| Kamato Hongo | |
 | |
| Birth: | 8 April 1891? Isen, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Death: | 31 October 2003 Isen, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Age: | 112 years, 206 days? |
| Country: |  JPN
|
| Disputed | |
Kamato Hongo (née Kimura) (16 September 1887? - 31 October 2003) was a Japanese supercentenarian who was once recognized as the oldest living person from March 18, 2002 and held the title until October 31, 2003.
Biography
Kamato Hongo claimed to have been born in Isen, located on the Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, on 16 September 1887. She died of pneumonia in the same town on 31 October 2003. Upon her death, the official title of Japan's oldest person would have passed to Mitoyo Kawate. Although, Hongo claimed to have been born April 8, 1887, but this has been doubted and she was possibly born in 1888, 1889, or 1891 instead.
Hongo had four siblings, her father was a fisherman, and her mother was a rice farmer. She was never schooled, instead playing with her siblings and doing housework. She lived through the Russo-Japanese War, recalling that she and her sister strolled though their village in kimonos, and were "conspicuous because of [their] beauty". Her brother introduced her to a man from the village, whom she later married. Hongo and her husband grew sweet potatoes, peanuts, and sugar cane, and gave birth to seven children.
Hongo and her family hid underground during World War II, and she was shocked when her first son was conscripted into the army. She prayed every day at her Butsudan altar, giving rice and changing flowers.
Hongo often told her children, "Don't steal others' stuff" and "Do the right thing." She claimed that the secret to her longevity was eating raw sugar every day. When she was allegedly the world's oldest living person, she was a national celebrity, and packages of green tea had her picture on the bag.[1]
Doubts about her age
Hongo's documents are inconsistent on her birth year, with some suggesting April 1886 and others 1887. In addition, she is listed last on her koseki, after a sister born in 1890. Michel Poulain has hypothesized she was born in 1893 and that her age was changed to hide teenage pregnancies. Robert Young suggests she was born in 1891. Others suggest 1888. [2] Her koseki says September 16, 1887, but her family claimed she was born April 8, 1887. [3]1887 is an unlikely birth year as her older sibling was born in February 1887.
References
- ↑ Earth's Elders: The Wisdom of the World's Oldest People, by Jerry Friedman
- ↑ The Izumi Case, et al. - World's Oldest People Group, Yahoo Groups
- ↑ World's oldest person dies at 116