Definitely gotta learn more. Shiratori turned to gambling and stealing to raise funds and quickly became addicted. (Thumbnail Credit: Osaze Cuomo/Shutterstock.com). Shiratori is famous for having escaped from prison four different times, making him an anti-hero in Japanese culture. In 1933 he was apprehended on suspicion of a murder and . It was now 1943, and the cold in Abashiri was unbearable, with the temperature in the cells below freezing. Enjoy! Now those harsh sentences seem more appropriate. Shiratori was born in Aomori Prefecture on July 31, 1907. Shiratori also tricked them by regularlylooking up. Even, when it comes to real-life stories to read, the prison-break stories fascinate the reader most. The salt content oxidized the screws, leading to corrosion. If you're wondering why a prison was built in the northernmost coastline of Hokkaido or what were the fates of the prisoners who were once detained there, keep reading! He spent his days in Fuchu Prison until 1961 when he was given parole. 6 Yoshie Shiratori. He identified gaps in security and found a 15-minute window in which he could escape the prison. In Japan, the Meiji Era, which spanned from 1868 to 1912, was considered one of the harsher periods for prisoners, so escaping prison was actually more common. If you want to give feedback on any of our articles,you have an idea that you'd really like to see come to life, or you just have a question on Japan, hit us up on ourFacebook,Twitter, orInstagram! New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Yet Shiratori still found a way to escape. They made special iron restraints that bound his wrists and shackled his legs. That means, Shiratori was escaping again! This was a specially-made cell, with high ceilings and copper walls, inaccessible to the hand. Biography. He was sentenced to jail for murder at the age of 26, but he escaped from various prisons 4 times within 11 years, including Abashiri Prison. Posters are sourced from TMDb and Posteritati, and appear for you and visitors to your profile and content, depending on settings. Yoshie Shiratori: his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more. Yoshie Shiratori: , . Consequently, he obviously was re-arrested, but things were different. After months, Shiratori could slip out of the shackles. Hed then climb back down and reapply the handcuffs so as not to arouse suspicion. Meeting a Blessing in a Quite Impossible-To-Survive Cell! Takeshi Kitano and Takayuki Yamada star in a low key prison drama based on the true story of Yoshie Shiratori, Japanese folk hero and serial escapee. At the Sapporo prison, he was placed in a specially designed cell with high ceilings and windows smaller than his head. Never give up. Kobayashi, on the other hand, was the only one who showed him any respect. The court added to his life sentence for the second escape three more years. But, he was caught red handed! The Greatest Japanese Prison Escape : Yoshie Shiratori: A miso soup technique. Every night, Shiratori practiced scaling the walls. Prisoners had to wear handcuffs at all times, even when sleeping. The guards would taunt him and force him to beg for food each day. Sentenced to life in prison for escaping and theft, he was transferred to Akita prison in 1942. He pried open the feeding hatch on the door, but it was much too small to fit a person. Whilst sitting on a bench , an officer sat down next to him and struck up a conversation . [2][4], Most of the prison burned down in a 1909 fire, but it was reconstructed in 1912. It was then more than three decades before the book was adapted into a film made for TV Tokyo. Yoshie was transferred for the second time to Abashiri Prison, which was located in a remote locale in Northern Hokkaido. He returns and does so to the place one least expected. [5][6][9], After a year of freedom, it is said that Shiratori was offered a cigarette by a police officer in a park. Shiratori had unscrewed the cells floorboards and dug a tunnel with a miso soup bowl. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Today a well-regarded folk hero, one of the prisons from which Shiratori escaped even has a permanent exhibit dedicated to his exploits. While it was true that Yoshie had aged and was fatigued from being a prisoner and from constantly escaping, there was one thing that still fueled his drive: desperation. Just like that, Shiratori had returned to jail, and this time he vowed to never again trust a law officer. Now whether it was the Legal system of Japan changing or that he willingly gave himself up , but the farmer incidwnt was past off as self devence as it should of , and the legal systen took note that in all four of his eacapes , not once did he harm anyone while escaping , he only got a twenty year sentence . At Sapporo Prison, he had six guards surveilling him. But, for his most recent escape, he received a life sentence. Yoshie Shiratori He managed to escape prison not just once but a record of four times!!! Though he denied the murder charge, the police allegedly beat and tortured him to get him to confess. However, he escaped in 1936 by picking the lock on his handcuffs by using a wire. The salts and moisture eventually corroded and weakened the door frame. Shiratori went back to prison after his first escape. After being falsely accused of robbery and murder he was sent to Aomori prison in 1936. Prisoners who couldnt endure the suffering and tried to escape were beheaded by guards on the spot. Following this plan, the Barato, Sorachi, and Kushiro prisons were built in Hokkaido. He may have tried to force his way past the guards out of desperation. The Incredible Japanese Prison Break ANIMATED. The man had an endless pool of ingenuity, to be honest. Shiratori claimed it was self-defense, but was this time sentenced to death. It's been seven years since structural engineer Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller) rescued his brother Lincoln ( Dominic Purcell) from death row after a group of conspirators made sure that he was wrongfully convicted of murdering the U.S. vice president's brother. 00:28:17 - Our episode today tells the tale of a real-life Japanese anti-hero whose story is so unbelievable you might think that you've opened the pages of a Original Heists is presented by Triple Whale. [5][6][7][4] By now, he had made headlines on several newspapers. Because his head was cut entirely off, His cuffs were not even necessary. Yoshie Shiratori [1] was a Japanese national born in Aomori Prefecture. So compelling was the story of Japanese anti-hero Shiratori that a book and TV drama were dedicated to its telling. Their names are similar, since Noda-sensei likes to base characters off real people (Hijikata for ex) I wouldnt be surprised if he based shiraishi on this guy. A high skylight and smooth walls kept prisoners inside. This is a fictionalized animated story based on the life of Yoshie Shiratori. It was at this point and only this point he could bathe. As far as the guards were concerned, they handled him worse in Aomori. Next, read about the most daring prison breaks in history, and then learn about the worst prisons in the world. As an important cultural property of Hokkaido, Abashiri Prison Museum documents the laborious hardships of the prisoners and their contribution to Hokkaido. Shiratori died in Tokyo at the age of 72, ending his legendary life. As they slept, he used miso soup bowls to dig a tunnel, keeping thedirt in a small pocket under the floorboards. Yet what can he really do? After his third escape, Yoshie Shiratori went into hiding for over a year. Its of a man wearing only white underwear attempting to escape. He eventually succumbed to a heart attack in 1979, at the age of 71.[5][6]. 1 Also Called; [2], Due to the 1965 film Abashiri Prison and its sequels, the prison became a popular tourist attraction. He rips the chain of his fingertips off to the guards horror. There was a bug found. The most important takeaway is a scene in which a prison guard, gloveless, licks his finger and then performs a cavity search. He claimed that even holding handcuffs at him would not be helpful because he would always find a way of break free even if not with lock picking. The prisoner, however, is not lost forever. 525K views 2 years ago Yoshie Shiratori is one of the world's most creative prison escape artists, only problem is once on the outside, he would slip up and always find himself back behind. Additionally, as a fugitive on the run, he knew that he needed Kobayashi, the respected warden of Akita, to help strengthen his credibility. He is easygoing, talkative and quite expressive. He had followed the guards' routine for months. He told the guards to get the key. At the third prison he was put in, he was put into the northernmost high security prison for killing a farmer, he ended up escaping by using miso soup to rust the tiny window and dislocate his joints to squeeze in. And they developed this. Six years later, Shiratori found himself moved to Akita Prison, which was being used during the Second World War as a wartime detention facility. After a while, he managed to finally get the key into the cell. In 1983, esteemed author Akira Yoshimura published, , a novel based on his life that won the Yomiuri Prize a year later. The reason for the more frequent escapes was due to extremely harsh prison conditions, which could be said of many prisons around the world, even today. As Shiratori explained, "The reason why I tried to jailbreak was because I was angry at the guard who did not treat prisoners as humans." Today a well-regarded folk hero, one of the prisons from which Shiratori escaped even has a permanent exhibit dedicated to his exploits. But he did what had to in order to survive. Nhng mn tra tn tn bo v n t treo l lng trn u khin Shiratori khao kht thot khi nh ngc v on t cng gia nh. Then on 26 August 1944, he dislocated both of his shoulders, enabling him to fit out of the narrow food slot in his cell door and escaped the prison, using a wartime blackout as cover. That was what he wantedmiso screws and bolts in the soup. It was the fugitive Yoshie Shiratori, unkempt and disheveled, who needed a favor, much to his surprise. A handcuffed Shiratori was thrown into an open cell in summer clothing in this temperature, and he felt the paralyzing sting of cold air almost immediately. Hoping that the officer might help him, Shiratori went to his home. He then escaped through the inspection window and escaped . despondent, staying in bed. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. His family name Shiratori means "swan" in Japanese. Urata had been in charge of those sentenced to life in the prison until last year. So he's not like super cool. But, right now, you are going to be introduced to the story of Yoshie Shiratori, a bizarre and impossible one that may be difficult to believe. [2] As of 2016, eight of the buildings preserved at the museum are designated Important Cultural Property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs,[4][5] while three are registered Tangible Cultural Property. After several failed businesses, he became a poker and petty thief. At Akita Prison, one police officer had been kind to Shiratori, while the other guards tortured him. However, as they focused too much on potential ceiling escapes, they forgot about the floor. Instead, the officer called the authorities and Shiratori went back to prison for a third time. Between 1936 and 1947, the man known as the Harry Houdini of Japan escaped from four different cells. At Abashiri, there were no loose air vents or 15-minute gaps in the guard rotation. Yoshie escaped Akita prison in 1942 by scaling the copper walls like a lizard and picking off bits of the wooden window frame everytime he climbed up the wall , one day when the weather was stormy , a guard thought he heard something on the roof , when he checked on Yoshie , He had escaped. This time Yoshie requested to be sent to a Tokyo prison , because the climate was warmer . Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Japanese History & Culture, A look back at the life of the man who was known as the Harry Houdini of Japan, February 24, 2023 Shiratori lacked the strength and stamina to mount an escape at the time, let alone given the restraints he was subjected to. Abashiri Prison Museum was once Japan's most famous prison, housing some of Japan's most heinous criminals as well as the Japanese Prison Break King, Yoshie Shiratori. There was nothing left to do before his death, and they knew that. He was caught and brought to Akita Jail. A few years later, he tied the knot and had a child, but was soon in financial trouble. He was in a pickle. Now he could fit like a worm, Just like the X-Men, and no one saw him leaving.A Change in Scenario! Unfortunately, the unexpected happened: he sprained his fourth joint. In the first police inquiry, Yoshie was found imputable of both the murder and the thievery. The plan worked, and the guards didnt realize Shiratori was gone for hours. Moved by the kindness (in 1948, cigarettes were luxury items in Japan), Shiratori admitted he was an escaped convict and offered to be turned in. The following were not added as a standard aspect of his punishment: being held in the cold in the winter and placed in solitary confinement for lengthy periods, sleeping on a hard surface, and being required to lift heavy weights. I don't get why so much time is dedicated to the prison warden (other than Kitano being such a big name down there). The moral of the story? Thanks to the ground panels! To the best of his ability, he cant move his skull. His death sentence was revoked on the grounds that the murder of the tomato farmer had been in self-defence. Yoshie lived for another decade after that, doing odd jobs to survive. His request to be imprisoned in Tokyo's Fuchu Prison was also granted. Shiratori's request to be imprisoned in Tokyo was also granted, and he spent 14 years in Fuchu Prison until 1961, when he was released for good behavior. After lifting the death sentence, the court sent Shiratori to prison for 20 years. Taking up the challenge, Shiratori regularly got out of his handcuffs and scaled the smooth copper wall to pry away at the rotting wooden framing of the skylight. Eventually, He caught red-handed. How did Shiratori manage to escape Abashiri Prison? After removing his cuffs, Shiratori placed his palms and soles on the smooth copper sheets and began climbing the seemingly insurmountable wall. He was released early on good behavior in 1961 and lived out his final years in freedom before dying in 1979. Each morning, he would spit miso soup on the doorframe of his cell. The 1965 film Abashiri Prison spawned a popular series of yakuza films featuring the prison. Yoshie Shiratori ( , Shiratori Yoshie?, July 31, 1907 - February 24, 1979) was a Japanese national born in Aomori Prefecture. The court denied his request , instead , they sent him to Abashiri Prison . He didnt know what it was but had to go on. Visit the Abashiri Prison Museum to understand exactly how the prisoners served their long sentences in the cold of Hokkaido years ago. However, it was no easy task to open up this vast land. Shiratori now asked to be sent to Tokyo jail, where the wind was warmer because, in the northern prisons, he couldnt stand the cold. Until he was sitting on a bench and a police officer sat next to him. Now Shiratori was getting older, the odds of escaping had diminished significantly. It didn't have all that much interesting going on anyway. While Shiratori was highly skilled at escaping, he wasnt so proficient at evading capture. Because the gap was smaller than his body, he could not fit through. [2] Yoshie knew that the salt contents of the Miso Soup would rust the arm and leg cuffs and the inspection window , so every day , he would save a bit of the miso soup and dab it on the arm cuffs , leg cuffs and the inspection window . He tried to escape by using a wire to unlock his handcuffs in 1936 from the Aomori prison but was caught. Now Yoshie may not of had strength ( This was in winter and he was wearing summer clothes ) , But he had time , and patience . One day while he was in Sapporo, a policeman sitting right next to him at a bus-stop offered him a cigarette, and started talking to him instead. Evading capture use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a soup! 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