BIOGRAPHY

Fumi Fujihara was born in Japan on 7 September 1910. She married around the age of 20 and became a mother at some point. She enjoyed composing tanka, a form of Japanese short poetry. Although she began her poetic pursuits before turning 20 while attending a girls’ school, she took a prolonged break from composing when she got married. However, she resumed her creative endeavors after the passing of her husband in her early 50s.

In 2011, at the age of 101, she hosted a weekly tanka class at her home with her eldest son and attended a monthly local tanka event organized by the Ishikawa Tanka Society. At some point, she was appointed as the leader of the society, owing to her extensive experience and knowledge of poetry composition. One member praised her abilities, saying, “She knows a lot about methods of literary expression that aren’t very common these days.” At the age of 102, she won her third prize at a society event, stating, “I want to carry on composing poetry while I’m still healthy.” Reportedly, she had memorized around 98 of the Hyakunin Isshu, a classical Japanese anthology featuring one hundred poems by one hundred poets. She could still recite them as she approached the age of 100. She claimed to find inspiration for her own poems while gazing out of the window or during baths.

The chairman of the Japanese Tanka Club once remarked about Fujihara, “She lives with strength by transforming her anxiety into motivation.” This strength could be seen in her poems: “Flower scissors in hand, I transform my anxious loneliness at age 103 into the will to persevere.” Her artistic pursuits extended beyond poetry. She held an honorary membership in the Ohara-ryū school of Ikebana, a form of Japanese floral art. At the age of 101, she conducted classes twice a week at her home in Misato, Shimane Prefecture, where she offered instruction to around ten students.

In 2011, she was awarded with a prize by Misato Town for reaching the age of 100. At some point before reaching the age of 108, she moved into a nursing home for the elderly in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture. While residing there at the age of 110, she was reported to have a healthy appetite, engage in poetry writing, skillfully use her mobile phone, and enjoy watching TV and solving crosswords. Even at the age of 110, she exhibited remarkable judgment skills. She was known for her unwavering spirit and spoke with candor and honesty. According to Fujihara, the key to longevity is maintaining a diet primarily composed of plants and vegetables, with minimal consumption of meat.

Fumi Fujihara passed away at her nursing home in Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, on 21 June 2021, at the age of 110 years, 287 days.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of 111-year-old Sakae Fujii on 15 June 2021, she was reported as the oldest living resident of Shimane Prefecture, even though she was residing in a nursing home in Hiroshima City at the time.

ATTRIBUTION

* PressRelease of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

* Misato Town Public Relations Materials

GALLERY

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