Shigechiyo izumi biography examples
Home / Biography Templates & Examples / Shigechiyo izumi biography examples
Similarly, a 2017 analysis in Experimental Gerontology re-examined his records and concluded the 105-year age, reinforcing the need for primary source cross-verification in gerontological studies.[1]Despite the withdrawal, Izumi's legacy persists in cultural displays of longevity records. He then continued as a part-time farmer until his formal retirement from sugarcane work in 1970.[1]Izumi's claimed long tenure in sugarcane employment culminated in his formal retirement in 1970, after a total of 98 years of service beginning in 1872, at a claimed age of 105.[10] This span formerly earned him recognition from Guinness World Records for the longest working life on record, though this was invalidated in 2011 alongside his age claim.[10][1] If born around 1880, his working age at retirement would be approximately 90, with a shorter overall span.Following his retirement, Izumi resided in his home village of Asan on Tokunoshima, where he maintained a routine of light activities around the house, including daily walks in the garden.[4] These modest pursuits marked a gentle transition from his laborious career to a quieter phase of life.
Recognition
Guinness Verification
Shigechiyo Izumi became the oldest living man and Japan's oldest person on November 16, 1976, following the death of Niwa Kawamoto, who was claimed to be 113 years old, and the world's oldest living person on January 8, 1977, following the death of Marie Laure du-Serre-Telmon, who was claimed to be 117 years old.[13][14]Guinness World Records verified Izumi's age claim based on a family koseki (household registry) dating to 1876 and a 1889 document exempting him from military service at age 24 to work in sugarcane fields.[1][3] This led to his official recognition as the oldest verified living person, a title he held from 1980 until his death in 1986.[1][14] The record for oldest person ever was maintained until Guinness withdrew support in 2011 due to emerging doubts about the documentation's reliability, with the 2012 edition naming Christian Mortensen as the verified oldest man instead.[15][14]Throughout his later years, Izumi underwent physical examinations and interviews that highlighted his remarkable vitality; for instance, in the 1970s, when believed to be over 105, a medical assessment by Dr.S. Fukuda noted his robust health despite minor hearing loss, supporting his claimed longevity during the verification period.[1] These evaluations, combined with family and community interviews, contributed to Guinness's initial confidence in his age.[1]
Media and Public Profile
Shigechiyo Izumi garnered significant media attention during his later years as the recognized oldest living person, with journalists frequently visiting his home on Tokunoshima Island to cover his daily routines and celebrations.In April 1987, 14 months after Izumi's death, the Department of Epidemiology at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology reported that research into Izumi's family registration records indicated he might have been 105 when he died.[5][6] The 2011 Guinness World Records book states that the birth certificate submitted as evidence might have actually belonged to a deceased brother, and the family may have re-used "Shigechiyo" as a necronym.[7]
With the closing of the Guinness World Record Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario, in September 2020, the display and fibreglass statue of Izumi was sold for $850 on February 12th 2021 and now resides in a private collection in Canada.[8]
The oldest undisputed case of male longevity is Jiroemon Kimura, also from Japan, who died at age 116 years and 54 days.[9]Jeanne Calment holds the record for oldest female and oldest human ever, at 122 years and 164 days.
After him are Johannes Franz Hartmann, Pēteris Stučka, Olga Boznańska, Bronisława Dłuska, Erich von Drygalski, and Aspazija.
Idzumi credited his longevity to "the Gods, Buddha, and the Sun."
Death and Controversy
After a brief hospitalization, Sigeyo Idzumi passed away from pneumonia on February 21, 1986, at 21:15 Japanese Standard Time. Japan's first national census in 1871 recorded Izumi as 6 years old, providing early support for the 1865 birth claim.[2]Izumi was the only son of his parents, Tameminato Izumi and Tsurukame Izumi.
See also
References
Authority control databases | |
|---|---|
| International | |
| National | |
Shigechiyo Izumi
POLITICIAN
1865 - 1865
Shigechiyo Izumi
Shigechiyo Izumi (泉 重千代, Izumi Shigechiyo; died 21 February 1986) was a Japanese man who was titled the oldest living person after the death of Niwa Kawamoto on 16 November 1976, also from Japan.
Local government records from Tokunoshima, maintained by the town administration in Isen (where Izumi was born and lived), have historically aligned with these documents, supporting the 1865 birth year through preserved municipal archives that trace family lineages and vital events from the late 19th century.[20]Guinness World Records initially accepted these documents as sufficient proof of Izumi's age, recognizing him as the world's oldest verified man from 1978 until his death in 1986, when he was listed at 120 years old.
His wife passed away at the age of 90.
Secrets to Longevity
Idzumi attributed his long life to drinking "firewater," a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grains, often barley or rice. His physician, Yoshinobu Moriya, diagnosed the pneumonia as the primary ailment contributing to his decline.[6]Throughout this period, Izumi adhered to his longstanding lifestyle, including a daily glass of shōchū—a traditional Japanese spirit distilled from sugar—that he had begun consuming at age 70.
However, in April 1987, 14 months after his death, the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology reported that examination of Idzumi's family documents indicated that he died at the age of 105. I would rather die than give up drinking."[3] He retired from sugar cane farming in 1970.[2]
Death and uncertainty over age
After a brief hospitalization, Izumi died of pneumonia[4] at 21:15 JST on 21 February 1986.
Idzumi's name was first mentioned in the Guinness World Records, but in the 2012 edition, the publishers decided not to recognize him as the oldest person. Shigechiyo Izumi is the 8,014th most popular politician (down from 6,847th in 2024), the 680th most popular biography from Japan (down from 529th in 2019) and the 236th most popular Japanese Politician.
Memorability Metrics
Loading...
Page views of Shigechiyo Izumi by language
Loading...
Among POLITICIANS
Among politicians, Shigechiyo Izumi ranks 8,014 out of 19,576.
The organization's verification process at the time relied on the combination of the census, registry, and exemption records as reliable historical evidence from a period predating modern birth certificates in rural Japan. Before him are Madeleine Sophie Barat, George Phillips Bond, Giuditta Pasta, James Barry, Fredrika Bremer, and Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas.
Izumi's claimed birth date of 29 June 1865 was accepted by Guinness World Records, which recognized him as the oldest verified man ever, but this was eventually withdrawn in 2010; in the 2012 edition of the Guinness World Records book, Christian Mortensen was named the "oldest verified man ever" and Izumi was not mentioned.[1]
Biography
Guinness World Records found a document attesting that he was 24 years old in 1889 when he was exempted from military service to deal with sugar cane fields.[citation needed]
Izumi drank brown sugarshōchū (a Japanese alcoholic beverage often distilled from barley or rice), and took up smoking at age 70.[2][failed verification] Izumi's personal physician strongly advised him against drinking shōchū as his kidneys were not strong enough to process shōchū in his advanced age, but Izumi went on to say: "Without shōchū there would be no pleasure in life.
It is possible that the parents named Sigeyo in honor of the deceased brother, casting doubt on his final age of 120.
Interesting Fact
Idzumi passed away on February 21, which also happened to be Jeanne Calment's birthday. Currently, Jiroemon Kimura, a former postman and farmer from Japan, holds the title of the oldest verified male ever, having lived for 115 years and 327 days.
Shigechiyo Izumi
Purported Japanese supercentenarian
Shigechiyo Izumi (泉 重千代, Izumi Shigechiyo; died 21 February 1986) was a Japanese man who was titled the oldest living person after the death of Niwa Kawamoto on 16 November 1976, also from Japan.
Born into a farming family in 1865, he began laboring in 1872, at approximately age seven, by goading draft animals at a nearby sugar mill—a task that involved guiding oxen or water buffalo to power the grinding process for brown sugar production.[7] This early involvement reflected the pervasive child labor practices in impoverished agricultural communities, where families depended on all members, including children as young as five or six, to contribute to subsistence farming and mill operations due to limited resources and high demands of the sugarcane harvest.[8]By his early twenties, Izumi's essential role in the fields earned him an official exemption from militaryconscription in 1889, when records documented him as 24 years old and indispensable for sugarcane fieldwork during Japan's Meiji-era expansion.[2] This deferment underscored the critical labor shortages in remote rural areas like Tokunoshima, where able-bodied young men were prioritized for agricultural output over national service.
Before him are Adolfo de la Huerta, Oboi, Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, Nominoe, and Joseph Jenkins Roberts. At the time, he was considered the only person ever verified to have reached the age of 120, although subsequent research has cast doubt on his actual age. If this is accurate, Idzumi would have died at the age of 120.