The perils of being a celebrity cannibal in Japan
“The public has made me the godfather of cannibalism, and I am quite happy about that.” – Issei Sagawa, The Japanese Celebrity Cannibal
The saga of Issei Sagawa is in my opinion, one of the darkest blots that has ever tarnished the Japanese national soul.
Back in 1981, Sagawa gained notoriety when he murdered and cannibalized a Dutch woman in Paris. After being arrested in France, the court ruled that he was insane and unfit to stand trial (due to an injury he allegedly had suffered at an earlier age to his prefrontal cortex), and so he was deported to a mental hospital in Japan in 1984 in a deal arranged by his wealthy father. Once back in Japan, the head doctor of the hospital declared Sagawa sane, and so he was released.
How did Japan react to this blatant miscarriage of justice?
What did the Japanese people do when they found themselves face-to-face with a human monster who brutally murdered a young woman, and butchered and ate her corpse?
Why, they made him a celebrity!
Sagawa appeared on the cover of a Japanese gourmet magazine, wrote a weekly column for a newspaper, edited an anthology of cannibal fantasies, wrote four novels, and even appeared in a number of porno movies. The Japanese public embraced him so completely that Sagawa found all of the attention amusing.
But that was then, this is now, and no one in Japan cares about yesterday’s news. Now the word is that the Japanese Hannibal Lecter is having a hard time making ends meet. A weekly magazine in Japan recently quoted him complaining that life has not been very good to him of late.
“My parents, who went through so much, passed away on consecutive days in January last year, my father on the fourth and mother the following day. I was being chased by debt collectors at the time and had fled into hiding in Chiba Prefecture, so, unfortunately, I couldn’t see them before they died,” the cannibal tells Shukan Shincho. “The funerals were put on by my father’s old company, so I wasn’t welcome. I had to watch from a closed circuit monitor set up in a different room.”
Not only that, now that the TV, book, magazine, and tabloid gigs have dried up Sagawa is finding out just how difficult it can be to find a job when when your resume contains the word “Cannibal.”
“I wrote out about 500 resumes and stomped around to all these different companies looking for a job, but nobody wanted to take me on. A language school position I applied for looked good after the boss said he admired my courage for not trying to hide who I am, but I missed out on getting work when all the other members of staff came out in opposition to working with me.”
Tsk, tsk. . .
Poor Mari….she’s my favorite. If I ever become a j-pop singer and part of the...
Shes definitely at the top of my hot list.
perfeckt 10:10
*sheds a tear of dry ice*
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:10 amIn Texas…he would be dead, especially if released. God bless Texas.
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:44 am[...] « Burning Rice Bags Japanese Cannibal Celebrities More from Japundit, The bizarre story [...]
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:29 amIf he’s that desperate, I’m sure Nova would hire him.
February 22nd, 2006 at 5:02 amWhoa. How the hell is this guy walking free?! What do the Dutch and French think of the Japanese criminal system?
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:10 amWell if you can’t keep him in a mental hospital, put him on JTV! The difference is marginal and at least you can keep an eye on him.
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:53 amCulture spot: Japan’s cannibal
Japundit is very good at explaining, or at least exposing, the stranger side of Japan. This piece on, believe it or not, a Japanese murderer celebrated for eating his victim is quite the eye-opener. (Via Japundit)…
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:06 pmAnd look at Shoko Asahara, more than ten years after the sarin gas attacks, he remains in jail, UNdead. What is Japan waiting for with this AUM devil? Media here say he won’t die until 2025 at the earliest.
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:13 pmSagawa is by no means the only Japanese cannibal. A Google search of the terms “Japanese cannibalism” will bring up innumerable instances during WWII, many quite solidly documented. Japanese veterans certainly have made no secret of the fact that they feasted on Australian soldiers in New Guinea, and that downed American pilots also sometimes ended up on the menu; their livers seem to have been a particular delicacy. Umai!
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:47 pmCannibalism? How about that comb-over? Unconscionable.
February 22nd, 2006 at 4:11 pmJohnny Bronze: It was a custom in Japanese warfare to eat the livers (in particular) of soldiers they killed whose bravery in battle they admired. The liver and kidney are very important in traditional Chinese medicine. Eating the liver was thought to be a way to obtain some of the slain warrior’s courage and skill.
However, this battlefield custom is by no means a Japanese phenomenon. It’s universal, in all cultures throughout history (until recently, anyway).
February 22nd, 2006 at 4:35 pmNo sanity should ever be granted to anyone with such a comb-over. Unconscionable indeed!
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:05 pma remarkable film that touches on cannabilism during wwII is Kazuo Hara’s “The Emperor’s naked Army Marches On” which focuses on Kenzo Okuzaki, who recently died, a WWII vet who was arrested for repeatedly attacking the emperor, others, eventually resorting to murder to expose what he felt were war crimes. An astonishing film.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:27 pmonly in Japan. I hope.
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:39 pmuniversal? Were the romans chowing down on german livers along with the rest of that disgusting stuff they used to eat back then? That’s a bit of a broad sweep to say it was universal practice. Careful with such absolute statements.
Considering the Japanese soldiers were doing it a mere 60 years ago, that makes them anachronistic freaks. Don’t try to white wash bizarre behavior as universal behavior. That’s too apologetic and desperate.
February 22nd, 2006 at 9:32 pm“However, this battlefield custom is by no means a Japanese phenomenon. It’s universal, in all cultures throughout history (until recently, anyway).”
“Until recently” meaning sometime before the paleolithic period in most cultures except, apparently, Japan, the South Pacific, and Jeffrey Dahmer’s fridge. Cannibalism seems to have persisted a bit longer (1940s) in the Japan’s culture than in that of others.
February 23rd, 2006 at 12:09 amhappens all over the world. not exclusive to japan. i just read a story about it happening in africa recently. …the world over.
February 24th, 2006 at 7:02 amGeorge Bush Sr. narrowly avoided that fate when he got shot down over Chichi Jima. The senior command staff on that island had a taste for POW’s.
I tried googling for why on earth they’d do that but haven’t had much luck, tho given what we know about the treatment of POW’s in Japanese hands my guess is more out of contempt and to degrade the remains rather than ancient superstition. No proof tho.
February 24th, 2006 at 9:03 am[...] t 1 minute ago in Japan Tags: Japan. Speechless… No Responses to R [...]
February 24th, 2006 at 1:35 pmthe world over?! You read about something that happened in Africa and you say: “the world over?” Oh, come on!:roll: defense of this barbaric practice gets more pathetic. Please tell me you were being sarcastic
February 26th, 2006 at 3:54 amThis podcast (ep
had been sitting unlistened to on my iPod until this afternoon. Just wanted to say that I remember the Sagawa case quite clearly (was working in a newsroom in Tokyo at the time). A few years after he was judged “sane” and released, one of my friends had to work (production side) on a movie in which he was an extra; naturally, she was freaked out (as I would have been). But that was it (as far as me giving any thoughts about the case was concerned) until a few years ago, when one my of business colleagues here (in Continental Europe) told me during dinner (perhaps not the most appropriate subject to discuss over food) one evening that he grew up with and dated (in high school) Sagawa’s poor victim. And so I learned of her background, how my friend still visited the woman’s mother, that sort of thing. So today, listening to the podcast made me angry all over again … I couldn’t give a shit about whether he’s homeless, destitute or anything else. No, just made me pissed off yet again at how Japan was really on another planet during the Bubble years, and how Japanese “media” (all streams) had such a distorted view on life.
Just wanted to comment.
March 7th, 2006 at 6:16 pmTo the earlier poster who praised the Texas judicial system and said Sagawa would be executed there, I would like to point out something. Texas does indeed have enthusiasm for executions. But if you take a look at Death Row, what you see are a bunch of poor people, who, in many cases, have questionable legal representation. In at least one case, the court-appointed lawyer was asleep during the trial. How then does Texas treat accused wealthy people (note that Sagawa came from a wealthy family). Well, I’d like to direct your attention to the case of Fort Worth billionaire Cullen Davis who was acquited of killing his 12-year-old daughter in cold blood back in the 70s. This was every bit as big an outrage as what happened in the Sagawa case.
March 12th, 2006 at 10:49 amOMG People Wake up this guy was bound to be messed up his mom had him and his brother in a pot on the stove and patially cooked them when they were kids come on anyone would be messed up after that
March 14th, 2006 at 4:14 amyeah, michelle, but wake up this about making a celebrity of a murderer. That’s messed up!
March 14th, 2006 at 2:27 pmMr. Sagawa is no mental patient or freak. He’s just a few years ahead of his time. With rampant overpopulation and rapidly diminishing resources, we will all be eager to chow down on the only surviving nutrient bodies left on the planet. Why do you think I sire so many children? So I can harvest them in my old age! Don’t fall behind! Get the taste today!
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:06 am[...] For the full story, click here. [...]
June 9th, 2008 at 10:05 pm[...] Perils of being a cannibal celebrity in Japan – nothing perilous about it, the irony. The Japanese were very screwed in [...]
June 10th, 2008 at 8:42 pmkill this bastard. i have seen the photograph of what remained of renee hartevelt when this monster was through with her, and believe me, it is one of the most HORRIFYING images anyone can see…….i don’t see why they can atleast put him in jail.if this was done MY way, this asshole would have to endure every agony possible before dying in a gruesome manner and then being fed to hungry sharks.
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 am