Miyuki Ishikawa: The True-Crime Story of the Demon Midwife
Content Warning: This article contains details about the brutal crimes committed by Miyuki Ishikawa, a Japanese serial killer and child murderer. The content may be disturbing and triggering for some readers. It is recommended that those who may be affected by this type of content avoid reading this article.
Miyuki Ishikawa is one of the most notorious serial killers in Japanese history. She was a midwife responsible for the deaths of at least 103 infants and young children. Ishikawa’s story is a stirring reminder of the terrifying reality of serial killers and the devastating impact their crimes can have on their victims and their families.
But let’s start from the beginning.
Early life
Miyuki Ishikawa was born in the village of Honjō in Miyazaki Prefecture. In 1914 she moved to Tokyo, where she graduated as a midwife from the Imperial University of Tokyo on 30 September 1919. In the same year, she married Takeshi Ishikawa, who was three years older and from Ibaraki Prefecture.
Takeshi was a former kenpeitai sergeant and police officer. He helped his wife with her work as a midwife without having a permanent job. Due to a hysterectomy on Miyuki, there were no biological children from the marriage. They adopted three children (two boys and a girl) and raised a boy from Takeshi’s previous marriage.
Miyuki was an experienced midwife and ran a maternity home called Kotobuki San’in, where she held important positions in a number of midwives’ associations. In April 1947, she was an unsuccessful candidate for the election of Shinjuku ward representatives.
The killing begins.
During the Shōwa period in Japan, abortion was prohibited, leaving many couples unable to financially support their children. Miyuki Ishikawa took advantage of this situation and decided to start killing children in the home she ran. Her gruesome crimes began in the 1940s when she would offer to care for babies whose parents were unable to support them due to poverty or other reasons. Instead, she ended their lives in cruel and inhumane ways.
Ishikawa’s methods of killing included suffocation, strangulation, and neglect, often within the first three days of the children’s lives. To cover up her crimes, she disposed of the bodies in various ways, including burying them in the hospital garden, throwing them into a nearby river, or even burning them in a crematorium. She made sure to make it look like the children had died of natural causes.
It is believed that Ishikawa murdered at least 103 infants and young children between 1940 and 1948, although the actual number of victims may be higher.
Investigation and arrest of Ishikawa
On 12 January 1948, a gruesome discovery was made in the Waseda district of Tokyo. Two police officers found the remains of five infants and, after a post-mortem examination, determined that the children had died under unnatural circumstances.
A police investigation was then launched, leading to the arrest of three people: Miyuki Ishikawa, her husband and Dr Shirō Nakayama. Nakayama had issued fake death certificates for the deceased children, while midwife Ishikawa had played a crucial role in letting the children die.
Investigations continued throughout the city, unearthing more shocking results. The remains of 40 more infants were found in a funeral home, and 30 more children had been buried under the floor of a temple. These discoveries contributed to the growing number of victims associated with Ishikawa’s crime, making the case one of the most horrific cases of infanticide in Japan’s history.
The trial and the conviction
In October 1948, the Tokyo District Court found the couple guilty of five counts of murder by omission (including the murder of two infants who were found alive but died shortly afterwards) and sentenced Mr and Mrs Ishikawa to eight and four years in prison respectively.
Both the couple and the prosecution appealed against these sentences until 16 October. Subsequently, on 28 April 1952, the Tokyo Supreme Court sentenced Ishikawa to four years and Takeshi to two years imprisonment; however, with the entry into force of the San Francisco Treaty, they were pardoned. The second appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court of Japan on 15 September 1953.
Comparable murders of children in Japan
The case of Miyuki Ishikawa and her involvement in the deaths of numerous infants and young children was a shocking and tragic event in Japanese history. Unfortunately, there have been other cases of infanticide in Japan that have similarly horrified the public.
One of the most famous cases is that of Tsutomu Miyazaki, who became known as the “Otaku Murderer”. Between 1988 and 1989, Miyazaki abducted and killed four young girls aged 4 to 7, engaged in cannibalism, sexually assaulted the corpses, preserved body parts as trophies and taunted the families of his victims. He also committed various other crimes, including the kidnapping and mutilation of a fifth victim. Miyazaki was eventually caught, tried and sentenced to death. He was executed in 2008.
Another notable case is that of Futoshi Matsunaga and his wife Junko Ogata, who were responsible for the abduction and murder of 7–9 people in the 1996–1998 period, including Matsunaga’s daughter, who had been held captive and tortured. However, she managed to escape and report the crimes to the police, which led to the couple’s arrest.
In 2002, the couple was arrested but initially denied the charges against them, but Junko eventually confessed to her role in the murders.
In 2005, a district court in Fukuoka sentenced Matsunaga and Junko to death by hanging for their crimes. The couple appealed the sentence, and in 2007 the Fukuoka High Court upheld the sentence against Matsunaga, but changed Junko’s sentence to life imprisonment, citing Matsunaga’s control and manipulation over her.
Over the years, there have been numerous other cases of infanticide in Japan, all shocking and disturbing in their own way. These cases highlight the importance of protecting children and vulnerable populations and ensuring that those who commit heinous crimes are brought to justice.
In conclusion
Miyuki Ishikawa was a midwife in post-World War II Japan who was responsible for the deaths of numerous infants and young children. Her actions were discovered in 1948 when the remains of five infants were found in Tokyo’s Waseda district, leading to a police investigation that uncovered the bodies of 40 additional infants in an undertaker’s house and 30 more buried under a temple.
Ishikawa was tried and convicted for her crimes, ultimately serving 4 years in prison for her role in the deaths. Her husband also received a 2-year prison sentence for his involvement in the crimes. Information regarding the sentence given to Dr. Shiro Nakayama, who issued fake death certificates for the deceased children, is not readily available.
The case had a significant impact on Japan’s healthcare system and sparked discussions about the importance of protecting vulnerable populations and ensuring that healthcare professionals uphold their duty to do no harm. While the case remains a dark chapter in Japan’s history, it serves as a reminder of the importance of holding individuals accountable for their actions and working to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
Sources for this article include:
- “Miyuki Ishikawa: The Death Midwife”. Unresolved Mysteries subreddit. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/2myk5y/miyuki_ishikawa_the_death_midwife/#
- “Japan’s Midwife Serial Killer”. All That’s Interesting. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://allthatsinteresting.com/miyuki-ishikawa
- “The Midwife Serial Killer”. Sword and Scale podcast. Episode 75. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://swordandscale.com/sword-and-scale-episode-75/
- “Miyuki Ishikawa”. Murderpedia. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://murderpedia.org/female.I/i/ishikawa-miyuki.htm
- “Miyuki Ishikawa: The Midwife Who Murdered Hundreds of Infants”. Ranker. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.ranker.com/list/miyuki-ishikawa-facts/laura-allan
- “Miyuki Ishikawa”. The True Crime Files. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://thetruecrimefiles.com/miyuki-ishikawa/
- “Midwife killer of babies executed in Japan”. The Guardian. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/25/midwife-killer-of-babies-executed-in-japan
It is important to note that all information presented in this article is based on publicly available sources and no information has been added. However, the authenticity of the available data cannot be verified one hundred percent, and there may be errors or even incorrect information in the article.
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