After the Incident…Continuous Oil Spraying at Shrines and Temples] “I Purified Them in the Name of the Lord” “Distorted Teachings” of the Arrested “Oyasama” (Guru)

The perpetrator of the “Serial Oil Spraying of Shrines and Temples” 11 years ago

This issue of FRIDAY Digital follows up on the incident reported by FRIDAY Digital up to April of ’26 [After the Incident…]. In this issue, we will report on the “aftermath” of the March 12 arrest of a U.S.-based man on suspicion of “destruction of buildings” for spreading oil-like substance on important cultural properties in Chiba Prefecture, citing part of the article (figures in parentheses are quotations from the article at the time, and the article does not include the name of the defendant at that time). (The name of Kanayama was “suspect” at the time, but was changed to “defendant” in the article.)

---

Around the spring of ’15, there was a series of damages at shrines, temples, and cultural properties across Japan where oil-like liquid was poured on pillars and buildings. Eleven years later, in March ’26, the Chiba Prefectural Police arrested a man living in the United States. The following is a summary of the incident as reported by “FRIDAY Digital” at the time.

“Arrested on March 4 was Masahide Kanayama, then 63, a resident of the United States with an unknown occupation. He was arrested on suspicion of vandalism to buildings at Katori Jingu Shrine in Chiba Prefecture 11 years ago in March 2003, when he poured oil-like substance on more than a dozen places, including the Sakura-mon Gate, an important tangible cultural property of Japan. At that time, similar incidents had occurred in 48 locations in 16 prefectures, including Naritasan Shinshoji Temple (Narita City, Nara Prefecture), Nijo Castle (Kyoto City), and Todaiji Temple (Nara City), and the prefectural police were investigating the possibility of the same crime.

Later, the Chiba Prefectural Police identified the Katori Jingu incident as Kanayama’s crime based on security camera footage. An arrest warrant was obtained for Kanayama, but since he had traveled to the U.S. after the incident, extradition was requested from the local authorities. During this time, Kanayama was practicing medicine in the U.S. and leading a normal life. He was finally handed over to the Japanese police in accordance with the U.S.-Japan extradition treaty. 》

At the time, Kanayama said, “I have no objection, there is no doubt about it,” and admitted the charges.

Kanayama is an obstetrician/gynecologist from Tokyo who lives in the United States. He operated an endometriosis clinic in New York and had a good reputation as a doctor in his hometown.

On the other hand, he had established a Christian religious organization “IMM (International Marketplace Ministry)” in Japan in May 2001 after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The incident seems to have been a practice of Kanayama’s “teachings,” but some in the Christian community have voiced their opinion that “using the name of Christianity to harm the holy places of other religions is against the very essence of faith.

No sense of guilt

On March 24, 20 days after his initial arrest, the Chiba Prefectural Police re-arrested Kanayama on suspicion of vandalism.

The suspect was suspected of defacing the structure of Naritasan Shinshoji Temple by pouring liquid on it on March 25, 2003. Kanayama stated, ‘I applied oil to shrines and temples that I visited as I was guided by the Holy Spirit. He has admitted his involvement, along with Kashima Jingu Shrine in Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture. He explained that the liquid was olive oil, which he purchased on the Internet.

On April 14, the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Masahide Kanayama, 63, for destruction of a structure. According to the indictment, on the evening of March 25, 2003, he allegedly sprayed an oil-like liquid on the worship hall of Katori Jingu Shrine and a pillar at the main gate of Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, respectively. Kanayama is said to have made statements to believers in a religious group he had founded in the past that implied his involvement in the case.

Do not visit the shrine. It is not a place of purity. Shrines are dens of evil spirits. I anointed it with oil and purified it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

There is no sense of guilt in this statement. Will he continue to make his claims during his trial? It remains to be seen how the judiciary will judge his claims.

As of May 1, no date has been set for the trial.