| Matsu Nakazato | |
 | |
| Birth: | 3 February 1882 Iyeha, Okinawa, Japan |
| Death: | 3 August 1993 Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan |
| Age: | 111 years, 181 days |
| Country: |  JPN
|
| Validated | |
Matsu Nakazato [Japanese: 仲里マツ] (née Shinjo: 3 February 1882 – 3 August 1993) was a Japanese supercentenarian whose age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). At the time of her death, she was the third-oldest living person in Japan, after Tane Ikai and Hide Ohira.
Biography
Matsu Nakazato was born in Iyeha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on 3 February 1882. She was the youngest of five children. She did not attend school, instead working on her farm. She lived a part of her life in Tana, Iyeha, Okinawa.
She married Kamejiro Nakazato, who was a year younger, and they worked as farmers. However, they had no children, as Kamejiro had apparently been castrated.
Nakazato adopted her nephew, Shosei, as a son after he participated in World War II. She was widowed in 1955, and since then, she worked by taking care of her grandchildren. Nakazato liked to eat sweets, and until the age of 70, she would smoke up to 20 cigarettes a day. She also enjoyed drinking awamori (Okinawan rice wine) at special events. At the age of 90, she became cognitively impaired.
Nakazato spent her later years living with Shosei's family, until his fourth son was hospitalised and his wife had to move out; she then, aged 102, moved to a nursing home. It was around this time that she developed asthma, and she was later diagnosed with aortic stenosis.
Matsu Nakazato died of respiratory failure in Kunigami, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on 3 August 1993, at the age of 111 years, 181 days.
Sources
- 111歳仲里マツさん大往生 Okinawa Times (Morning edition), 4 August 1993 (page 23)
- Aging and Age-related Diseases: The Basics