A Brief History
On May 20, 1936, Japanese prostitute Sada Abe was confronted by police at the inn where she was staying, showing them her lover’s genitals as proof of her identification! She had severed them 3 days prior to that and had been carrying them around with her in her purse…
Digging Deeper
As can be guessed, the case caused a sensation in Japan. The police had found the body and were looking for the erotic killer, while Japan was buzzing with false sightings. Apparently even in Japan this activity is frowned upon for Abe was convicted of 2nd degree murder and abuse of a corpse, getting 6 years in jail, but then, we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Abe had been working as a geisha and a prostitute, having been forced into a brothel by her father. Contracting syphilis, Abe let the more cultured geisha aspect of career go for a straight up career as a prostitute. (Geishas were more of an escort companion, expected to be cultured and educated.)
Abe attempted to try another career in 1935 at about age 30 and went to work at a restaurant, where she became the lover of Kichizo Ishida, the owner. Their affair turned bizarre when choking became part of their sexual play, until finally on May 18, 1936 Abe choked Ishida so hard and long that his face became contorted and stayed that way. Some sort of conversation ensued where Ishida supposedly said to her that if she choked him while sleeping, to just choke him to death because he was in such pain. Not surprisingly, she choked him to death. Then things got cracked!
Abe cut off Ishida’s genitals, wrapped them in a magazine and put them in her purse. She wrote her name and his on his leg in blood and did the same on the bed sheet. Sada then wrote her name on his arm, carving it with a knife.
After leaving the hotel and telling the clerk not to disturb Ishida, Abe went about her business, going shopping, going to a movie, getting a massage, and of course trying to make love to the severed genitals in a hotel room under an assumed name. The police came to check her out because of the alias she used and that was when she pulled out the victim’s private parts as proof of who she was, telling them that she could not take Ishida’s head or body, so it was only logical for her to take his genitals.
Obviously, important genitals involved in a famous case such as this cannot be just buried with their owner, so the subject genitals were put on display at the Tokyo University Medical School. (We wonder if that was OK with Ishida!) Do not go there now expecting to see this display today, for the severed genitals disappeared without a trace after World War II.
Abe served only 5 years of the 6 year sentence and capitalized on her notoriety after release, starring in a one act show and later as a hostess at a pub, drawing crowds of curious patrons. She even appeared in a documentary about bizarre crimes by women in 1969, and shortly afterward disappeared and has not been seen publicly since 1970. She was last seen with her hair cut off in a nunnery in Kansai, Japan.
Abe has been the subject of 5 movies, numerous books and articles, plays and short stories. At least one musician and one band have gone by the stage name Abe Sada.
Claiming to be misunderstood and not a sexual pervert, Abe said she did what she did for love alone.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Is the behavior of Sada Abe a sign of mental illness or merely a lifestyle choice?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Johnston, William. Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star: A Woman, Sex, and Morality in Modern Japan (Asia Perspectives: History, Society, and Culture). Columbia University Press, 2004.
The featured image in this article, a picture of en:Sada Abe arrest on May 20, 1936, is in the public domain in Japan, because its copyright has expired according to Article 23 of the 1899 Copyright Act of Japan (English translation) and Article 2 of Supplemental Provisions of Copyright Act of 1970. This is when the photograph meets one of the following conditions:
- It was published before January 1, 1957.
- It was photographed before January 1, 1947.
It is also in the public domain in the United States because its copyright in Japan expired by 1970 and was not restored by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube:
