Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 114, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 June 1917 — CASE OF “SHINJU” STIRS JAPS [ARTICLE]

CASE OF “SHINJU” STIRS JAPS

Double Suicide Attempt Affectinfl Family of Count Yoshikawa Recalls Old Practice. Tokyo. —Japanese society Is stirred by a case of “shinju,” or double suicide, affecting the family of Count Akimasa Yoshikawa, vice president of the privy council. His daughter, Mrs. Kwanjl Yoshikawa and Rikisuke Kuramochi, her chauffeur, are alleged to have sought death in the path of a railroad train. The chauffeur threw the womjin on the tracks, but evidently lacked time to carry out his intention of following her. Instead he drew a short sword, slashed his throat and died a few moments later. Mrs. Yoshikawa was tossed from the rails by the engine. Her condition was pronounced critical. The husband of Mrs. Yoshikawa had been adopted by the Yoshikawa family, becoming the heir to the count. A case of “shinju” is not unusual in Japan and since the olden days many fanciful love stories have been woven around this Japanese practice. It is extraordinary, however, for a woman of as high birth as Count Yoshikawa’s daughter to choose to end her life in such a fashion. The fact that the woman was married and that she sought death with seer chauffeur heightens the interest of the affair in Japanese minds.