Case file · Folklore / legend
The 'Tomb of Jesus' at Shingō
In 1935 Kiyomaro Takenouchi announced that Jesus had not died on the cross but lived out his life in the village of Shingō, Aomori, where his grave was shown.
1935 CE · 40.47, 141.18 · status: hoax
The account
The claim rests on the 'Takenouchi Documents', supposedly ancient texts that also placed Moses's grave in Ishikawa. The village still holds a 'Christ festival' at the mound with Obon-style dancing.
The sceptical view
Historians dismiss the Takenouchi Documents as modern forgeries; the originals were said to be lost in the war. It is a nationalist-era invention, now a local tourist tradition.