance) for 35 years.

Having received formal instruction from one of her former students who had become a dance master, she earned the title of natori (certified performer) at the age of 95. “I feel happy to have a purpose in life. Through dancing, I’ve learned so much about life. As long as I’m healthy, I want to keep following my teacher—who used to be my own student,” she said at the time. At the age of 99, she appeared in a Nihon buyo performance, gracefully dancing on stage before an audience of about 700 people.

In July 2013, at the age of 101, she underwent surgery at Kaibara Hospital in her hometown and was discharged later that month. Deeply grateful for the attentive care and treatment she received during her stay, she expressed her appreciation by donating items such as an automatic blood pressure monitor and a book cart to the hospital that November.

In September 2022, she was officially recognized as the oldest living person in Tamba City. She shared her secret to longevity as “enjoying conversation and eating nutritious food,” responding to the mayor with humor and posing with a peace sign for a commemorative photo, showing her cheerful personality.

Yoshiko Yoshitake passed away from natural causes at a nursing home in Kaibara, Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, on 9 April 2024, at the age of 112 years and 67 days.