There’s a Japanese Myth That Believes Jesus is Buried in Japan

There was a shepherd who settled down in a small village of Shingo in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture to grow garlic 2,000 years ago, according to Japanese religious writings.

Known by the name Daitenku Taro Jurai, the man is said to have married a farmer’s daughter named Miyuko, fathered three children and died at the age of 106. In the Christian world, he is more popularly known as Jesus Christ.

Today, the supposed tomb of Jesus Christ can be found in an actual burial mound with a large cross sticking out of the top atop a hill in Shingō. Right next to Jesus’ tomb is another mound which is reportedly where the ear of his younger brother and the Virgin Mary’s lock of hair were buried.

If the teachings of the Takenouchi Documents are to be believed, it was not Jesus of Nazareth who died on the cross at Calvary as the Christian bible stated, according to The Smithsonian.

Based on the documents, it was his younger brother, Isukiri, who took his place on the cross, while Jesus fled across Siberia to Mutsu Province, in northern Japan. The story claimed that as he fled to Japan, Jesus took a lock of the Virgin Mary’s hair and one of his brother’s ears.

Discovered in 1936 but destroyed during World War II, the Takenouchi Documents were reportedly the work of popular cosmoarcheologist Wado Kosaka, reports Atlas Obscura. A reproduction of the documents is kept on display at the nearby Jesus museum.

Kosaka gained national fame after he attempted to contact aliens on live television.

While the work is widely believed to be a hoax, there are still some who actually believe that many of the village’s current inhabitants are Jesus’ descendants.

Those who believe the Takenouchi Documents have pointed out that the variations in speech, custom, and even eye color of the villagers of Shingo are evidence of Jesus’ Anglo-Christian influence in the area.

The sign on the alleged tomb of Jesus reads:

“When Jesus Christ was 21 years old, he came to Japan and pursued knowledge of divinity for 12 years. He went back to Judea at age 33 and engaged in his mission. However, at that time, people in Judea would not accept Christ’s preaching. Instead, they arrested him and tried to crucify him on a cross. His younger brother, Isukiri casually took Christ’s place and ended his life on the cross.

Christ, who escaped the crucifixion, went through the ups and downs of travel, and again came to Japan. He settled right here in what is now called Herai Village and died at the age of 106.

On this holy ground, there is dedicated a burial mound on the right to deify Christ, and a grave on the left to deify Isukiri.

The above description was given in a testament by Jesus Christ.”

Featured Image via Wikipedia Commons / thor hestnes (CC BY 3.0)

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