Japan : Chief priestess hacked to death by brother at famous shrine

In 2006 the killer sent a postcard to his sister that read, ''I will send you to hell.''

On the premises of a Tokyo shrine Thursday night, the unexpected happened in which three people lost their lives.  It was a case of a simmering family feud which finally exploded into physical violence.  The face-off was between one of the victims and her brother over the Shinto priesthood, investigative sources said Friday.

An aggrieved Shigenaga Tomioka, 56, and his wife Mariko, 49, ambushed and killed his 58-year-old sister Nagako, the chief priest at the Tomioka Hachimangu shrine. A samurai sword with an 80-centimeter blade, broken in the middle, was found near the murder scene.

According to reliable sources, Nagako consulted with police in January 2002 over a family problem regarding the succession to the priesthood of the shrine established in 1627. Shigenaga was arrested in January 2006 on a blackmailing charge after sending Nagako a postcard that read, "I will send you to hell."

Nagako was acting as the chief priest since Tomioka Hachimangu left the Association of Shinto Shrines in September this year, the shrine said.

The departure was due to a decision by the religious administrative organization overseeing about 80,000 shrines across Japan to reject the shrine's plan to name Nagako as its chief priest, according to the shrine.

A man representing the shrine's followers told Kyodo News he received a phone call around July from an upset Shigenaga, who was crying and repeatedly complaining about his sister.

The Tomioka Hachimangu shrine, established in 1927, has a close link with sumo and the emperor and empress visited in 2012

Shigenaga and his wife are believed to have ambushed Nagako as she got out of a car in the grounds of the shrine in Tokyo's eastern ward of Koto.

In what appeared to be a co-ordinated assault, Shigenaga's wife chased the chauffeur of the shrine car, who also got out, to a spot in front of a supermarket about 100 meters away and slashed his right shoulder with a sword, leaving him with a non-life-threatening injury.

Shigenaga then led his wife to the entrance of his sister's residence, which is on the grounds of the shrine, and stabbed her to death, before killing himself.

The shrine, established in 1627, is known for its Fukagawa Hachiman summer festival and its golden portable shrines. It is located about 400 meters east of Monzennakacho station on the Tozai subway line.

Police were informed of the attacks at around 8:30 p.m. They received an emergency call saying there was a person holding some sort of bladed weapon. They found a samurai sword and two survival knives near the attack site.