Tome Miwa

BIOGRAPHY

Tome Miwa was born in Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, on 22 August 1907, as the youngest of four children. Before getting married, she worked in Tokyo and experienced the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923. A fire broke out in the city, but she escaped and survived by walking on the railroad tracks.

At some point she got married, moved to Inabe City, Mie Prefecture, and had five children. She worked tirelessly in the fields, working until she was 100 years old.

When asked about the secret of her longevity, she said, “Whatever I can do, I do it myself.” Miwa’s hobbies included gateball and handicrafts, and she had never been seriously ill in her life.

Tome Miwa passed away of heart failure at her home in Inabe, Mie Prefecture, Japan, on 21 July 2019.

RECOGNITION

In September 2007, she was presented with a letter of congratulations and a commemorative gift from the Prime Minister by the Mayor of Inabe City.

In September 2013, when Miwa was 106 years old, she attended a Keirokai held in the gymnasium of an elementary school in the town, and received a letter of congratulations from the mayor of Inabe. She attended in her wheelchair, but she was able to walk short distances in her own home at the time.

Following the death of Sumire Hishikawa in the late 2017, she became the oldest living person in Mie Prefecture.

Upon her death, Misae Taniguchi became the oldest living person in Mie Prefecture.