Longevity - my meeting with 108 year Ushi Okushima

In Okinawa, Japan, there is this saying:

“At 70 you are a child. At 80 you are young. And if at 90 you are invited to heaven, say; get out of here and come back when I am 100”!

I love older people! They are wise, secure, and beautiful.

And I am passionate about longevity – living healthy, long lives!

Okinawa, an island belonging to Japan, is a so-called Blue Zone, where people live long and stay healthy well into very old age. Okinawa is famous for its large number of centenarians, and people who live to 110 years old, sometimes even more—especially women.

Researchers have studied Okinawa for decades. The factors contributing to their long lifespan include:

• They eat lots of vegetables and seaweed, no processed foods.

• They eat small portions, served in small bowls.

• They eat until they are 80% full, not 100%.

• They stay active, walking and gardening.

• They have strong social networks—a sense of belonging and support throughout life.

• They have a strong ikigai—a sense of meaning and purpose in life.

• They have spirituality.

  
  

There are said to be 5 Blue Zones in the world, where people live long and healthy lives, with a high proportion of centenarians.

• Okinawa, Japan

• Sardinia, Italy

• Ikaria, Greece

• Nicoya, Costa Rica

• Loma Linda, California

Watch this video about the people of Okinawa and the health benefits of sitting on the floor:

 https://www.bluezones.com/2020/07/why-the-okinawan-practice-of-sitting-on-the-floor-is-linked-to-health-mobility-and-longevity-how-you-can-practice-it-at-home

20 sec into the video is Ushi Okushima (paraphrased in books/on internet)

The woman I visited in her home in 2009. She was 108 years old at the time and had recently become bedridden. I sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand. On the ceiling hung a medal she had received from the “health/medical service”, which read “Healthy 107 year old”! I met 5 generations of women, who welcomed me so kindly. Ushi's daughter is sitting next to her mother in bed, she was 80 years old and so agile and resilient! She was sitting on the floor when I got there, and I remember thinking: does she have no legs! In the photos on the walls of the house, Ushi is 98 years old and a model for bitter melon. In another photo, Ushi is 107 and working in the garden

In this picture I am in a village in Crete in Greece:

Here is my story of when I met Ushi Okushima, 108 years old!

In 2009, I visited the island of Okinawa in Japan to look for centenarians. I had spent a few days at a skincare conference in Tokyo. I flew to Okinawa and rented a car to get to Ogimi Village, a place I had read about where many people live past 100.

When I arrived in the village, I started searching through the narrow streets by the low stone houses. I met a few men in their gardens, greeted them, and tried to communicate, but I didn’t speak Japanese, and they didn’t speak English, so it ended up being pointing, laughing, and smiling. I never found out their ages.

I saw a woman washing her car and said hello. She didn’t speak English but ran inside and brought her daughter, who knew a little English. I explained that I was from Sweden and that I was there because I had heard that many people in the village were over 100. She explained this to her neighbor standing in the garden.

The woman ran off for a while and came back with a note waving in her hand. She said we should drive a few kilometers, and a woman would be waiting for us by the roadside with a white scarf around her wrist.

We drove and drove, and finally, I saw a straight-backed woman sitting on a chair by the road, with a white scarf around her wrist. She got into the back seat without a word, pointing where we should drive and where to park the car. She led us to a house and left us there.

I went through the gate, and a woman was sitting on the floor. I thought, “How old is she? Does she have no legs?” She didn’t speak English, so we used gestures and smiles. A younger woman was there too; she didn’t speak English either. She served tea, and we sat on the floor, looking at a map and pointing. After a while, another younger woman came through the gate with two small children. She spoke a little English. Now I learned who everyone was and how they were related.

She told me we should go to another room where the elder was.

I had the joy of visiting a family where a woman was 108 years old!

Her name was Ushi Okushima. She had recently become bedridden.

Ushi has been mentioned in many books and articles, and I have seen TV programs about her afterward.

I sat on the edge of her bed and held her hand. Her hands were warm.

Ushi’s daughter sat next to her mother in bed. She was 80 years old and so agile and flexible when she got into bed. This was the woman who had been sitting on the floor when I first arrived.

Ushi had poor hearing, so her daughter spoke close to her ear and explained who I was.

Hanging from the ceiling was a medal she had received from the health authorities, which read “Healthy 107-year-old.”

There were five generations of women in the room.

There was a photo in the house of Ushi, at 107, working in the garden. On several photos on the walls, Ushi was a model for the vegetable goya/bitter melon at the age of 98.

A quick search for Ushi Okushima shows that she was born in 1901 and lived a long and healthy life.

I am so grateful for this experience. When I returned to Sweden, I wrote a letter and sent it to their address, but I never received a reply. I asked questions about how Ushi had lived her life.

I read that Ushi passed away the following year, at the age of 109.