Remember When Jesus Went To Japan?

Remember the time when Jesus swapped places with his twin brother at the crucifixion, then retired to Japan to become a rice farmer?

No? Not surprising if you've only read the bible. Try reading the Takenouchi Documents instead. The Takenouchi Documents are a supposed set of ancient religious texts found by Japanese archaeologists in the 30s.

In the Takenouchi Documents, Jesus is a twin, with a brother named Isukiri (of course), who took his place at the crucifixion. It was Isukiri died on the cross, while Jesus made his way to Japan, became a rice famer, got married and had 3 daughters and lived until he was 106 years old.

He is supposedly buried in the small village of Shingo, where his grave is, with a handy sign beside it telling you about Jesus' adventures as a young man in Japan. Yes, he was hanging out there when he was younger, too:

"When Jesus Christ was 21 years old, he came to Japan and pursued knowledge of divinity for 12 years. He went back to Judea at age 33 and engaged in his mission. However, at that time, people in Judea would not accept Christ's preaching. Instead, they arrested him and tried to crucify him. His younger brother, Isukiri casually took Christ's place and ended his life on the cross."

Beside Jesus' grave lies a plot containing Isukiri's ear and a lock of hair from the Virgin Mary.

The original documents were destroyed during WW2, but the Shingo museum has some replicas you can look at. In addition to Jesus' tale, the documents also tell of what became of Atlantis.