Three dead in priestess feud at sumo shrine

A CENTURIES-OLD shrine in the heart of Tokyo was the scene of a bloody three-way murder-suicide as the site’s priestess was killed by her brother who then killed his wife with a samurai sword in an apparent feud over succession rights.

Shigenaga Tomioka, 56, set upon his elder sister Nagako, chief priestess at Tomioka Hachimangu shrine, over a long-running disagreement over who should take charge of the 17th century Shinto temple.

According to local media, he stabbed Nagako, 58, though her chest and then sliced the back of her neck with a curved katana, the sword traditionally used by the samurai warriors of ancient and feudal Japan.

After killing his sister, Shigenaga turned the sword on his wife before inflicting a fatal wound to himself in the temple’s garden.

Popular with tourists who feed the koi carp in the serene surroundings, the shrine was sealed off by police tape last night as investigators sought to clarify the motive behind the rare violent assault in the Japanese capital.

At least one blood-stained sword and two smaller knives were found near the scene. Police refused to comment on the motive but conceded it was not a random assault.

Shigenaga once served as a priest at the shrine and had long quarrelled with his sister over the temple’s affairs. Shigenaga sent a threatening letter to his sister in 2006, saying he would “send her to hell”, Sankei newspaper said. At the time, his sister held a post known as negi, the second-highest rank at a Shinto shrine.

Shigenaga apparently carried out his attack on his sister as she emerged from her car. A woman reported to be his wife attacked the priestess’s driver, also with a sword.

The driver was chased out of the temple grounds, leaving a trail of blood, which was still visible on the pavement yesterday morning. He suffered deep cuts to his shoulder, arm, and chest, police said.

After the attack, the pair made their way to an area near the residential compound. “We believe [Shigenaga] stabbed the woman before stabbing himself,” a police spokesman said.

The Tomioka Hachimangu shrine dates back to 1627 and is best known for its summer water-splashing festival, seen as one of the top three festivals in Tokyo. It had received visits from Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

The temple is also said to be the birthplace of Kanjin zumō tournaments, public sumo wrestling bouts held at shrines to attract visitors and donations.

Beginning in 1684, the tournaments are believed to be the origins of modern professional sumo.