Born in 1898, Misao Okawa was alive when Queen Victoria was still on the throne, has lived through two World Wars and witnessed 6 UK Monarchs, 4 Emperors of Japan and 20 US Presidents come and go.
Misao earned the official Guinness World record title of the world’s oldest living person in 2013 after the death of her fellow Japanese countryman Jiroemon Kimura, aged 116.
Misao has outlived her husband by 83 years – she says that his death in 1931 was the saddest time of her life. She also has 4 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren, who were photographed with her to mark the occasin.
What’s her secret to longevity? Last year on her 116th birthday Misao said “Eat and sleep and you will live a long time.”
Speaking to the UK’s Telegraph she continued: “You have to learn to relax.”
The head of the nursing home where she has lived for the last 18 years, Tomohito Okada, said: “Mrs Okawa eats three large meals a day and makes sure that she sleeps eight hours a night,”
“She insists that her favourite meal is sushi, particularly mackerel on vinegar-steamed rice, and she has it at least once every month.”
For her 117th birthday, Misao poses with her son Hiroshi Okawa, 92, and his wife, her great-grandchild Himaki, grandchild Takako Okaw and local Mayor of the Higashi Sumiyosho district, Mayor Ogura
It’s no surprise that both of the world record holders have hailed from Japan, where the elderly are revered and even celebrated annually with a Respect for the Aged national holiday. The average life expectancy for women in Japan is 87 – the highest in the world, and 80 for men.
There are an estimated 51,376 centenarians in Japan, including an amazing 282 super-centenarians – or, people who have reached the age of 110.
Wishing Misao a very happy birthday indeed!
