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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Legend of Jesus' Life as a Dad in Japan
Seeing The DaVinci Code (liked it, even if a suspenser needs an actor intenser than Tom Hanks) reminded me of another legend I'd read about long ago: Jesus spent his missing years traveling Asia, studying with gurus and magicians, and, after surviving the cruxificion, settling down in Japan, where he married, had three daughters, and was buried. Ah, the Internet. Repository of all half-truths. All sorts of sites recount this legend. Apparently, there's a village in Northern Japan that believes Jesus was buried there after living more than 100 years. Word is another tomb holds the ear and some hair from Jesus' brother, the person who actually died on the cross. Copies of documents, odd local words with possibly Hebrew roots, and a tradition of cross imagery in the area are cited as support for the story. This Jesus' descendents don't include a French femme but a garlic farmer. Today, the gravesite is somewhat of a tourist attraction. Sure sounds like fodder for a novel or a screenplay ... or the next job for that shoveling FBI squad that failed to dig up any trace of Jimmy Hoffa. And if that doesn't pan out, well, they can try the other place Jesus is rumored to be buried: in India.
