The world’s oldest person, Japanese Kane Tanaka, has died at the age of 119. She endured her old age with dignity – and with chocolate. About a woman who knew how to seek happiness in the now.
Kane Tanaka from Japan came to fame late. Later even when she deserved it. She survived cancer surgery at 103, but that only caught the attention of medical professionals and her family at first. Four years later, on the initiative of her second son and his wife, her biography was self-published: “In good times and bad, 107 years old.” The media only became really interested in her when she was well over 110. In March 2019, the Guinness Book of World Records officially presented her as the world’s oldest living person. She was 116 and suddenly a star.
You can’t always choose your achievements. In any case, in the beginning there was nothing to indicate that Kane Tanaka would grow very old. On the contrary. Her biography states that she was premature; her birth was officially registered on January 2, 1903. Her parents, the Ota farmers from the village of Wajiro in Fukuoka, did not believe that she would survive at first and therefore did not register her date of birth right away to let. And the years of her younger adult life were marked by separation, illness, loss. Her husband Hideo, whom she married in 1922, and her eldest son had to go to war; The latter came into Russian captivity. Two of her four biological children died soon after birth. Her adopted daughter was only 23. Hard times.
After 1945 life got better. Japan reinvented itself. Kane and Hideo ran a busy rice cake shop. And when Kane Tanaka retired in 1966, she was a pretty normal elderly lady for decades after that. In 1993 Hideo died. He was 90 like her. But Kane lived on and on. Until she was old enough for the whole world to notice her.
She was a worthy age record holder. The title brought with it certain duties. Public cake eating with politicians on birthdays at their nursing home in Fukuoka-Higashi. A bit of a soft drink commercial because she was so fond of cola. She did everything with patience and humor. If it hadn’t been for Corona, she would certainly have been pushed along the route as planned in the torch relay before the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year. Growing very old seemed like great fun to her.
Her successor: a French nun
Or did you just want to think it was great fun? The fact is: Kane Tanaka has never publicly complained about the burden of old age, about hearing loss or waning strength. Instead, she recommended arithmetic, board games and lots of chocolate as the pillars of a content old age. And when Fukuoka’s mayor asked her what the happiest moment of her life was, she didn’t think twice. But answered with one word: “Now.”
Kane Tanaka was a symbolic figure of the rapidly aging island nation of Japan. But above all an ambassador of life and the joy of the moment. Now another is taking her place as the oldest living person, the French nun André Randon, 118. As was only announced on Monday, Kane Tanaka died on April 19th. She was 119 years old.