In April 2000, the new owner of Saichi’s house noticed a strange smell coming from the basement . When they broke down the wall, they found the remains of a woman chained to the concrete wall. She had been held captive in the basement for 10 years by her police officer husband .
Today I’ll be talking about an incident that caused a major uproar throughout Yamagata Prefecture. This is the story of a woman who disappeared years ago and was found 10 years later in the basement of her home. Ogi was 16 years old when she married Katsura Taro. She was a quiet woman from a small family and worked as a sales representative at a local department store.
At the age of six, Taro Katsura was working as a police officer at the Saga Police Station . The two met at a summer festival in 1987 . Taro Katsura was on patrol in his uniform, while Mi was helping out at a market stall as a volunteer. According to her friends, she recognized him immediately . To her, the tall, well-built man in the uniform seemed like a symbol of trustworthiness .
The two dated for about a year . Taro Katsura was a husband who was respectful and considerate of spiritual matters . I sent flowers, took them to a restaurant, and gave them jewelry as a gift. Mi was happy . Such an enviable marriage partner was rare in our town. The wedding took place in the spring of 1988. After a simple ceremony at the local shrine, a banquet for 50 people was held at the hotel restaurant .
Karen, dressed in a white kimono, looked happy on the road. Taro Katsura, dressed in his cleaning uniform, smiled as he received congratulations from his colleagues. The newlywed couple decided to live in Taro Katsura’s parents’ house . It was an old, traditional-style house that my father had bought and built in the 1950s .
By that time, both of his parents had already passed away , and the house had been inherited by his only son. The first year of our marriage was relatively peaceful . Mi quit her job in accordance with the customs of married women in Japanese households . I was in charge of household chores, cooking and cleaning while waiting for my husband to come home .
However, Taro Katsura gradually began to change . Initially, the complaints were small, about things like cooking, cleaning, and his wife’s appearance . Eventually, they started demanding reports every time I went out, monitoring my contact with friends , and forbidding me from meeting with relatives .
By the end of 1989, their marital relationship had deteriorated significantly. Taro Katsura drank alcohol almost every night and returned home anger and aggression . On the right, he has appeared in public several times with a wooden stick in his hand , explaining that it was due to accidental collisions with the storefront or ingredients . Neighbors began to notice the child’s unusual behavior.
Screams, crying, and the sound of dishes breaking could often be heard coming from the house. However, no one tried to intervene. Because my husband was a police officer and knew the law better than anyone . A serious clash occurred in October 1990. Mi confided in her sister that she could no longer tolerate the violence and wanted a divorce .
Her older sister, Yukiko, gave her instructions and even offered to let her stay at her own house temporarily . When Mi told her husband of her decision, Taro became furious . I cannot tolerate being humiliated . Divorce can ruin your career. She cried out that she had no right to destroy her own life. Mi was last seen alive on November 15, 1990 .
Around 3 PM, I went to a local grocery store . The shop assistant remembered Mi. Because Mi looked anxious and kept looking back at the door as if someone was following her . Taro Katsura was on the day shift that day, and his King job was scheduled to finish at 6 p.m. His colleagues confirmed that he was at work until the end of his shift . However, the details of what happened afterward became unclear .
The next day, November 16th, a neighbor noticed that Oka was unusually quiet. She usually hung her laundry out in the garden in the mornings, but that day there was no one in the garden. When a neighbor encountered Katsura Taro in the evening and asked about his wife’s health, Katsura Taro answered without hesitation that she was staying at a relative’s house and would be there for a few days.
I was worried about my sister Yukiko a week later. Mi didn’t come to visit her, didn’t call her, and didn’t answer the phone at her home. Yukiko went to see Taro, but he said his wife was still at a relative’s house in another prefecture. Yukiko asked for the relative’s phone number, but Taro Katsura evaded the question.
Miki says she doesn’t want to be interrupted. I said I needed time to think about family issues . In early December, Yukiko reported her sister’s disappearance to the police . However, the police officer explained that adult women have the right to leave their homes without question, especially if there are domestic disputes .
Furthermore, Taro Katsura’s colleagues at the police station were aware of his family problems . Taro Katsura himself told them that his wife was threatening divorce and behaving with Rick, and that she was probably seeing other men . When Yukiko insisted on a search, the director spoke to her directly .
The director explained that Taro Katsura was a parental figure to the staff , and while there were certainly problems at home, Mi had probably just decided to start a new life . In 1990s Japan, attitudes towards domestic violence were completely different in Kyoto. It was believed that family problems should not be made public, and that wives should endure hardships in order to maintain the marriage .
Missing adult reports without signs of violent crime were often not taken seriously . Moreover, Taro Katsura was a police officer. His colleagues couldn’t believe he was capable of committing a crime . In a small town where everyone knows each other, reputation was important. Six months after Mi’s disappearance, Taro Katsura filed for divorce.
The petition stated that the wife had left the family of her own volition and was missing . The documents included a letter, supposedly from the right, in which she asked them not to search for her and agreed to the divorce. The handwriting expert confirmed the authenticity of the signature. However, it was later discovered that Taro Katsura had access to many documents bearing his wife’s signature, bank statements, medical records, and applications to various institutions .
Forging the signature was not difficult . The divorce was finalized in June 1991 . Officially, Oki no longer exists as the wife of Taro Katsura . The documents stated that she had left her family of her own volition and was missing . Yukiko continued to listen to the search for her sister. I hired a private detective , placed advertisements in neighboring towns, and even went to Tokyo to check if Mi had shown up anywhere in the big city .
However, all her efforts were in vain. It seemed to have vanished like smoke . No one had seen her since that day in November when she went to buy groceries . Meanwhile, Taro Katsura continued his work at the police station. His colleagues accompanied him and said his wife had left him and left him alone .
Some advised him not to waste his life thinking about an ungrateful woman after remarrying . However, Taro was not in a hurry to remarry. He became even more introverted, avoiding interaction with his neighbors and rarely participating in company events . He said he spends all his free time at home, doing repairs and remodeling. In reality, Taro Katsura went down to that basement every day .
He was holding his wife captive in that small, windowless room . The story of what happened in the small basement was later reconstructed from records written by Miki herself. She wrote on the hair clippers that Karō sometimes brought her along with food . On the evening of November 15th, when Mi returned home from the shop, Katsura Taro was waiting for her at home with a bottle of soot.
He was drunk and aggressive. The discussion about divorce has started again. Mi firmly stated that her decision was final . She had already reached an agreement with her lawyer, gathered the necessary documents, and packed her suitcase . I was planning to go to my sister’s house the next morning .
Taro Katsura could not allow that . A police officer’s divorce in a small town would certainly become the subject of gossip. In particular, if Miki were to talk to anyone about the violence, his career would be ruined. While his wife was clearing the dishes after dinner , Taro Katsura turned her back to her and hit her on the head with a heavy ashtray.
Miki lost consciousness and collapsed onto the kitchen floor . Karou’s first thought was to dispose of the body . However, he realized that his wife’s disappearance would raise suspicions . It would be better to make it look like she left on her own . He carried the unconscious Michi to the basement.
So, in a room that her father had built to store his equipment, he chained her to the metal rings on the wall . When Miki regained consciousness, she realized she had fallen into a trap. It was a small, windowless room, with only a light bulb on the ceiling as the sole source of light, and the chain around my waist prevented me from moving more than two meters away from the wall .
Kataro explained the rules to her. If you behave quietly, they will bring you food and water. If you scream or try to run away, we’ll take away your food . I told her I would kill her if she told anyone where I was. At first, Miki didn’t believe her husband could keep her confined for such a long period of time .
I thought it was just a temporary weapon of madness, and that it would return to normal and free me. However, days became weeks, and weeks became months. Kataro came to the basement every day after work . Yes, I brought vegetables with the soup . I changed the water in the plastic bucket in the toilet . And each time he would rape his wife , explaining that she was his property anyway .
Miki tried to resist, but the chain prevented her from moving normally. Furthermore, Kara Taro threatened to withhold food if they resisted . Gradually, Miki realized that her husband had no intention of letting her go . He had created the perfect situation for himself . Officially, his wife had disappeared, and everyone believed she had left of her own free will.
In reality, she was completely under his control. During the first few months of captivity, I still hoped for rescue . I tried to scream when there were guests in the house, but the basement was very resonant . Furthermore, Taro Katsura rarely invited anyone to his home .
The only connection between the right and the outside world was a bridge made from scraps of newspaper that Taro Katsura occasionally brought over to lay on the bridge. She used these newspapers to track the dates and understand how much time had passed since the ban on exchange. A year later, she began writing notes in the margins of newspapers.
Initially, it was just a date and a brief description of what happened. The notes eventually became more detailed. I brought fish today. He lied, as usual, when he said he caught it himself . The fish was bought from a store . They think I’m stupid. My back hurts because I’ve been sitting for so long. The mattress is completely worn out.
I heard the ambulance siren, and they said they’d ordered a new one, but this one was sufficient . Someone in the neighborhood is probably in trouble. I wish that ambulance would come to my place. The records showed how the mental state of the person on the right gradually changed . From despair and anger to apathy.
And then back to hope, and then to complete indifference. The complete lack of human contact was particularly unbearable for her . Kataro came every day, but he only spoke when he brought food or when he raped her. There was no conversation, and no news from the outside world. I’ve forgotten what my own voice sounds like. I have n’t spoken aloud in a long time.
I’m afraid of completely forgetting how to speak. I tried singing a song I remembered . The protesters’ voices are hoarse and unpleasant. It’s better to remain silent. I’m counting the days using the newspaper . More than a year has passed. Is no one looking for me? Do you really believe everyone is gone? His physical condition on the right side had also worsened .
I was constantly ill due to lack of exercise, malnutrition, and an unsanitary environment. My joints ached, my hair fell out, and my teeth became decayed. Even when his wife had a high fever, Taro Katsura didn’t call a doctor. He said he would just bring the aspirin , and if I died, it would be my own responsibility. I stopped keeping regular records of my confinement. Her handwriting became erratic, and her thoughts became confused .
A strange sentence appeared in the records from 1994 . The wall speaks to me. They’ll tell you about the people who used to live here . I saw my mother today. I was crying in the corner. Taro, who said he would take me home soon, brought a new chain. The old ones were rusty. New things are heavy, but they shine beautifully. Her mental illness has progressed.
Mi began talking to herself and creating imaginary partners . Sometimes, he would sit motionless for hours, staring intently at a single point . Taro Katsura noticed a change in his wife’s behavior, but for him, that was a good thing. The mentally broken woman did not resist, did not scream, and did not ask for help . She lent me a lifeless doll .
In 1995, Taro was promoted and received a divine assignment to the prefectural headquarters. I was proposed to move to Yamagata City, which is the administrative center of the prefecture . However, he refused, citing his attachment to his family home . In reality, Taro Katsura could not leave the road behind .
Over the past few years, he had become accustomed to living in secrecy. Every day after work, he goes down to the basement where his obedient wife awaits him. It gave him a sense of absolute power that he would never experience in ordinary life. The neighbors had long since gotten used to Karō living alone .
He would sometimes ask about his wife, and she would reply that she had found another man and was living somewhere in Tokyo . No one doubted that he was several people underground . In the mid-1990s, we began experiencing technical problems at home . The old heating system needed repairs, the roof was leaking, and the walls were damp.
Taro Katsura hired workers to repair the most serious problems . The construction workers completed the job in a few weeks , but no one suspected the existence of the secret room in the basement . The entrance to that room was disguised as an ordinary storage room, and the sound was so good that you couldn’t hear any voices, even when they were using the hammer drill .
In 1996, Mi’s health deteriorated rapidly. I developed heart problems, experienced frequent missteps, and suffered from chest pain. Years of lack of exercise and stress had taken a toll on her body . Taro understood that his wife might die, but he didn’t have the courage to take her to a doctor.
Any medical examination would reveal evidence of prolonged confinement and abuse . Instead of seeking treatment, he simply increased the amount of pain medication she was taking. My notes from that period were even more chaotic . My whole body aches, I want to die, but I’m scared. What if things get even worse after I die? Kataro said that when I die, he’ll bury me in the garden . No one will ever know.
My mother comes over every night. I’m calling for them to come along . But that’s not allowed. The chains are holding me back . By 1997, my physical condition had become critical. I can barely walk anymore, and I spend most of my time lying on an old mattress. His skin was an unhealthy yellow , and the sparkle in his eyes had disappeared .
Taro Katsura began making preparations for his wife, Ichi . I researched methods for disposing of a corpse and considered the possibility of a virtual one at home. I searched for information on how to dissolve a corpse using the internet, which was still in its early stages of development in Japan . But I clung to life .
Perhaps it was an instinct for self-preservation , or perhaps a desire to wait for liberation that sustained her. Her records from 1998 held a glimmer of hope . I can hear children’s voices in the garden . I’m sure one of the neighbors has grandchildren. Taro brought apples because he wanted to see the children . It’s been a long time.
Maybe they don’t hate me after all . If I can get out of here, I’ll write a book. I’ll tell everyone what happened here . The last entry in Mi’s diary is dated December 1998. It’s very cold. The heating is broken. Taro Katsura said he would fix it, but a week has already passed. I’m scared to invest. If I die, I want someone to know the truth . They write this on the walls in their country.
Maybe someone will read it someday. Later, legal investigators discovered several letters carved into the basement wall in the country . The longest one read as follows: My name is Oki. My husband has been holding me captive here since November 1990 . If you find this, please know that I did not leave of my own free will.
In the winter of 1998-1999, our home’s heating system finally broke down . Taro Katsura installed an electric heater in his living room , but the basement remained cold . Mi spent her days in the car, using an old blanket her husband had brought her. However, that wasn’t enough .
By the spring of 1999, she had contracted severe pneumonia . Taro Katsura saw his wife dying, but he did nothing to save her . On the contrary, he began to reduce the number of times he visited the basement, and sometimes even forgot to bring food or water. It was as if they were waiting for the fruit to naturally appear . In the summer of 1999, I almost stopped eating Mi.
I only drank water and a little soup that Taro brought. Her body was so thin it was in a critical state. In September, Karataro noticed that his wife hadn’t responded to his arrival for several days . She lay across the mattress with her eyes closed, and her breathing was barely audible. It was difficult to feel a pulse.
However, the one on the right was still alive. Her body, exhausted from nine years of being banned from sex, was fighting for each and every day of her existence . I was unconscious for several hours, then I regained consciousness, drank some antiseptic water, and fell asleep again. Taro realized that the end was near. He stopped bringing food and only occasionally refilled the water in the water bowl .
In effect, he caused his wife’s death by wood and thirst. We were unable to determine the exact date of the Mi market . According to legal experts, she died in November or December of 1999 . The cause of death was multiple failures due to prolonged debilitation . Kataro discovered his wife’s body in December . Mi was lying on the mattress in the same position as the last time I saw her.
The chain was still attached to the belt, continuing to bind even the area. Taro Katsura’s first thought was to dispose of the body. However, it would have been much easier nine years ago. At that time, we could have explained the disappearance of the body with some kind of story .
Now officially, she was a divorced woman who had been separated from her husband for a long time . The appearance of her body will raise many questions . Why did she die at her ex-husband’s house? Why didn’t he report her death ? And why was she in the basement in the first place ? Taro decided to leave the body where it was .
He nailed a board to the entrance to the basement and plastered it over. It was as if the room had never existed there . To mask the smell, Taro installed a powerful fan in the basement and blew the air outside through an old ventilation shaft . He sealed the shaft with construction foam , leaving only a small hole for the air to escape .
The smell was definitely a problem for several months . However, this sentiment weakened as the bodies were gradually discovered naturally . By the summer of 2000, there was almost no smell from the corpses . After his wife’s death, Taro Katsura stayed at his grandfather’s house for another six months. However, psychologically, I couldn’t bear living next to a dead body .
Every night, I felt as if I heard a voice calling to him from the basement . In 2000, Keitaro Shima decided to sell his house and move. We have found a buyer. They were a young couple from Tokyo looking for an inexpensive house in the countryside. The price was low and the transaction was completed quickly. The new owners, Tashi Saito and Ebisu, were planning to move the house with their two young children .
They wanted to change the layout, update the heating and water supply systems, and transform the old house into a modern residence. Taro Katsura didn’t give any warnings about the family’s strengths . When selling the property, he concealed the existence of the basement and only showed the main basement where the heating boiler was located and tools were stored .
In March 2000, Taro Katsura moved to Hokkaido . I got a job as a security guard at a seafood processing plant in Sapporo . The work was simple and the pay was low, but it was enough for him. Colleagues described the new employee as a quiet, introverted person who avoided interaction and never spoke to anyone about his past . Taro Katsura rented a small apartment and spent all his free time alone, without making any friends .
However, I couldn’t erase the memories. I had a nightmare last night. Miki, chained up, her voice calling for help, dead in the darkness of the basement . Kataro started drinking alcohol to drown out the voices in his head . Meanwhile, Saito Kaya began exploring the different levels of the family home.
I started by working on the upper shell . We replaced the wiring, repainted the walls, and replaced the flooring. We did everything ourselves , only hiring workers for the most difficult tasks, so the work progressed at a leisurely pace. I didn’t start working on the basement until April . Takeshi planned to set up a workshop and a tool storage room there.
The first thing we decided to do was to inspect the ventilation system. When Takeshi started cleaning the construction foam from the old ventilation shaft , he noticed a strange sweet smell. At first, I thought the mouse-cat had died somewhere . However, the smell was extremely strong and distinctive.
Following the source of the smell, I arrived at a section of the wall that looked suspiciously smooth . Unlike the other walls in the basement . There was no sign of the old here, only relatively new ones . Takeshi hit the wall with a hammer . The sound was hollow, clearly indicating that there was space beyond the wall. I called my wife, Ebisu, and together we decided to tear down that part of the wall .
When I made the first hole , the smell was quite something. Emiko immediately realized it was the smell of death . Takeshi grabbed the children and fled the house , then called the police. The first police car arrived 20 minutes later. Sergeant Watanabe, who had been involved in criminal investigations for many years, immediately understood the seriousness of the situation.
We called in the investigation team and legal experts. By evening, the Saito family home had been transformed into a crime scene. Police completely demolished the blocked wall and discovered a small room measuring 2 meters high and 3 meters wide. The sight that greeted their eyes was terrifying .
In the corner of the room, a human skeleton was sitting, hanging over the wall . A rusty chain wrapped around the pelvis and was attached to a metal ring on the wall. Next to the body lay a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a plastic dart, a bucket, several brains, and a piece of newspaper . There were pieces of lumber and probably painkillers scattered on the floor. Detective Kaoru Murakami, who was in charge of the investigation, quickly became convinced that this was no ordinary murder .
The chain around the victim’s waist, the isolated room, and all the personal belongings all indicated that the victim had been held captive for a long period of time . The initial examination of the body was conducted by legal expert Miko Tanaka. The skeleton belonged to a woman who was approximately 160cm tall and between 25 and 35 years old. The bone showed signs of a fracture that had been carefully managed without medical intervention.
The most important piece of evidence was a record found next to the body . The notebook and newspaper clippings told the story of a woman named Komiki who was held captive. Detective Murakami immediately checked the police records. The case of Omichi’s disappearance was concluded in 1991.
Officially, it was believed that the woman had left her family of her own free will . However, it was now clear that he hadn’t told anyone. She had been held captive in the basement of her home for 10 years , while her husband, police officer Taro Katsura, covered up the crime. DNA testing confirmed the victim’s identity.
The body was indeed that of the person who drank. Based on the condition of the bones, experts estimate the death occurred about a year ago. It was determined that it occurred at the end of 1999. The cause of death was debilitation due to prolonged malnutrition and lack of medical care . The bones showed signs of multiple diseases . The book containing “Koshoshosho Vitamin Ketsubosho” by Kogatsura Taro was discovered a few days later .
The tax office database showed that he was working as a security guard at a seafood processing plant in Sapporo. The investigation team flew to Hokkaido and arrested him at his workplace. Taro Katsura did not resist his arrest. I calmly listened to the basic information and asked for permission to contact a lawyer .
My colleagues were shocked . The quiet security guard was actually a murderer who had held his wife captive for 10 years . During the initial questioning, Katsutaro denied all the charges. He claimed he had never seen the discovered skeleton and did not know how the body ended up in his former home. Someone said they planted the body to frame him for a crime . However, the evidence was clear.
The notes Miki found in the basement described her husband’s actions in detail. One analysis confirmed that all the notes were written by the victims. Furthermore, a search of Taro Katsura’s apartment in Sapporo uncovered a photograph of Miki and documents proving their marriage. If his wife really did leave him for another man, why would her ex-husband have kept her photos? During the second interrogation, when his lawyer explained to Taro Katsura that not getting pregnant would be pointless, he began to give his testimony. At first, we
only talked about the last day. He discovered his wife was dead and decided to hide the body. However, gradually, under the weight of the evidence, Taro Katsura confessed everything. The story he told perfectly matched the area around his right eye . Ordering in an ashtray , exchanging money in the basement, years of abuse and violence.
I didn’t intend to kill her . Taro Katsura repeated: But I couldn’t let her ruin my life . For a police officer, divorce is the end of their career. Everyone will find out that my wife has left me . The psychiatric evaluation results indicated that Taro is normal and aware of his own actions.
Aside from narcissistic tendencies and a lack of empathy, no other mental disorders were diagnosed . The trial of Taro Kogatsura began in October 2000. This incident received extensive media coverage. The story of a woman who was held captive in a basement for 10 years shocked all of Japan. The victim’s sister, Yukiko, attended the trial. She testified that she had tried to find Miki and gone to the police, but no one believed her .
For the past 10 years, I thought my sister was living a new life somewhere. Yukiko spoke through tears. And all this time, she was chained to a wall just a few kilometers away from me . The court found Taro Katsura guilty of unlawful confinement, rape, and murder . The verdict was one that did not allow for parole .
This incident forced Japanese society to re-examine its attitude towards domestic violence . A new law has been enacted that mandates police to thoroughly investigate missing person reports, especially those involving domestic disputes . Taro Katsura served as a prison guard at Tokyo’s highest-security prison. His cellmates avoided him.
Even among criminals, stories of holding their wives captive were considered something to be taken seriously. In 2004, Taro committed suicide in solitary confinement. The boy found him hanging himself with the rope he had made out of a sheet . The costume was not found . Kazuya Saito sold the house where the tragedy occurred immediately after the trial ended .
No one wanted to live in the place where the woman had been held captive for 10 years . The building was demolished, and a small park was built in its place . A shabby memorial was erected in the park for victims of domestic violence . Although the name is not inscribed, local residents know who the memorial funds are being dedicated to .
Every November, on the anniversary of her disappearance, flowers are offered as a memorial. His older sister, Yukiko, became an activist in the movement against domestic violence . She speaks at conferences, shares her sister’s story, and calls on women not to tolerate violence and humiliation. Miki couldn’t escape because no one came to help her .
Yukiko says: However, we can help other women who are in similar situations.
