107 Year Old Japanese Twins

Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama have been confirmed as the oldest identical twins living (female) and the oldest identical twins ever (female) at 107 years and 300 days as of Septmeber 1, 2021.

(Photos and information from the Guinness World Records website.)

Identical twins Umeno and Koume were born November 5, 1913 on Shodo Island, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, into a family of 13. Uemo married and lived on Shodo Island, Koume married someone off the island. Because they lived over 300 km apart, they were unable to get together frequently, but caught up at weddings and funerals.  When they were around 70 years old, they traveled together on several Buddhist Pilgrimages. As they got older, they joked about getting to be as old as Kin and Gin, famous Japanese identical twins. When Umeno and Koume celebrated their 99th birthday, Umeno looked at the photo of Kin and Gin and said "I think we look younger". They are currently living in separate locations, so the offical certificates were presented to Umeno and Koume by care home staff.  Koume, whose memory is not what it once was, couldn't fully comprehend the significance of receiving the certificate, but her family members are pleased that their achievement has been officially recognized.  How amazing!