"Kinsan Ginsan" (きんさんぎんさん), was the affectionate name of Japanese

identical Two things are identical if they are the same, see Identity (philosophy). Identical may also refer to: * ''Identical'' (Hopkins novel), a 2008 young adult novel by Ellen Hopkins * ''Identical'' (Turow novel), a 2013 legal drama novel by Scott T ...

twin sisters from

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

, widely known for their longevity, and for being the oldest living twins. Their full names were and . Their

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also use ...

was . Their names literally translated from Japanese to English mean "Gold" and "Silver". Their health and vitality, despite being over 100 years old, was said to be "an ideal form of living in your sunset years", and they became national celebrities in Japan. They lived to ages 107 and 108.

History

The twins were born on August 1, 1892, in Narumi Village (currently in Midori Ward,

), Aichi Prefecture. Kin was the elder daughter and Gin was the younger daughter. Tests later proved that they were identical twins, though their blood types differed. In 1991, about to reach 100 years of age, the twins were featured in a newspaper article and received congratulations from both the mayor of Nagoya and the Aichi Prefecture governor. In 2000, Kin Narita, the elder twin died, aged 107 years and 175 days. The cause of death was heart failure, as confirmed by an autopsy. 13 months later, in February 2001, her younger sister Gin died at 108 years of age. The cause of death could not be attributed to any specific diagnosis and therefore was given as " old age". Their favourite food was fish with red flesh. One of the sisters has four daughters who also showed signs of longevity. The four sisters have taken part in a documentary by

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

, ''Today's Close-Up''. The sisters also featured in a study about longevity. At the time of Kin's death in 2000 the twins combined had six children, 11 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

References

* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1194040.stm * http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/01/local/me-31938 * http://www.hellofuntime.com/2013/01/todays-close-up-20121120-forever-young.html {{Authority control 1892 births 20th-century Buddhists 2000 deaths 2001 deaths Identical twins Japanese Buddhists Japanese centenarians Musical groups from Aichi Prefecture People from Nagoya People of Meiji-period Japan People of Shōwa-period Japan People of Taishō-period Japan Japanese twins Women centenarians