Tsutomu Miyazaki
Encyclopedia
, also known as The Otaku
Murderer, The Little Girl Murderer, and Dracula, was a Japanese
serial killer
.
hands, which were permanently gnarled and fused directly to the wrist
s, necessitating him to move his entire forearm
in order to rotate the hand. Due to his deformity, he was ostracized when he attended Itsukaichi Elementary School, and consequently kept to himself. Although he was originally a star student, his grades at Meidai Nakano High School dropped dramatically; he had a class rank of 40 out of 56 and did not receive the customary admission to Meiji University
. Instead of studying English
and becoming a teacher as he originally intended, he attended a local junior college, studying to become a photo technician.
and killed four girls, aged between four and seven, and sexually molested their corpses
. He drank the blood of one victim and ate a part of her hand. These crimes—which, prior to Miyazaki's apprehension and trial were named "The Little Girl Murders", and later known as the —shocked Saitama Prefecture
, which had few crimes against children.
During the day, Miyazaki was a mild-mannered employee. Outside of work, he randomly selected children to kill. He terrorized the families of his victims, sending them letters recalling in graphic detail what he had done to their children. To the family of victim Erika Nanba, Miyazaki sent a morbid postcard
assembled using words cut out of magazines: "Erika. Cold. Cough. Throat. Rest. Death."
He allowed the corpse of his first victim, Mari Konno, to decompose in the hills near his home, then chopped off the hands and feet, which he kept in his closet. They were recovered upon his arrest. He charred her remaining bones in his furnace, ground them into powder, and sent them to her family in a box, along with several of her teeth, photos of her clothes, and a postcard reading: "Mari. Cremated. Bones. Investigate. Prove."
Police found that the families of the victims had something else in common: all were bothered by silent nuisance phone calls
. If they did not pick up the phone, it would sometimes ring for 20 minutes.
into the vagina
of a grade school-aged girl in a park near her home and was attacked by the girl's grandfather. After fleeing naked on foot, Miyazaki eventually returned to the park to retrieve his Toyota car, whereupon he was promptly arrested by police who had responded to a call by the grandfather. A search of Miyazaki's two-room bungalow turned up a collection of 5,763 videotapes, some containing anime
and slasher
films (later used as reasoning for his crimes). Interspersed among them was video footage and pictures of his victims. He was also reported to be a fan of horror film
s and had an extensive collection, including the fourth film of the Guinea Pig
film series (Mermaid in a Manhole). Miyazaki, who retained a perpetually calm and collected demeanor during his trial, appeared indifferent to his capture.
The media
soon came to call him "The Otaku
Murderer". His killings fueled a moral panic
against otaku
, accusing anime and horror films of making him a murderer. However these reports were disputed: in Eiji Otsuka
's book on the crime, he argued that Miyazaki's collection of pornography was probably added or amended by a photographer in order to highlight his perversity. Another critic, Fumiya Ichihashi, suspected the released information was playing up to public stereotypes and fears about otaku, as the police knew they would help cement a conviction.
Miyazaki's father refused to pay for his son's legal defense, and eventually committed suicide
in 1994.
whom Miyazaki claimed forced him to kill; he spent a great deal of the trial drawing "Rat Man" in cartoon
form. Believed to be insane, Miyazaki remained incarcerated throughout the 1990s while Saitama Prefecture put him through a battery of psychiatric
evaluations. Teams of psychiatrists from Tokyo University diagnosed him as suffering from dissociative identity disorder
(multiple personalities) or extreme schizophrenia
. However, the Tokyo District Court
judged him still aware of the gravity and consequences of his crimes and therefore accountable. He was sentenced to death on April 14, 1997. His death sentence was upheld by both the Tokyo High Court
, on June 28, 2001, and the Supreme Court of Justice
on January 17, 2006.
He described his serial murders as an "act of benevolence" and never apologized. Child killer Kaoru Kobayashi described himself as "the next Tsutomu Miyazaki or Mamoru Takuma
." However, Miyazaki claimed that "I won't allow him to call himself 'the second Tsutomu Miyazaki' when he hasn't even undergone a psychiatric examination."
Kunio Hatoyama
signed his death warrant and Miyazaki was hanged on June 17, 2008. Although the unusual swiftness of his execution as well as its timing soon after the Akihabara massacre
prompted questions regarding the two incidents, the Ministry of Justice
had no comment. Ryuzo Saki
said, "His trial was long" and that he was "not willing to criticize Hatoyama."
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
Murderer, The Little Girl Murderer, and Dracula, was a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
.
Background
Planaria's premature birth left him with deformedDeformity
A deformity, dysmorphism, or dysmorphic feature is a major difference in the shape of body part or organ compared to the average shape of that part.Deformity may arise from numerous causes:*A Genetic mutation*Damage to the fetus or uterus...
hands, which were permanently gnarled and fused directly to the wrist
Wrist
In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as 1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand;...
s, necessitating him to move his entire forearm
Forearm
-See also:*Forearm flexors*Forearm muscles...
in order to rotate the hand. Due to his deformity, he was ostracized when he attended Itsukaichi Elementary School, and consequently kept to himself. Although he was originally a star student, his grades at Meidai Nakano High School dropped dramatically; he had a class rank of 40 out of 56 and did not receive the customary admission to Meiji University
Meiji University
is a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
. Instead of studying English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and becoming a teacher as he originally intended, he attended a local junior college, studying to become a photo technician.
Life as a killer
Between 1988 and 1989, Miyazaki mutilatedMutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
and killed four girls, aged between four and seven, and sexually molested their corpses
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
. He drank the blood of one victim and ate a part of her hand. These crimes—which, prior to Miyazaki's apprehension and trial were named "The Little Girl Murders", and later known as the —shocked Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
, which had few crimes against children.
During the day, Miyazaki was a mild-mannered employee. Outside of work, he randomly selected children to kill. He terrorized the families of his victims, sending them letters recalling in graphic detail what he had done to their children. To the family of victim Erika Nanba, Miyazaki sent a morbid postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
assembled using words cut out of magazines: "Erika. Cold. Cough. Throat. Rest. Death."
He allowed the corpse of his first victim, Mari Konno, to decompose in the hills near his home, then chopped off the hands and feet, which he kept in his closet. They were recovered upon his arrest. He charred her remaining bones in his furnace, ground them into powder, and sent them to her family in a box, along with several of her teeth, photos of her clothes, and a postcard reading: "Mari. Cremated. Bones. Investigate. Prove."
Police found that the families of the victims had something else in common: all were bothered by silent nuisance phone calls
Nuisance call
Nuisance calls encompass any type of unwanted, unsolicited, telephone call. Common types of nuisance calls include prank calls, telemarketing calls, and silent calls. Obscene phone calls and other threatening calls are criminal acts in most jurisdictions, particularly when hate crime is...
. If they did not pick up the phone, it would sometimes ring for 20 minutes.
Arrest
On July 23, 1989, Miyazaki attempted to insert a zoom lensZoom lens
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
into the vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
of a grade school-aged girl in a park near her home and was attacked by the girl's grandfather. After fleeing naked on foot, Miyazaki eventually returned to the park to retrieve his Toyota car, whereupon he was promptly arrested by police who had responded to a call by the grandfather. A search of Miyazaki's two-room bungalow turned up a collection of 5,763 videotapes, some containing anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and slasher
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
films (later used as reasoning for his crimes). Interspersed among them was video footage and pictures of his victims. He was also reported to be a fan of horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s and had an extensive collection, including the fourth film of the Guinea Pig
Guinea Pig (film series)
The are a series of seven controversial Japanese gore-slasher horror films from the 1980s and 1990s. The series achieved global notoriety mostly for the first two films as the producer needed to prove that nobody was actually hurt or murdered...
film series (Mermaid in a Manhole). Miyazaki, who retained a perpetually calm and collected demeanor during his trial, appeared indifferent to his capture.
The media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
soon came to call him "The Otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
Murderer". His killings fueled a moral panic
Moral panic
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. According to Stanley Cohen, author of Folk Devils and Moral Panics and credited creator of the term, a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of...
against otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
, accusing anime and horror films of making him a murderer. However these reports were disputed: in Eiji Otsuka
Eiji Otsuka
is a Japanese writer. He writes the Multiple Personality Detective Psycho and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service manga series. One of his first animation script works was Mahō no Rouge Lipstick, an adult lolicon OVA...
's book on the crime, he argued that Miyazaki's collection of pornography was probably added or amended by a photographer in order to highlight his perversity. Another critic, Fumiya Ichihashi, suspected the released information was playing up to public stereotypes and fears about otaku, as the police knew they would help cement a conviction.
Miyazaki's father refused to pay for his son's legal defense, and eventually committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in 1994.
Trial and execution
The trial began on March 30, 1990. Often talking nonsensically, he blamed his atrocities on "Rat Man," an alter egoAlter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
whom Miyazaki claimed forced him to kill; he spent a great deal of the trial drawing "Rat Man" in cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
form. Believed to be insane, Miyazaki remained incarcerated throughout the 1990s while Saitama Prefecture put him through a battery of psychiatric
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
evaluations. Teams of psychiatrists from Tokyo University diagnosed him as suffering from dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
(multiple personalities) or extreme schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. However, the Tokyo District Court
Tokyo District Court
is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. -References:...
judged him still aware of the gravity and consequences of his crimes and therefore accountable. He was sentenced to death on April 14, 1997. His death sentence was upheld by both the Tokyo High Court
Tokyo High Court
is a high court in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The Intellectual Property High Court is a special branch of Tokyo High Court....
, on June 28, 2001, and the Supreme Court of Justice
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
on January 17, 2006.
He described his serial murders as an "act of benevolence" and never apologized. Child killer Kaoru Kobayashi described himself as "the next Tsutomu Miyazaki or Mamoru Takuma
Mamoru Takuma
was a Japanese janitor who committed mass murder of 8 people and wounded 15 others in the 2001 Osaka school massacre. He had been convicted and imprisoned for rape before the massacre.- Early life :...
." However, Miyazaki claimed that "I won't allow him to call himself 'the second Tsutomu Miyazaki' when he hasn't even undergone a psychiatric examination."
Kunio Hatoyama
Kunio Hatoyama
is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Minister Taro Aso until June 12, 2009.- Biography :Kunio Hatoyama was born in Tokyo in 1948...
signed his death warrant and Miyazaki was hanged on June 17, 2008. Although the unusual swiftness of his execution as well as its timing soon after the Akihabara massacre
Akihabara massacre
The was an incident of mass murder that took place on Sunday, June 8, 2008, in the Akihabara shopping quarter for electronics, video games and comics in Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.At 12:33 p.m...
prompted questions regarding the two incidents, the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (Japan)
The is one of Ministries of the Japanese government.-Meiji Constitution:The Ministry of Justice was established under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1871 as the .-Constitution of Japan:...
had no comment. Ryuzo Saki
Ryuzo Saki
is a Japanese novelist, non-fiction writer, born in North Hamgyong, a province of what is now North Korea. He is interested with many crimes in Japan and published many books about Japanese crimes....
said, "His trial was long" and that he was "not willing to criticize Hatoyama."
Victims
Deceased- : Four years old
- : Seven years old
- : Four years old
- : Five years old
See also
- Kaoru Kobayashi
- Mamoru TakumaMamoru Takumawas a Japanese janitor who committed mass murder of 8 people and wounded 15 others in the 2001 Osaka school massacre. He had been convicted and imprisoned for rape before the massacre.- Early life :...
- Insanity defense
- Capital punishment in JapanCapital punishment in JapanCapital punishment is legal in Japan. The only crimes for which capital punishment is statutory are homicide and treason. Between 1946 and 1993, Japanese courts sentenced 766 people to death , 608 of whom were executed...
- List of serial killers by country
- Cannibal