Yoshikazu Yamashita was born in Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan on 10 April 1907, the second son of eight siblings. In 1914, during his first year of elementary school, he moved to Japanese-occupied Taiwan with his family. He would later remark that his time in Taiwan laid the foundation for the rest of his life. While there, he assisted his father with farming, and in 1941, with the outbreak of the Pacific War during World War II, was drafted to serve in the army. He did not speak much about this period of his life.

With Japan’s defeat in 1945, Yamashita’s assets in Taiwan were confiscated, leading him to return home to Japan in 1947. Back in Hiroshima, his home prefecture, he worked at the former Hiroshima Postal Savings Bureau (now the Hiroshima Postal Savings Operation Center) until retirement.

Yamashita learned to write Haiku poems by attending lessons at a community center between the ages of 50-70. He would continue writing poetry until old age, even after moving into a nursing facility. When he was 83, by way of “Giving back to the community”, he began working as a volunteer delivering food on his bicycle to elderly people who lived on their own. He was responsible for delivering to seven or eight houses, and always made a point to stop and chat with the residents as he knew they may be struggling with loneliness. He described himself as “delivering happiness.” He continued his food deliveries until he was 93. Around this time, honoring a request from a friend ten years prior, he also began delivering lectures giving advice on how to live a fulfilling life to local residents.

Yamashita moved into an assisted living facility for the elderly in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima City around the age of 102, circa 2009. His wife passed away some time around 2012.
On 28 November 2016, he released his first book, “１０９歳。私の幸福論” (Rough English translation: An 109 Year Old’s Theory of Happiness), in which he introduces his thirty-two secrets to living a happy life. In one passage, he writes “Keeping things tidy and in order not only saves time, but also ensures an organized mind.” Practicing what he preached, he would always file his documents by titling the spines of the files and arranging them neatly on his bookshelf.

On 30 June 2018, Yamashita released his second book,“１１１歳。やっぱり、めでたい！” (Rough English translation: Happy to be 111!) in which he introduces his cherished beliefs and practical tips on how to live a fulfilling life. In one passage, he writes “Take care of yourself, by yourself, as much as you can.” True to his word, he still dressed himself and folded away his clothes without assistance from nursing facility staff at the age of 111.

Yamashita stayed in shape by playing soft tennis, a sport he took up around the time he was 20 and continued to play on Sundays until the age of 85. Whether in Taiwan during his youth, or at home in Japan with his old co-workers from the Postal Savings Bureau, he was no stranger to the tennis court. He attributes his time spent darting around the court to his body being in such good working order that he was still able to ride a bicycle at the age of 100. Even during his wheelchair-dependent later years at the nursing facility, he routinely exercised to TV gymnastics broadcasts twice a day, and in the spirit of remaining active, made a point of never lying down in the daytime.

Yamashita’s intellectual pursuits extended beyond the composing of Haiku. He was an avid reader, and at the age of 109, remained committed to always keeping up-to-date on global political and religious affairs by reading the daily newspaper, weekly magazines, and watching live coverage of Japan’s parliamentary sessions whenever possible. This ensured that when it came to writing new years’ cards to his extensive network of 150 friends across Japan, he would never run out of interesting topics of discussion.
He was a supporter of the Hiroshima Toyo Carps baseball team and would never miss an article about them when they featured in the newspaper. When asked what he enjoyed most in life, he replied “Watching the Carps win.”

Even at an old age, Yamashita’s voice projected a remarkable clearness and confidence. This was intentional. Remarking during an interview, he said “I may be hard of hearing, and my legs may be slow, but I still have my voice.” At the age of 112, he continued to give once-monthly lectures at his home in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture to neighborhood residents, during which he gave lessons imparting his long-cultivated wisdom and beliefs on the attitudes and skills needed to live a fulfilling life. He created the lecture materials, as well as did all of the writing for both of his books by computer, which he learned to use at the age of 80. In April 2019, local residents visited his home for his 112th birthday party, during which his favorite songs from the Taisho and Showa periods were sung. He was given a sketch and a bouquet of flowers. When asked about his hopes for the future in 2019 at the age of 112, he said “A world where the young generations are no longer stolen from us by war. A peaceful world.”

Yoshikazu Yamashita passed away in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture on 07 July 2019 at the age of 112 years, 88 days.