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December 11, 2017

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Three die as former priest slays sister

A former priest wielding a samurai sword killed his Shinto priestess sister and another woman in an apparent family vendetta at a historic Tokyo shrine, before turning the blade on himself, police said.

Shigenaga Tomioka, 56, set upon his older sister Nagako, chief priestess at Tomioka Hachimangu shrine, with a samurai sword on Thursday in a rare violent assault in Japan’s capital. Nagako, 58, was later pronounced dead with a deep stab wound to her chest, along with a laceration to the back of her neck.

Tomioka had once served as a priest and the siblings had long quarrelled over shrine affairs, local media reported.

Police refrained from commenting on the motive but said it was not a random assault.

Nagako and Shigenaga were known to have fought over the succession rights at the shrine, local media said.

While Shigenaga was assaulting his sister, another woman — reportedly Tomioka’s wife — pursued Nagako’s driver with a sword. The driver escaped but suffered deep cuts to his shoulder, arm and chest.

After the attack, Tomioka and his wife then moved to an area near the residential compound on the shrine’s leafy grounds.

“We believe the male suspect (Shigenaga) stabbed the woman (his wife) before stabbing himself,” police said.

The 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 Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.




 

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