On December 8, 2017, within the shrine grounds of Fukagawa Hachimangu, four men and women were murdered or injured within shrine grounds, including chief priest Nagako Tomioka. One of the murderer was Nagako’s younger brother named Shigenaga Tomioka, who committed suicide after killing his partner-in-crime.
Numerous survival knives and Japanese katanas were found in the crime scene.
Many news media reported a family trouble between the two siblings regarding personnel of Fukagawa Hachimangu. Younger brother Shigenaga used to be the guuji (chief priest) after succeeding his father in the 1990s, but was forced to abandon his post due to romance-related misconduct. For nearly 10 years, he threatened his successor and older sister, Nagako, and had even been arrested in 2006 for his extreme menace. Furthermore, just before the killing occurred, Shigenaga had sent a 8-page letter that demanded himself to be returned to the guuji post, including text such as below:
“If my demand is not accepted, I will remain in this shrine as a vengeful spirit and eternally curse everyone who went against me, along with their descendants.”
Before being murdered, Guuji Nagako Tomioka had been devoted to repairing Fukagawa Hachimangu in preparation for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, such as making slopes within shrine grounds and fixing the public toilets.
This incident is unlikely to endanger a visit to Fukagawa Hachimangu, but a decrease of worshippers is predictable.
Source
http://www.huffingtonpost.jp/2017/12/07/tomioka-hachiman_a_23300928/
http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/14015821/
https://www.nikkansports.com/general/news/201712120000153.html
Leave a Reply