1964-03-04, Japan: A car traveling in front of our car disappeared → fabricated article by Newspaper(the Mainichi Shimbun)

Preface
- On March 4, 1964, there was an incident in Japan where three persons witnessed a car driving in front of them disappear...I saw an article reporting that.

- According to the article:


On March 4 1964 near Kanamachi, Japan, daytime

A leading Japanese newspaper, ‘Mainichi’ carried an unbelievable story about an automobile disappearing in full view of a crowded highway. The reporting witnesses were three officials of the Fuji Bank on their way to the golf course at Ryugazaki. As they drove outside of Kanamachi, they said they saw a black car ahead of them going in the same direction. Aside from the driver, they could see an elderly man in the back seat reading a newspaper. “Suddenly a puff of something gaseous, like white smoke or vapor, gushed from somewhere around the black car, and when this cloud dispersed, (a matter of not more than five seconds), the black car had vanished,” the newspaper account said. The trio of witnesses were so shaken by the incident that they stopped and reported it to the police.

The source does not describe the make or model of the vehicle only that it was a ‘black’ car nevertheless it is an interesting tale which has been circulating around Forteans and UFO enthusiasts for years.

ref: Phantoms and Monsters - Real Cryptid Encounter Reports - Fortean Researcher Lon Strickler - https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2012/09/cosmic-cars-and-other-road-oddities.html



The source for this incident was a fabricated newspaper article.
- So I searched for the source article in Japanese and found a newspaper article reporting this incident. It was the following column article from "the Mainichi Shimbun" Newspaper dated March 4, 1964.



　　（image source : http://page.freett.com/alcheringa/studies/K2012DC_PET/FINDERCLIPS_DC/FINDERCLIP.HTM )



- The source article, in which the above photo was published, points out that this "the Mainichi Shimbun" Newspaper column article is similar to the following novel.

　　- A science fiction novel by Masami Fukushima
　　- A novel by Yufumi Sato

　　http://page.freett.com/alcheringa/studies/K2012DC_PET/FINDERCLIPS_DC/FINDERCLIP.HTM   (this URL link is now disabled)


- A scanned image and text of Masami Fukushima's science fiction novel were included in the article below.

　http://page.freett.com/alcheringa/studies/K2012DC_PET/DC_4DMF/RW4DMF_DC.HTM    (this URL link is now disabled)


- A novel by Yufumi Sato was also included in the article below.
　http://page.freett.com/alcheringa/studies/K2012DC_PET/FINDERCLIPS_DC/FINDERCLIP.HTM  (this URL link is now disabled)


- Furthermore, the following blog post also speculates that this is a fictitious case based on a novel by Yufumi Sato (or simply put, a fabricated article by the Mainichi Shimbun).

　http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/to7002/31447413.html (this URL link is now disabled)


- The same point is also made in the blog below.(*2)
　http://roanoke.web.fc2.com/Japan/toyopet.htm


My opinion
-  "The Mainichi Shimbun" has been writing fake articles like this for half a century, and even now, fake news articles about what happened in Japan are appearing in foreign blogs and other media.

- There seems to be a misconception among foreigners that "the Mainichi Shimbun" is a high-class newspaper. However, it is not recognized as a high-class newspaper by many Japanese. It is often regarded as a low-class newspaper with a bad reputation. For example, it is even said that a pornographic film was shot inside the Mainichi Shimbun's headquarters building (*1) due to financial difficulties.


(*1)
- For examples...


Q) I heard that there is a newspaper company that filmed an AV(Adult Vidio= Porno video) with the Imperial Palace in the background in their headquarters. Which newspaper company?

A1) That would be Mainichi Shimbun, which faces the moat across the street. What kind of porn is it?

Q) I heard that it is a perverted porn. I heard that it was a kind of perverted porn in which female college students who are job hunting are stripped naked.

A2)If it was with the Imperial Palace in the background, it would be the Mainichi Newspaper in Takebashi.



ref: https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1095504220


(2012-12-14)


(*2)
- Unfortunately, many of the URL links that were valid at the time the above article was written (2012-12-14) are no longer valid. Even URLs that are valid now may become invalid in the future. To preserve them, I am attaching the entire article with the following URLs that are still valid.

Translated with DeepL

Fujishiro Bypass Vehicle Disappearance Incident (1963)

　On November 19, 1963, a car driven by the deputy manager of the Katsushika branch of Fuji Bank left for a golf course in Ryugasaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture, carrying the bank's deputy manager and three of his clients. The weather was fine, a beautiful day for golf.

　A black Toyopet New Crown with Tokyo license plates was driving in front of the car in which the three were riding. An elderly man was riding in the back seat, leaning against the seat and reading a newspaper. This car had been driving in front of the three men since near Kanamachi, Katsushika-ku, and had left an impression on all three of them. It happened a little after 8:00 a.m. when the two cars were traveling on the Fujishiro Bypass, passing Matsudo and Kashiwa cities on the Mito Kaido Road.

　A Toyopet New Crown traveling about 150 meters in front of them suddenly erupted in a cloud of white smoke or what appeared to be water vapor. The mysterious gas disappeared in about five seconds, but the next moment the three were startled. The car in front of them had vanished without a shadow.

　It was a straight road with no sharp curves or side roads, and it was impossible to believe that the car had split up with them without their knowledge. The three witnesses claimed that they had not mistakenly seen the car.

[Discussion

　This is a classic Japanese disappearance case. Although not particularly interesting in terms of its content, the case was reported in the evening edition of the Mainichi Shimbun on March 4, 1964, which is a relatively decent source for a story of this type. It is rare for such a mysterious phenomenon to appear in the credible media, and in this respect, the case is unique.

　However, this incident was not reported in a regular article, but in a column called "Aka-denwa" (red telephone). While it may sound highly credible when one hears that it was simply published in a newspaper, it is not necessarily credible when it is a column.

　Comparing this newspaper article with the general public's perception of the incident, we find a number of interesting points.

Comparison of Sato's book and the newspaper article

　There is a man named Yufumi Sato. He is a well-known figure in the four-dimensional and yokai genres, and is known to have written a number of highly impactful books on the bizarre for children, which have traumatized many children. He is one of the biggest names in this kind of story. He introduced this case in two books, "Discovering the Mystery Zone" (1976) and "The Mysterious Fourth Dimension Mystery" (1990).

　Since there are probably only a few people who read or remember the 1964 Mainichi Shimbun article, it is safe to assume that the introduction by this great authority on the phenomenon is the most widely known. However, Mr. Sato's introduction contains several additional details not found in the newspaper article. Here are the bullet points

(1) The Sato book refers to the bank employees as "Mr. Kinoshita (38 years old at the time), an assistant branch manager who worked at the Katsushika branch of Fuji Bank, and Mr. Saito of the same bank," but the article only mentions "a deputy manager (38) and an assistant branch manager (39) of a certain bank," without mentioning any bank names or individual names. . Moreover, it was not the deputy branch manager who was 38 years old at the time, but the other deputy manager.

(2) According to the Sato book, the incident took place on November 19, 1963, but the exact date is unclear, although the article mentions the time as 8:00 a.m.

(3) In the Sato book, there is a description that "Mr. Kinoshita and Mr. Saito looked at the spot where the car had apparently evaporated, and somehow, only that area was wet as if it had been sprinkled with water," but there is no such description in the article.

　In short, the Sato book has a tail fin. The book clearly mentions the Mainichi Shimbun and its contents are very similar to the article, so it is difficult to believe that Mr. Sato did not read the newspaper article. There are two possibilities, then. Either Mr. Sato has obtained new information through his own research, or he has made up some details.

　The latter is probably the most likely. Yufumi Sato is famous for creating numerous yokai (monsters) that do not exist. He has introduced a Westerner's imaginary drawing of an armadillo as "Ibaku the Iron Beast," a monster, and an Edo period drawing of a yokai called "Nuributsu" as "Biron," a yokai (even though the picture clearly says "Nuributsu" on the side) (see Note 1). (Note 1). (Note 1) He must be a master at adding the names of the characters in his columns, such as their employers and personal names.

　I do not necessarily deny his attitude. He did it in a book for children, and in fact, some of his yokai creations are still remembered and supported by many people today. However, that being said, we cannot and need not entirely believe his description.

　After all, at this point, the only article that remains to be examined regarding the case is the Mainichi Shimbun's article. But even that article, as mentioned above, is only a column. Although the reporter who wrote the column may be able to reveal the truth, it would be difficult to identify the reporter in question since it was an unnamed column and it was written more than 40 years ago.



(Note 1)
　The list of yokai created by Mr. Kikugoro is endless, including "Haradashi" and "Throw Away Majin. There are many websites describing him, but for now, please refer to http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/e_fuji/を挙げておく (see "B-kyu Yōkai Zukan").
References

Yufumi Sato, 1976, "Mystery Zone Discovered" (KK Bestsellers)
○ "Mysterious Four-Dimensional Mystery" by Yufumi Sato, 1976 (Seishun Shuppansha)
○ March 4, 1964 Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo metropolitan area edition (evening edition), page 6
(Added on September 5, 2012)
　The March 4, 1964 Mainichi Shimbun "Red Phone" article in question is quoted below.

　A car running in front of me disappeared with the sudden appearance of white smoke? In these days of Ninpo, this is a story of "Ninpo, the evaporation of a car. The deputy manager (38), the assistant manager (39), and a regular customer at a certain bank branch witnessed this strange phenomenon one fine morning. I still can't believe my eyes.
　Shortly after 8:00 a.m., the passenger car driven by the deputy manager was driving on the Fujishiro Bypass, passing Matsudo and Kashiwa cities on the Mito Kaido Road, on its way to a golf course in Ryukazaki City, Ibaraki Prefecture. At that time, a gaseous gas, which was neither white smoke nor water vapor, erupted around a passenger car driving about 150 meters in front of the car, and it soon faded and disappeared. It lasted only about five seconds. The three of us gasped and simultaneously shouted: "The car is gone!
　The vanished car was a private car with Tokyo license plates, a black Toyopet New Crown. On the left side of the back seat, an elderly man was reading a newspaper with a cushion as a pillow. The three of us remembered him well because he had been driving in front of us from the vicinity of Kanamachi, Katsushika-ku, on the Mito Kaido Road. Today, in the age of science, "It's a phenomenon that no one seems to believe, but the car has certainly lost its shadow and shape in front of us," the three men emphatically stated.
　That's all there is to it. There are no dates, and the characters are unspecified. It was a generous time when such a column appeared in a national newspaper.
　In "The Truth About Scary Rumors," Kazuhiko Komatsu makes a very interesting point. On November 19, 1963, when the Fujishiro bypass incident is said to have occurred, a gang of fools left a seriously injured man on the street. According to a report in the Mainichi Shimbun on November 20, these gangsters had repeatedly committed crimes by intentionally causing accidents to bilk money from their victims, and in order to avoid being traced back to them, they used a resale car. The car used in this case was a black Toyopet Crown. The car used in this case was a black Toyopet Crown. The black Toyopet Crown, which had been resold repeatedly, was reportedly seized by the police, but in fact it was a substitute car, and it has been suggested that the real black Crown was used for other, more serious crimes, and the ghost story was used to cover the evidence with a veil of secrecy.
　However, as already pointed out above, the date of the Fujishiro bypass incident is not originally clear: the date of November 19, 1963 appears, according to "The Truth About Scary Rumors," in a February 25, 1976 article in Josei Seven, 13 years after the incident is said to have occurred (Incidentally, Yufumi Sato's "Mystery Zone Found" was first published on June 5, 1973. Although the connection with Josei Seven is unclear, the above statement that Yufumi Sato fabricated the titale of the Fujishiro bypass incident may have been a bit premature. (This is because there may have been a predecessor before Mr. Sato.) First, the idea that the impounded car was a substitute is merely speculation on the part of Mr. Komatsu.
　It is a noteworthy point of view that there is an actual event that wants to be concealed behind a ghost story, and in fact, I have taken such a stance in "The Shadow of the Man Who Disappeared from the Train Tracks". However, in this case, I believe that he simply used the same car to make up a date later. It is worth noting that both incidents were reported by the same newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun. It is also possible that he was flipping through the newspaper and saw it.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)



Original Blog article (Japanese)

藤代バイパス車両失踪事件　　（1963）

　1963（昭和38）年11月19日、富士銀行葛飾支店の支店長代理が運転する車が、同銀行次長と得意客の計3人を乗せ、茨城県竜ヶ崎市のゴルフ場に向けて出発した。天気は快晴、良いゴルフ日和である。

　3人の乗る車の前方を、東京ナンバーの黒いトヨペット・ニュークラウンが走行していた。後部座席には年配の男が乗っており、座席に寄りかかって新聞を読んでいた。この車は葛飾区金町付近から3人の前を走っていたため、3人とも印象に残っていたのである。午前8時過ぎ、2台の車が水戸街道の松戸市、柏市を過ぎ、藤代バイパスを走行中、それは起こった。

　150メートルほど前を走行していたトヨペット・ニュークラウンから、突然白い煙あるいは水蒸気らしき気体が噴き出したのである。謎の気体は5秒程度で消えたが、次の瞬間、3人は驚愕した。前方の車が影も形も無く消えうせていたのである。

　急カーブも横道も無い直線道路であり、知らぬ間に車と分かれたとは考えられなかった。目撃した3人は、決して見間違いなどではないと主張しているという。

【考察】

　日本の古典的な失踪事件である。内容的にはさして興味を惹くものではないが、当該事件の記事が1964年3月4日の毎日新聞夕刊に掲載されており、この手の話としては比較的まともな出典があるのが特徴と言えよう。こういう怪現象といったものが信憑性のあるメディアに登場するのは稀であり、その点、異彩を放っている事件である。

　しかし、この事件を伝えているのは通常の記事ではなく、「赤でんわ」というコラム欄である。単に新聞に掲載されたと聞くと極めて信憑性が高そうに思えるが、コラムとあっては必ずしも信憑性があるとは限るまい。

　この新聞記事と一般に伝わる事件の内容とを比較すると、色々興味深い点に気付く。

■　佐藤有文本と新聞記事の比較

　佐藤有文という人がいる。氏は四次元や妖怪といった類のジャンルではちょっとした有名人で、子供向けのインパクト絶大な怪奇本を多数執筆、多くの子供たちにトラウマを与えたことで知られている人物である。この手の話では大家の一人といって良い。その氏が2冊の書籍、『ミステリーゾーンを発見した』（1976）及び『謎の四次元ミステリー』（1990）でこの事件を紹介している。

　1964年の毎日新聞の記事に直接目を通した、あるいは記事を覚えているという人は恐らく少数だと思われることから、この怪現象の大家の手による紹介が最も人口に膾炙していると判断して差し支えあるまい。ところが、この佐藤氏の紹介には、新聞記事には見られない内容が幾つか付け加わっている。以下、箇条書きにすると――

（１）佐藤本では行員について、「富士銀行葛飾支店に勤めていた支店長代理の木下さん（当時38歳）と同銀行の斉藤さん」としているが、記事では「某銀行の次長（38）と支店長代理（39）」とされているのみで、銀行名や個人名は全く記載されていない。また、当時38歳であったのは支店長代理ではなく、もう一人の次長の方である。

（２）佐藤本によると事件は1963（昭和38）年11月19日のこととされているが、記事では午前8時という時間が出てくるものの、正確な日付は不明である。

（３）佐藤本には「木下さんと斉藤さんが、その車が蒸発したらしい地点を見てみると、なぜか、そのへんだけが水をまいたように濡れていた」という記述があるが、そういった記述は記事には無い。

　要するに、佐藤本には尾鰭がついているのである。本では明確に毎日新聞について触れており、内容も記事と非常に似通っていることから、佐藤氏が新聞記事に目を通していないとは考えにくい。となると考えうる可能性は２つ。佐藤氏が独自の取材で新たな情報を入手したか、あるいは細部をでっち上げたかである。

　恐らく後者だろう。佐藤有文という人はありもしない妖怪・怪物の類を数多く創作していることで名高い。西洋人が想像で描いたアルマジロの絵を「鉄獣イバク」なる怪物として紹介したり、「塗り仏」という妖怪を描いた江戸時代の絵を、「びろーん」なる妖怪として紹介（絵の脇にはっきり「塗り仏」と書いてあるにも関わらずである）したりしているといった具合である（注１）。コラムの登場人物の勤務先や個人名を付け加えるなどお手の物に違いない。

　こうした氏の姿勢を、私は必ずしも全否定するものではない。子供向けの本でやらかしたことであるし、実際、氏の創作した妖怪の幾つかは、今日では多くの人の記憶に残って支持されているのだから。だが、それはそうとして、氏の記述を全面的に信じる訳にはいかないし、そんな必要も無い。

　結局、現時点で当該事件に関し検討の余地が残されているのは、毎日新聞の記事だけである。しかし、その記事ですらも先述した通り、あくまでコラムという扱いでしかない。コラムを書いた当の記者に話を聞けば真相が明らかになるかもしれないが、無記名のコラムで、しかも40年以上昔の話とあっては、問題の記者を突き止めるのも困難であろう。



（注１）
　氏の創作した妖怪は、他にも「はらだし」、「投げ捨て魔人」など、枚挙に暇が無い。氏について記載したサイトは多数あるが、取り敢えずhttp://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/e_fuji/を挙げておく（「Ｂ級妖怪図鑑」を参照）。
【参考文献等】

○　『ミステリーゾーンを発見した』　佐藤有文著、1976　（ＫＫベストセラーズ）
○　『謎の四次元ミステリー』　佐藤有文著　（青春出版社）
○　昭和39年3月4日　毎日新聞　首都圏版（夕刊）　第6面
（2012.9.5追記）
　問題の1964年３月４日の毎日新聞「赤でんわ」の記事を以下に引用する。

　目の前を走っていた車が突然現れた白煙？とともに消え失せた――忍法ばやりの昨今、まさにこれは“忍法、車の蒸発”という話。某銀行支店の次長（38）と支店長代理（39）、それに連れの常連客の三人がある晴れた朝、この不思議な現象を目撃。いまだにわが目を疑っている。
　午前八時過ぎ、支店長代理が運転する乗用車は、茨城県竜ケ崎市のゴルフ場に向け水戸街道の松戸市、柏市を過ぎ藤代バイパスを快走していた。そのとき百五十メートルほど前を走っていた乗用車のあたりに白煙とも水蒸気ともつかぬガス状の気体が噴出し、すぐ薄らいで消えた。この間、わずか五秒くらい。三人はあっと息をのみ、同時に叫んだ――「車が消えた！」
　消えた車は東京ナンバーの自家用車で、黒塗りのトヨペット・ニュークラウン。後ろの座席の左側で年配の男がクッションをまくらに新聞を読んでいた。水戸街道の葛飾区金町付近から前を走っていたので三人はよく覚えていた。科学時代の現代「誰にも信じてもらえそうもない現象だが、車は確かに目の前で影も形もなくなった」と三人は力説している。
　これで全部である。何の日付もなければ、登場人物も不詳。全国紙にこのようなコラムが載るとは、おおらかな時代であった。
　『怖い噂の真相』で小松和彦が非常に興味深い指摘をしている。藤代バイパス事件が起こったとされる1963年11月19日に、愚連隊が重症の男を路上に置き去りにするという事件が発生。翌11月20日の毎日新聞が報じるところによると、この愚連隊連中はわざと事故を起こして被害者から金を巻き上げるという犯行を繰り返しており、犯行に当たっては足のつかぬよう、転売車を使用していたのだが、この置き去り事件に使用されていた車が黒いトヨペット・クラウンだったのである。事件の発生日時と登場する車が一致しており、偶然とは考えにくい。転売を重ねた黒塗りのトヨペット・クラウンは警察が押収したとされているが、実はそれは身代わりの車で、本当の黒いクラウンは他のもっと重大な犯罪にも使用されており、証拠物件を秘密のベールで覆い隠すために怪談が利用されたと示唆されている。
　しかし、上で指摘済みのとおり、藤代バイパス事件は本来発生年月日が明らかでない。1963年11月19日という日付が登場するのは、『怖い噂の真相』によれば1976年２月25日の「女性セブン」の記事であり、事件が起こったとされる年から13年も後のことである（ちなみに佐藤有文『ミステリーゾーンを発見した』は1973年６月５日初版発行。女性セブンとの関連は不明であるが、佐藤有文が藤代バイパス事件のティテールを捏造したとする上の記述は些か拙速だったかもしれない。氏の前に先行者がいたかもしれないからだ）。第一、押収車が身代わりというのは小松氏の憶測に過ぎない。
　怪談の影に隠蔽したい実際の出来事が、というのは注目すべき視点であり、実際、私も「線路から消えた人影」ではそういったスタンスをとっている。だが本件に関しては、後から日付をでっちあげるに当たって同じ車が登場する事件を利用しただけではないだろうか。どちらの事件も同じ毎日新聞が報じている点は注目されてよい。新聞をパラパラとめくって目についた、という可能性もあろう。


ref: 藤代バイパス車両失踪事件 - http://roanoke.web.fc2.com/Japan/toyopet.htm