Jun 2, 2008
By
Staff Writer
Mainichi Daily News
The "Christ Festival," marking a town which claims to be the location where Jesus Christ spent the rest of his life after avoiding crucifixion, was held over the weekend.
Shingo's association with Christ began in the 1930s with the discovery there of a letter claiming to contain the last testament of Christ.
The writer said Christ had lived in the village until dying, aged 106. The letter claimed Christ's younger brother, Isukiri, had been crucified.
"I don't think there's any problem regarding Christ as one of our gods," Shinto priest Junhachiro Hosokawa, who performed a memorial ceremony beside Christ's grave said. "There's no problem with this religiously."