| Toshio Katayama | |
 | |
| Birth: | 5 January 1911 Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto, Japan |
| Death: | 19 May 2021 Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, Japan |
| Age: | 110 years, 134 days |
| Country: |  JPN
|
| Validated | |
Toshio Katayama [Japanese: 片山歳生] (5 January 1911 – 19 May 2021) was a Japanese supercentenarian whose age was validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) in 2023.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Toshio Katayama was born in Kamimashiki District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan on 5 January 1911 to parents Fujihira and Tomi Katayama. He was the third-born of seven siblings. As a teenager, he survived a bout of tuberculosis, and as such never completed his education. He began working in his parents' shop, which sold traditional Japanese clothing.
During World War II, he was initially drafted into the military, but was quickly exempted from service due to his lungs being weak from tuberculosis. Towards the end of the war, he was a patient at a hospital in Kokura, Kitakyushu - this same location was the primary intended target for the United States' second nuclear attack on Japan, but cloudy weather led to them choosing Nagasaki instead.
After the war, he was the chairman of his town's business and industry association. During this time, he devoted himself to field work, planting trees in the mountains, and community activities, and his health gradually improved. He married a former nurse and had children.
Later Life[]
At the age of 91, Katayama moved to Hiroshima to live nearer to his grandchildren. In his old age, he would enjoy going on walks with his daughter and grandchildren in Peace Memorial Park. He would avidly read the local newspaper, keeping up on world events and completing quizzes. With the help of a grandson, he also learned how to operate a computer, and began using the internet.
In his centenarian years, Katayama started to have issues with his sight and hearing, but still often joined his grandchildren on vacations. At the age of 102, he traveled to the Tamatsukuri Onsen with his family, surprising many residents with how unusually healthy he was for his age. At the age of 107, he moved into a nursing home in Hiroshima.
Toshio Katayama died in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan on 19 May 2021 at the age of 110 years, 134 days.
References[]
- 令和元年度百歳以上高齢者の状況等について Hiroshima Prefecture, 13 September 2019 (Archived)
- きょう敬老の日 県内１００歳以上２３９２人 女性、男性の６倍超 ／広島 Mainichi Shimbun, 21 September 2020
- City's statistics Hiroshima City, 21 March 2021
- 県内最高齢男性 片山さんが死去 １１０歳 １００歳過ぎても旅行 Chūgoku Shimbun, 20 May 2021