Shigeko Kagawa

BIOGRAPHY

Shigeko Kagawa was born in Japan on 28 May 1911. She was born into a family of physicians and graduated from Osaka Women’s Medical College (now Kansai Medical University).

After the war, she married in 1947 and had a daughter the following year. She later took over her family’s clinic and contributed to local medical care as an obstetrician and gynecologist. Every night she kept a telephone by her bedside, ready to respond to early-morning or late-night calls from patients, often rushing to their homes. She retired at the age of 86, but even afterward, former patients sometimes approached her on the street to thank her for saving lives.

On 12 April 2021, at the age of 109, Kagawa served as a torchbearer for the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the world’s oldest Olympic torchbearer. She completed her section of the relay in a wheelchair pushed by her granddaughter-in-law.

Kagawa attributes her longevity in part to extensive walking in her youth. As a student, she commuted several kilometers on unpaved roads before boarding a train to school, and throughout her career she often wore clogs and walked long distances to see patients. Kagawa herself once explained her secret to longevity, saying: “When I was a doctor, there were no cars like now, so I used to wear clogs and walk a lot when I went to see my patients. Maybe that’s why I’m strong and healthy.”

In retirement, she enjoyed sewing, making pouches, bags, covers, and clothing adjustments for her family, both by machine and by hand. She was also an avid viewer of Omoikkiri TV, a once-popular Japanese lifestyle program. She recorded episodes on videotape and carefully wrote down health tips in her notebooks.

Her diet shifted over the years. In middle age she enjoyed sashimi, but in later years she preferred tofu, eggs, and black beans, along with soft foods such as potage, pudding, and oshiruko. She has loved red bean–based sweets since middle age, and they remain among her favorite treats.

At the age of 108, she was still living alone with the support of her daughter. In February 2025, at 113 years and 9 months, she underwent hip surgery after a fracture. As of 2025, at the age of 114, she continues to live at her home in Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture. She reads the newspaper every day with a magnifying glass and attends day care twice a week, where she enjoys brain-training games on a tablet.

RECOGNITION

In September 2022, Kagawa was reported as the oldest living person in Nara Prefecture. Her predecessor, Misayo Yamashita, went to limbo. On 27 September, she received a visit from the prefecture’s deputy governor who presented her with a gift to celebrate her longevity.

On July 29, 2025, following the death of Miyoko Hiroyasu of Ōita Prefecture at the age of 114, Kagawa became the oldest living person in Japan.

ATTRIBUTION

* “「平和な世界を」109歳聖火ランナー賀川滋子さん 灯つなぐ” – Mainichi Shimbun, 12 April 2021

* “聖火ランナーに参加されました” – Kojuen Blog, 11 June 2021

* “地域で話題の高齢者” – MHLW PressRelease, 14 September 2021

* Nara Prefecture PressRelease, 16 September 2022

* “奈良県内最高齢111歳・賀川さんの健康長寿たたえる” – Nara Shimbun, 28 September 2022

GALLERY

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