Pacific Stars & Stripes, Saturday 25th January 1947
(Page 2)
Japanese 'Sun Goddess' Retinue Wind Up In Jail
A 45-year-old woman who calls herself a Sun Goddess
and commands a retinue including the former sumo champion of Japan and
the premier checker player of China, has wound up in jail and is described
as "crazy" by her former husband, according to reports from Japanese news
sources.
Her name is Yoshiko Nagaoka who claims the title
of "Princess Jikosuma." Her cult is known as Jiukyo.
Her ex-husband said yesterday: "That woman is crazy.
Her talk about being the daughter of marquis is nonsense. When we got married
in 1921, she was no different from any normal woman. But during our married
life she often developed fits and feigned death.
"Since that time, our married life became unhappy,
so we parted," he concluded.
Contributions
She received 250,000 yen as contributions in the past
month to aid in her avowed mission to "reform
Japan."
Her attendants, interviewed by police when she refused
to appear for questioning said that on Sept. 24, she swooned, and upon
awakening found herself transformed into the Sun Goddess. It is claimed
she will never die, but for some obscure reason may leave the world in
100 years.
Police of Kanazawa Prefecture investigated the Jiukyo
cult after its headquarters moved there from Tokyo last November, and began
receiving large contributions.
As one of the leaders in the cult, Sadaki Akiyoshi,
better known as Futabayama, former grand champion of sumo, the Japanese
national sport, has added to the group's notoriety.
When police tried to arrest the Jiko-suma goddess
several days ago, they found that 30 men, including a jiujitsu expert,
were barely enough to subdue the "Man Mountain," Akiyoshi.
For two hours the 300 pound wrestler, armed with
a thick stick, single-handedly held off his intended captors, finally succumbing
to superior numbers.
Official Arrested
Together with his "goddess", Futabayama and a number
of the "goddess's'' cabinet ministers were taken into police custody. One
of the "cabinet ministers" is Go Sei-gen, one of China's best checker players.
Medical experts upon examining several members of
the cult and its leader, stated they were apparently suffering from grandiose
religious paranoia.
Futabayama has since been released and was expected
to return to his home in Oita Prefecture. A psychopathy professor said
he would probably regain his mental equilibrium if he were isolated from
his "mesmerist," the "goddess."