https://longeviquest.com/2024/12/fuyo-kishimoto-of-kyoto-japan-celebrates-her-113th-birthday/

Fuyo Kishimoto, a resident of Kyoto City, Japan, celebrated her 113th birthday on 20 December.

Her family shared that she celebrated with her grandchildren, enjoying birthday cake and sekihan (a traditional Japanese dish of rice with red beans, typically served on special occasions), remarking that it was “sweet and delicious.” She spends her days in the nursing home’s living room alongside other residents, enjoys three nutritious meals daily, and maintains good health. She has always enjoyed expressing her happiness by raising her hands and shouting “Banzai,” and on this special day, she did just that, radiating her vibrant energy.

Fuyo Kishimoto (岸本ふよ) was born in Hamasaka (now part of the town of Shin’onsen), Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, on 20 December 1911. She was the only daughter born to parents Ritaro and Koto Kishimoto.

In December 1940, she got married for the second time, and her husband was adopted as a son-in-law to inherit the Kishimoto family name. Their second daughter was born in 1941. Her husband lost his life in action during World War II in 1943, leaving her to raise their two children on her own. According to her family, she was a hard worker who supported her family by engaging in hard labor alongside men in the mountains and at mine sites.

Around 1956, when her second daughter graduated from a girls’ school and started pursuing her own independence, Kishimoto became a live-in staff member at an inn in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, where she worked for about 16 years.

After turning 60, she relocated to Kyoto Prefecture, where her second daughter’s family resided. She then assumed the role of a cook at a school lunch center, a position she held until her mid-80s. During this time, for around 25 years, she walked from her residence to her workplace every day, without ever missing a day of work. According to her family, she worked tirelessly from morning till night from the end of World War II until she reached her mid-80s. She held strong religious beliefs and dedicated three hours each day to the reading of sutras.

In September 2024, she was reported as the oldest living person in Kyoto Prefecture.

Happy 113th Birthday!