Yukichi Chuganji facts for kids

Yukichi Chuganji (中願寺 雄吉; Chūganji Yūkichi, born March 23, 1889 – died September 28, 2003) was a man from Japan who lived to be 114 years old. When he passed away, he was the fourth oldest person ever from Japan. He was also the oldest person ever from the island of Kyushu. For a time, he was known as the oldest living man in the world. He was officially confirmed as the oldest living man.

Who Was Yukichi Chuganji?

His Early Life and Work

Yukichi Chuganji was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. He went to a technical school in the early 1900s. After school, he had many different jobs. He worked as a silkworm breeder, which means he helped raise silkworms to make silk. He also taught about farming. Later, he worked at a bank and helped people in his community as a welfare officer.

His Family and Daily Habits

Mr. Chuganji had four sons and one daughter. At the time of his death, his daughter was 74 years old and was his only living child. He also had seven grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. He was not a big fan of vegetables. Instead, he liked to eat beef, pork, and chicken. Every day, he would eat toffee and drink a glass of milk. He also enjoyed apple juice sometimes. He drank alcohol only a little bit, and he believed this was his secret to living such a long life. In his last years, his eyesight became poor, and he had to stay in bed.

A World Record Holder

Becoming the Oldest Man

Yukichi Chuganji was the sixth Japanese man to live past 110 years old, a group known as supercentenarians. He became the oldest living Japanese man after another man named Sadayoshi Tanabe passed away in January 2000. Later, he became the third Japanese man to reach at least 112 years old. He even became the oldest Japanese man ever, passing the ages of Gengan Tonaki and Denzo Ishizaki.

In January 2002, Mr. Chuganji became the oldest living man in the world. This happened after Antonio Todde, an Italian man, passed away. On the very same day, he also became the oldest living person in Japan. In December 2002, he became the oldest living person in the entire world.

Reaching 114 Years Old

On March 23, 2003, Yukichi Chuganji reached a very special age: 114 years old. He was the first Japanese man ever to reach this age. He was also only the third man in the world to do so. The last man to reach 114 before him was Christian Mortensen, almost five years earlier.

His Final Years

Passing Away

Yukichi Chuganji passed away on the evening of Sunday, September 28, 2003. He was 114 years and 189 days old. He died peacefully from natural causes after his daughter gave him a glass of apple juice. At the time of his death, he was the third oldest man ever recorded, after Christian Mortensen and Mathew Beard. He was also the oldest Japanese man ever. However, his record as the oldest Japanese man was later broken on October 26, 2011, by Jiroemon Kimura, who also reached 114 years old and later lived even longer than Mortensen.

After Mr. Chuganji's passing, Mitoyo Kawate from Hiroshima became the oldest living person in the world. The oldest living man became Joan Riudavets from Spain.