Kamato Hongo

Infobox Person
name=Kamato Hongo


caption=
birth_date=birth date|1887|9|16|mf=y?
birth_place= Kagoshima, Japan
death_date=death date|2003|10|31
aged, age in years and days|1887|9|16|2003|10|31?
death_place= Kagoshima, Japan
death_cause= Pneumonia

nihongo|Kamato Hongo|本郷 かまと"Hongō Kamato"|extra=September 16, 1887? – October 31, 2003 was a Japanese supercentenarian and apparently the world's oldest recognized living person from March 2002 until her death. She lived in Kagoshima, on Japan's most southerly major island Kyūshū, and celebrated her possible 116th birthday the month before her death from pneumonia.

Born on the small island of Tokunoshima, home of Shigechiyo Izumi, she later moved to Kagoshima on Kyūshū, where she lived with her daughter. The apparent oldest person in Japan after the death of Denzo Ishisaki in 1999, she attained a measure of celebrity and was the focus of some merchandise (washcloths, keyrings, phone cards, etc.) sold highlighting her longevity. She appeared on Japanese television several times. Kyūshū has been the home of other supercentenarians, including recent world's-oldest-man Yukichi Chuganji, who died one month before her. Aged 116 years and 45 days at her death, she was the last remaining documented person born before 1889. In January 2007, another Kyūshū islander, Yone Minagawa, attained the world's oldest person title, and Kyūshū resident Tomoji Tanabe took the men's title, once again making it the 'island of longevity.'

ee also

* List of the verified oldest people
* Longevity
* Oldest people
* Supercentenarian

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmIIsdMInDI&NR=1 Video of her 116th birthday celebration]