News Hideyoshi statue decapitated in Nagoya

thomas · 1 Sep 2025

Vandalism or historical revanchism: a statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi located at the entrance of a shopping arcade in Nagoya was beheaded last week.

a statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi located at the entrance of a shopping arcade in Nagoya was beheaded last week

Photo credit: Kyodo

A resident noticed on Saturday that the statue had lost its head and informed the shopping centre association. To prevent the damage from worsening, staff covered the exposed neck with duct tape, an association representative explained. The group, which sees the figure as a symbol of the arcade, is now considering whether to lodge a damage report with the police. The statue, made of reinforced plastic, is the latest in a series of targets. In 2022, a statue of Tokugawa Ieyasu was toppled, leaving a gaping hole in its back, and in 2019, a statue of Oda Nobunaga was discovered to be missing an arm. The Toyotomi Hideyoshi statue, placed on a pedestal, had also been damaged once before but was repaired. All three figures were gifts to the arcade in 2013.

Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu — known together as Japan's "three heroes" — are among the country's most famous warlords. Their campaigns gradually drew an end to more than a century of civil strife, and all three were born in or around today's Nagoya.

16th-century warlord statue beheaded in central Japan

The statue of 16th-century warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi located at the entrance of a shopping arcade in Nagoya, central Japan, has been beheaded, a local association said Tuesday.

english.kyodonews.net

thomas · 26 Dec 2025

Investigators say Aichi prefectural police are examining the possibility that a police officer was involved in snapping off the head of a statue depicting the feudal warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi .

Photo credit: Yomiuri Shimbun

The statue is made of reinforced plastic and was donated in 2013 to the Endoji Shopping Street in Nishi Ward, Nagoya, by a man in the real estate leasing business. The man confirmed that the head had been broken off after receiving a report of the damage on 25 August. Checks of surveillance camera footage and other evidence revealed the possibility that an Ehime prefectural police officer who visited Nagoya for a business trip may have been involved. Another individual may also have been involved, and police are investigating thoroughly.

Neck of Toyotomi Hideyoshi Statue in Nagoya Broken: Possibility of Police Officer’s Involvement Being investigated

The Yomiuri ShimbunA now-headless statue of feudal general Toyotomi Hideyoshi is seen in Nagoya in August. The Yomiuri Shimbun [posttime] JST, [postdate] NAGOYA — Aichi prefectural police are investigating whether a police officer may have been involved in breaking off the head of a statue of...

japannews.yomiuri.co.jp

NANGI · 26 Dec 2025

Konnichiwa Mina-san!

Perhaps the police officer had a grudge against Toyotomi Hideyoshi .

By the way, my ancestor was almost killed when Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked and captured the castle. However, as a low-ranking samurai , he was able to survive despite being defeated.

Maybe the police officer's ancestor could not be survived.

NANGI

thomas · 26 Dec 2025

We were wondering why that real estate business owner decided to donate a statue of Hideyoshi (apparently, Hideyoshi's birthplace is nearby), but it seems statues of Nobunaga, Ieyasu and Mitsukuni (all made of reinforced plastic) were also placed on the same intersection. In the past, Nobunaga's statue had been vandalised, too, by chopping off his left arm and knocking the statue over.

Vengeance for slain ancestors?

Statue of 16th-century warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Nagoya found with head missing - The Mainichi

NAGOYA -- A statue of famous 16th-century Japanese feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the entrance of a shopping street here has been found with its he

mainichi.jp

News Hideyoshi statue decapitated in Nagoya

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

16th-century warlord statue beheaded in central Japan

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Neck of Toyotomi Hideyoshi Statue in Nagoya Broken: Possibility of Police Officer’s Involvement Being investigated

NANGI

先輩

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Statue of 16th-century warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Nagoya found with head missing - The Mainichi

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