was a Japanese supercentenarian who was the world's oldest living person since the death of 116-year-old Japanese man Jiroemon Kimura on 12 June 2013 until her own death on 1 April 2015. She was the world's oldest living woman since the death of 115-year-old Japanese woman Koto Okubo on 12 January 2013 until 1 April 2015. She was the oldest verified Japanese and Asian person ever, until being exceed the record by Nabi Tajima in 2017.
Biography
Okawa was born on 5 March 1898, in the Tenma district (present-day Kita-ku) of Osaka, and in her latter years lived at a nursing home in Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka. She married Yukio in 1919, and had three children, two of whom were still alive at the time of her death. She also had four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Longevity
On 27 February 2013, a few days before her 115th birthday, Misao Okawa was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living woman in the world, and was presented with a certificate at her nursing home in Osaka.