BIOGRAPHY

Mine Kondō was born in the village of Ikuma (now part of Toyota City), Aichi, Japan, on 1 September 1910. At the age of 20, she married a farmer from Higashihagihira (Japanese: 東萩平町), and the couple had six children (three sons and three daughters).

Until she broke her hip at the age of 101, she could push a pushcart up and down a steep slope to her home. Around the age of 103, she had an intestinal obstruction and underwent surgery. Her doctors told her it would take 3 months to make a full recovery, but she recovered in 4 days and was discharged in 2 weeks. After she turned 101, she began attending a daycare center in Nagoya, and by the time she was 112, she started going to a daycare service from her home twice a week to enjoy activities such as calligraphy.

Mine Kondō currently lives in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

RECOGNITION

When she was 105 years old, the mayor of Toyota City visited her. On that occasion, she sang her favorite jikyōgen (地狂言) song to the mayor and presented her handmade cloth sandals as a thank-you gift. At that time, she said the secret to her longevity was: “To eat and sleep well. Also, to make zori sandals and to move my hands.”

On 2 March 2023, following the death of 112-year-old Shizu Narita, she became the oldest living person in Aichi Prefecture.

In an interview with LongeviQuest in May 2023, her family said they never saw her speak ill of others, and how she has a big, positive personality, and how she never got stressed out about smaller issues.

ATTRIBUTION

* “ご長寿をお祝い” – あさひげんき通信, October 2010

* “いつまでもお元気で！” – あさひげんき通信, October 2012

* “近藤ミネさん（東萩平町）” – あさひげんき通信, October 2013

* “豊田市内で2番目の高齢！市長が長寿のお祝いに高齢者宅を訪問しました” – Toyota City, 15 September 2015

* “近藤ミネさん（東萩平町）” – あさひげんき通信, October 2019

* “書道の日(๑>◡<๑)” – ひろせデイサービス 活動日誌, 23 May 2023

GALLERY

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