was a Japanese centenarian who was titled the oldest living person after the death of Niwa Kawamoto on 16 November 1976, also from Japan. His case was initially verified by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'', who titled him the oldest man ever, but Guinness later withdrew their claim; in the 2012 edition, Christian Mortensen was named the "oldest verified man ever" and Izumi was not mentioned.

Biography

''Guinness World Records'' found a document attesting that he was 24 years old in 1889 when he was exempted from military service to deal with sugar cane fields. Izumi drank

brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...

shōchū is a Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes, or even carrots. Ty ...

'' (a Japanese

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

often distilled from

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

), and took up

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

at age 70. Izumi's personal physician strongly advised him against drinking shōchū as his kidneys were not strong enough to process shōchū in his advanced age, but Izumi went on to say: "Without shōchū there would be no pleasure in life. I would rather die than give up drinking." He retired from sugar cane farming in 1970.

Death and uncertainty over age

After a brief hospitalization, Izumi died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at 21:15 JST on 21 February 1986. He was one of only two people (the other being

Jeanne Calment Jeanne Louise Calment (; 21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997) was a French supercentenarian and the oldest human whose age is documented, with a lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies ...

) claimed verified to have lived past their 120th birthday, although subsequent research has discounted this claim. In April 1987, 14 months after Izumi's death, the Department of Epidemiology at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology reported that research into Izumi's family registration records indicated he might have been 105 when he died. The 2011 ''Guinness World Records'' book states that the birth certificate submitted as evidence might have actually belonged to a deceased brother, and the family may have re-used "Shigechiyo" as a

necronym A necronym (from the Ancient Greek, Greek words νεκρός, ''nekros'', "dead," and ὄνομα, ''ónoma'', "name") is the name of or a reference to a person who has death, died. Many cultures have taboos and traditions associated with referr ...

. With the closing of the "Guinness World Record Museum" in Niagara Falls, ON in September 2020, the display and reproduction of Izumi now resides in a private collection in Canada. The oldest undisputed case of male longevity is

Jiroemon Kimura was a Japanese supercentenarian who lived for 116 years and 54 days. He became the verified oldest man in history on 28 December 2012, when he surpassed the age of Christian Mortensen (1882–1998), as well as, so far, the only man who has li ...

, also from Japan, who died at age 116 years and 54 days.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izumi, Shigechiyo 19th-century births 1986 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Japanese centenarians Longevity claims Men centenarians People from the Amami Islands Year of birth uncertain

Biography

Death and uncertainty over age

See also

References