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Masa Matsumoto
Masa Matsumoto
Matsumoto (aged 111) in September 2021
Birth: 29 November 1909
Konan-cho, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
Death: 9 July 2024
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Age: 114 years, 223 days
Country: JapanJPN
Validated

Masa Matsumoto [Japanese: 松本まさ] (29 November 1909 - 9 July 2024) was a Japanese supercentenarian whose age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

Biography

Early Life

Masa Matsumoto was born in Konan-cho, Koka District (now part of the city of Koka), Shiga Prefecture, Japan, on 29 November 1909. She was the first of seven children.

After graduating from elementary school, Matsumoto left her family home and spent several years working as a babysitter [Japanese: "Komori-Houkou"] at the Mitsubishi Group's mansion in Osaka. Around the age of 22, she married her childhood friend. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter.

Later Life

Matsumoto lived with her eldest son's family in Osaka until she was 89, where she enjoyed taking care of her grandchildren. After her eldest son died, she moved to Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, to live with her eldest daughter. She lived with her until she was 108. Between the ages of 92 to 108, she attended a local care center for the elderly three times a week, where she began to paint with watercolors.

According to her eldest daughter Yasuko Nishide (aged 85 in September 2022), Matsumoto moved to Osaka Prefecture when she got married. She said that during the war, Matsumoto was hit by an air raid and had a painful experience, such as running over fallen people.

In around 2017, Nishide became ill, so Matsumoto moved to a nearby nursing home. Currently, she can only meet with Nishide through a screen such as glass or mobile phone, and it takes time to recognize Nishide, but she says, "Thank you." And so on, she replies. Nishide said with a smile, "My mother is calm and doesn't get crunchy." Matsumoto drank sake every day until she entered the nursing home.

At the age of 108, Matsumoto was hospitalized with a compression fracture in her lower back. Since her home was on the third floor, she worked hard at the rehab facility to recover, practicing going up and down from the first to the third floor every day. She was told by her doctor that it would take three months for her to fully recover, but she made a full recovery in a month. Other than her fracture at that time, she has no history of illnesses or injuries. Her family claims how the secret of her longevity is her calm personality.

In November 2019, Matsumoto celebrated her 110th birthday and became a supercentenarian.

Masa Matsumoto died in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, at the age of 114 years, 223 days. She was the third-oldest validated living person in Japan, after Tomiko Itooka, and Okagi Hayashi.

Recognition

In September 2020, Matsumoto was reported to be the third-oldest known living person in Kanagawa Prefecture, after Mitsu Katsuta (of Yamato) and Kimi Kawasaki (of Kawasaki). Following Kawasaki's death on 10 December 2022, Matsumoto became the oldest known living person in the prefecture.

Matsumoto's age was verified by MHLW, Japan, as well as Yumi Yamamoto, Yu Li, Tom Li, and Waclaw Jan Kroczek, and validated by the GRG on 24 February 2023.

Gallery

References

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