Shigechiyo Izumi

Shigechiyo Izumi
Born	June 29, 1865/1880 Tokunoshima, Amami Islands, Ryukyu
Died	(1986-02-21)February 21, 1986 [aged 120 years, 237 days (disputed)] Tokunoshima, Amami Islands, Japan
Cause of death	Pneumonia

Shigechiyo Izumi (泉 重千代, Izumi Shigechiyo, June 29, 1865/1880 – February 21, 1986) was a Japanese supercentenarian and according to Guinness World Records, became the oldest living person after the death of Niwa Kawamoto, also from Japan. His case is disputed and in recent years even Guinness World Records have backed from their previous statement, but if his claimed birth-date of June 29 1865 is correct, he died aged 120 years and 237 days (44,066 days in total), older than any other recognized man and would be the second-longest verified lived human ever, surpassed only by 122 years old Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment. His name was recorded in Japan's first census of 1871.

Biography

Izumi's wife died at the age of 90. He drank brown sugar shōchū (a Japanese alcoholic beverage often distilled from barley or rice), and took up smoking at age 70. He claimed to have begun his career in 1872, goading draft animals at a sugar mill, and retired as a sugarcane farmer in 1970 at the claimed age of 105 . He attributed his long life to "the Gods, Buddha and the Sun".

Death and controversy over age

After a brief hospitalization, Izumi died of pneumonia at 21:15 Japan Standard Time (JST) on February 21, 1986. Izumi was the longest holder of the "oldest living person" title. He is also one of only two people (the other being Jeanne Calment) verified to have lived past a 120th birthday, although subsequent research has cast doubt on the verification. 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 Izumi might have died at the age of 105. Also in the Guinness World Records Book 2011, it states that "The birth certificate submitted as evidence might actually belong to his older brother, who died at a young age; if the family used Izumi as a 'necronym'—that is, gave him his dead brother's name, as the new research suggests—this means his final age was 105 years old, not 120."

The oldest undisputed case of male longevity is that of Christian Mortensen (1882–1998), who died at the age of 115 years and 252 days. The oldest Japanese man ever whose age is undisputed, was Yukichi Chuganji (1889-2003) who lived to be 114 years and 189 days.

After his death, Mamie Eva Keith became the world's oldest person.

Shigechiyo had to use a wheelchair from age 111, but remained sharp and "with it" until he died age 120. Shortly before his death, when asked how he felt about being six years older than anyone else in human history, Shigechiyo said, "It is unbelievable." When he was 113, he fell down the stairs and broke his arm. Soon, his descendants decided it was time to take him to a nursing home, where Shigechiyo remained until his death. The day before he died, Shigechiyo told a journalist, "I have had a good life, child, but it's time to go now." That night, Shigechiyo died in his sleep, aged 120 years and 237 days. When he died, he had two elderly daughters, seven grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, twenty-nine great-great grandchildren, and a great-great-great granddaughter. His descendants were all very fond of Shigechiyo and looked after him all his life.

See also

• List of the oldest people
• Longevity
• Longevity claims
• Longevity narratives
• Oldest people
• Senescence
• Centenarian
• Supercentenarian
• Jean Teillet, the oldest man in the world at the time if Izumi's birthdate was not correct