Jiroemon Kimura

Jiroemon Kimura
Jiroemon Kimura
	Kimura on his 115th birthday on 19 April 2012
Native name	木村次郎右衛門
Born	三宅金治郎 (Miyake Kinjiro); 19 April 1897; Kamiukawa, Japan
Died	12 June 2013; (aged 116 years, 54 days); Kyōtango, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Retired postal worker, farmer
Known for	Oldest man ever; Only man in history who undisputedly reached age 116; Oldest living person (17 December 2012 – 12 June 2013);
Spouse(s)	Yae Kimura (1904–1978) (m. ?–1978; her death)
Children	7
Parent(s)	Morizo and Fusa Miyake

Jiroemon Kimura (木村次郎右衛門, Kimura Jirōemon, 19 April 1897 – 12 June 2013) was a Japanese supercentenarian. He became the oldest verified male in history on 28 December 2012, at the age of 115 years and 253 days when he surpassed the age of Christian Mortensen who died in 1998,^[2] and also became the first and so far the only man who indisputably reached 116 years of age, being 116 years, 54 days old at the time of his death from natural causes on 12 June 2013, in a hospital in his hometown of Kyōtango, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. He was the last verified living man born in the 19th century.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Kimura became the oldest living man in Japan upon the death of Tomoji Tanabe on 19 June 2009,^[6] the world's oldest living man upon the death of Walter Breuning on 15 April 2011,^[a]^[7]^[8] the oldest living person in Japan upon the death of Chiyono Hasegawa on 2 December 2011, and the world's oldest living person^[9] upon the death of Dina Manfredini on 17 December 2012,^[10] until his own death. With Breuning's death, he was also the last living man born in the 1890s. He and Breuning were also the only verified men born in the 1800s who lived into the 2010s.

Early life and education[edit]

Kimura was born as Kinjiro Miyake (三宅金治郎, Miyake Kinjirō). According to records, he was born on 19 April 1897,^[9] in the fishing village of Kamiukawa, the third of six children born to farmers Morizo and Fusa Miyake.^[2] According to Kimura's nephew, Tamotsu Miyake, Kimura was actually born on 19 March 1897, but his birthday was instead recorded as 19 April 1897, by mistake in 1955 when records from neighboring towns were consolidated and redone.^[2] He finished school second in his class at age 14 and commenced working from local post offices around the age of 17.

Marriage and career[edit]

In the 1920s, Kimura also worked as a government communications worker in Korea under Japanese rule.^[2] Upon returning from Korea, he married his neighbor, Yae Kimura (1904–1978).^[2] Since his wife's family lacked a male heir, he changed his name to Jiroemon Kimura, becoming the ninth member of the family to bear that name.^[2] He retired in 1962 at the age of 65, having worked in post offices for 45 years.^[2] After retiring he turned to farming until the age of 90.^[1]

Personal life[edit]

Four of Kimura's siblings lived past the age of 90, and his youngest brother died at the age of 100.^[2] Kimura had 7 children (5 of whom survived him), 14 grandchildren (13 surviving), 25 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren.^[11]^[12] Kimura was health conscious and active.^[13] He woke up early in the morning and read newspapers with a magnifying glass.^[13] Also, he enjoyed talking to guests and followed live parliamentary debates on television. According to him, small portions of food (hara hachi bun me) (腹八分目/はらはちぶんめ) were the key to a long and healthy life.^[13]^[14] Kimura resided in Kyōtango, Kyoto Prefecture, with his eldest son's widow, 83, and his grandson's widow, 59.^[8]

On his 114th birthday on 19 April 2011, Kimura mentioned his survival of the 7.6 magnitude 1927 Kita Tango earthquake that hit Kyoto and killed over 3,000 people.^[15] Being born in the year 30 of the Meiji period, he lived in the reigns of 4 emperors, and during the premierships of 61 Japanese Prime Ministers, from Matsukata Masayoshi to Shinzō Abe.

In October 2012, Kimura was presented with a certificate from Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday, relating to Kimura's appearance in the 2013 edition of Guinness World Records book; this was the second year in a row Kimura was recognized as the oldest living man in the world, as he also appeared in the book the year before. During the meeting, Kimura said he spent most of his time in bed.^[16]

On his 116th and final birthday, Kimura received many well-wishes, including a video message from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.^[4] He was hospitalized for pneumonia on 11 May 2013. On 23 May 2013, when James Sisnett of Barbados died, Kimura became the last verified living man born in the 19th century.^[14] He died of natural causes in the hospital in his hometown of Kyōtango, western Japan, at 2:08 a.m. on 12 June 2013.^[12]^[17] His funeral was held on 14 June 2013.^[18]