Preamble:
In the autumn of 1965, Kazuko Fukuda, who had always been frail, fell ill with a severe cold, and she tossed and turned in the quilt, burning unconscious. Her mother had long since run away from home, and she had to rely on her teenage brother to take care of her.
"Sister, take the medicine. The brother shook her awake and handed her a glass of boiled water.
She barely opened her eyes, swallowed the two bitter penicillins, and soon fell asleep in a daze.
It was a sunny weekend, and my brother was going out shopping, leaving her home alone.
"I'm going to buy something, I'll be back soon, you can sleep well. The elder brother instructed.
"Hmm......" she replied, unable to speak.
In this way, 17-year-old Kazuko Fukuda was lying alone in the old futon. She didn't realize that her peaceful life was about to be disrupted.
When the time came to evening, Kazuko Fukuda heard a commotion at the door. She struggled to open her eyes, only to see three strange men barging in—it turned out to be her friend Sudo, and two young people in the society who were not in a mess.
"I said you couldn't come to my house......" she said weakly.
"Don't be so ruthless, we're all friends. Sudo walked up to her with a smile, "What a coincidence, there's a big order tonight, please do me a favor and give you twenty points?"
"What...... "She was confused.
"Go to the director's house to do a vote, there are not many people, you can be responsible for being an interceptor. ”
"But I'm not feeling well......"
"I knew you were going to shirk!" Sudo was impatient, "I specially asked my brothers to come over, if you push back again, then you won't be given good fruit!"
She immediately panicked, she knew too well that these guys had a bad temper, so she could only get up tremblingly: "Then, then I'll change my clothes......"
She didn't understand afterwards why she had agreed to their ridiculous request.
Perhaps she lost the courage to refuse because she was sick and weak, perhaps because she was afraid of offending these fierce gods and fearing their revenge, or perhaps she subconsciously longed to change her monotonous life. She followed the three of them to a tall, single-family house.
"Hey, is anyone really home?" she asked nervously.
"Yes, yes, there is a wife, and it is worth a lot of money!"
"Then, let's hurry up and ......."
"Cut, don't worry, take your time!"
In this way, the four of them quietly turned into someone else's house. As soon as the room was turned upside down, the housewife went home early and caught them!
Without saying a word, the three men suppressed the housewife and tied her with ropes. Now Kazuko Fukuda was dumbfounded, she didn't expect to kill people at all!
"Y-What are you doing here......"
"Why do you need to say it!" the man at the head roared, "It's all here, of course it's going to be looted!"
"But, but we're robbing!" she was horrified.
"At first glance, we haven't mixed up, do you think we're here to deliver couriers?"
"That's—that's so serious...... I'm going to go to jail......"
"Fuck you!" the man punched her in the stomach, knocking her straight up, "Be honest with me first, and do you want benefits when you go back?"
Kazuko Fukuda bared her teeth and half-knelt on the ground, she didn't dare to squeak anymore. She vaguely remembered that she seemed to have turned out a little golden pig in this villa, and stumbled out of someone else's house with the pig in her arms.
Within a few days, the four were arrested by the police, and Kazuko Fukuda was sentenced to six years in prison. Overnight, she fell from a high school student to a criminal, and before she even had time to react, she was put in prison.
The horrible shadow of prison life
It was the early spring of 1966, and 17-year-old Kazuko Fukuda had just been imprisoned. She guessed that she was about the youngest female prisoner here, and the most timid and cowardly.
Kazuko Fukuda didn't dare to talk to the others, just squatted in the corner silently, not saying a word. The prison guards sent out scattered meals, and she didn't dare to keep up, so she could only wait for others to finish eating and then lick the leftovers.
As the days passed, Kazuko Fukuda felt more hopeless than ever. She began to miss her brother, and she began to miss her little bedroom. She wanted to crash headfirst into the cold concrete walls of the prison.
Gradually, she finally got acquainted with the other female prisoners. A woman told her that there were many gangsters in the prison, and these men had money and skills, and the prison guards did not dare to provoke them.
A few days later, a nightmare befell Kazuko Fukuda.
In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a commotion, and when she tried to open her misty eyes, she saw a dozen men with fierce faces breaking into the women's prison, armed with tools and knives. The man at the head pointed at the female prisoners and shouted: "Be honest with me, tonight, I have to play with Lao Tzu!"
Suddenly, a terrible scream rang out in the women's prison.
At this time, Kazuko Fukuda realized that he was going to encounter a catastrophe. She screamed frantically and ran out with all her might. She fell to the ground, got up, fell again, and was finally dragged back to her cell by the ankle.
"Help, help!" she cried out in despair, until someone punched her in the mouth.
It was the worst night she had ever suffered in 17 years.
At dawn the next day, all the female prisoners were pale and trembling. They did not dare to speak, let alone speak to the prison guards.
On this day, Kazuko Fukuda was in a trance, and she sat in the corner of the cell sluggishly, letting her tears flow.
She hated that she had not died in this inhuman devastation, and she hated this cruel world, a world as cruel as executioners and bystanders.
Soon after, the female prisoner reported the horrific incident to the prison guards. The prison guards did not dare to make a noise, so they had to privately deal with the gangsters and quickly transfer the female prisoners out.
However, as if a mockery of fate, in the new prison, Kazuko Fukuda was once again violated and humiliated by the prison guards!
This time, she almost broke down and bit her own arm hard with her teeth until it was bloody!
The prison had to compensate Kazuko Fukuda privately and grant her early release. When she stood outside the prison gates, she was as thin as a walking corpse.
Get rid of your fate and return to the wine industry
The 24-year-old Kazuko Fukuda is under tremendous pressure from reality. She is no longer the simple high school girl she was back then, she is a female prisoner with a criminal record, a woman who has been ravaged to the point of incompleteness. She almost lost the courage to live.
"Come to Matsuyama and stay with me. Ikegami, who is 7 years older than her, said.
Ikegami is her regular customer at the tavern. He was tall, handsome, generous, and more gentle and considerate than any man she had ever met. Being with him made her feel safer than ever.
So she resolutely decided to follow Ikegami to Matsuyama City and start her life anew.
She tried many jobs, salesperson, waitress, but none of them lasted a few months. In the end, she returned to her old job and chose to work as a barmaid in a tavern.
It's a job that's easy, fun, and more powerful than she ever imagined. With a beautiful face and flexible eloquence, Kazuko Fukuda soon became the new favorite of the tavern. The guests fell in love with her beauty and charm, and the business in her hands grew bigger and bigger.
Finally, she felt that she had escaped the gloom of the past and enjoyed the joy of life. She would dance a minuet and laugh at the wine table, and she would be coquettish and flattering, and she would make the men happy with her gentle words.
Ikegami would often pick her up after her work. The two of them would wander side by side in the night, listening to the sound of the rolling waves. The moonlight sprinkled on Kazuko Fukuda's pretty face, and Ikegami couldn't help but kiss her and propose to her.
She readily agreed.
Since then, Kazuko Fukuda has moved into Ikegami's home. She believed that with her man by her side, she would no longer be alone, and she believed that this warmth would dispel all gloom and keep her away from darkness and despair.
Old friends borrowed money and did not repay it, violently collecting debts
In 1982, Japan's economy continued to slump, and Ikegami's income was declining. In order to alleviate the financial pressure, 34-year-old Kazuko Fukuda returned to the position of accompaniment and served as the top brand in a tavern opened by an old acquaintance.
There is an old friend named Atsuko Yasuoka, and the two worked together in the same tavern in their early years. Atsuko Yasuoka is 3 years younger than Kazuko Fukuda, with hair like a waterfall, white skin and red skin, which is quite popular with men.
The two became the "double walls" in the tavern. Kazuko Fukuda attracts regular customers with her rich experience, while Atsuko Yasuoka conquers new male guests with her girlish energy and sweetness. They often chatted and bought things after work, and faced this depression together.
It didn't take long for Atsuko Yasuoka to borrow a sum of money from Kazuko Fukuda. She told Kazuko Fukuda that this was the medical expenses for taking care of the elderly at home, and she would pay it back soon.
After that, for some reason, Atsuko Yasuoka jumped to another tavern. When we met occasionally, she had changed into designer clothes and expensive jewelry, and she looked alive. And the old man in her mouth seems to have been miraculously healed.
Kazuko Fukuda became suspicious and felt that her old friend was lying to herself. She began to beat Atsuko Yasuoka frequently, telling her to pay off the loan quickly.
"I don't have any money now!" Atsuko Yasuoka said every time, "My husband lost tens of thousands of dollars in gambling and folded all the gold and silver treasures in the family...... You should help me!"
Hearing her hypocrisy and grievances, Fukuda Kazuko became angry: "Pretend to be poor! It's clear that you don't pay me back if you mix it well!"
In this way, the two had an argument. Kazuko Fukuda insisted on collecting debts from her old friend, and she even threatened to find someone to teach Atsuko Yasuoka a lesson. And Atsuko Yasuoka kept saying that he had no money, and he was very angry at Kazuko Fukuda's behavior.
One night in August 1982, Kazuko Fukuda came to Atsuko Yasuoka's apartment and threatened to get her money back tonight.
The two soon got into an argument. "Pay you back, where the did I get the money!" Atsuko Yasuoka scolded as she picked up the ashtray on the table and smashed it.
Kazuko Fukuda dodged and dodged, and the ashtray slammed into the wall behind him. She instantly became furious, and the two scuffled together. At this moment, she accidentally strangled Atsuko Yasuoka from behind, and she used too much force for a while, and she strangled someone to death!
"It's over...... It's over......" Kazuko Fukuda sat paralyzed next to the corpse, helpless. She realizes that she has committed an unforgivable crime and that her life is about to be ruined!
Ikegami disposes of the corpse
Kazuko Fukuda called Ikegami and said tremblingly, "I killed someone, you come and help me!"
Ikegami loves her deeply, and even if she commits heinous crimes, he will save her from fire and water. So Ikegami drove over in a truck and discussed countermeasures with Kazuko Fukuda.
"We have to dispose of the bodies and clean up the scene!" Ikegami said.
Together, they carried Atsuko Yasuoka's body into the carriage and looted all the gold, silver and jewelry in her home. Then he drove the body to a mountain forest 20 kilometers away, found a hidden place and threw it away.
After dealing with all this, the two returned home in embarrassment. Ikegami hugged Kazuko Fukuda, who was trembling, and comforted her softly: "It's okay, with me, they can't catch you...... Let's flee......"
After 15 years of fugitive, he began a plastic surgery life
In the days that followed, Kazuko Fukuda lived a life of fugitive. The police quickly zeroed in on her and Ikegami's suspicions, and her whereabouts were wanted nationwide. Kazuko Fukuda had to go into hiding and was always on guard.
She first came to Tokyo for plastic surgery, and then changed her identity in various places. Over the next 15 years, she used more than 20 pseudonyms and underwent a total of 7 plastic surgeries. To be on the safe side, she often has to move every three months.
In 1986, she became the proprietress of Kanazawa and confectionery shop, and asked her son to work here. Four years later, she left Kanazawa and continued to flee.
During this time, she worked a lot of work, waitress, cleaner, and occasionally as a wine maid. Only this job can bring her familiar nostalgia and memories of the happy times.
Fifteen years on the run left her feeling lonely and hopeless like never before. She would break down and cry in the middle of the night, and she would suddenly go berserk during the day. The punishment of fate never stops, and she must live in darkness for the rest of her life.
It was not until July 1997, with only more than 20 days left before the 15-year statutory prosecution period from the date of the case, that Kazuko Fukuda was arrested by the police.
Life imprisonment Died of illness in prison
In 1999, a Japanese court sentenced Kazuko Fukuda to life imprisonment. While in prison, she wrote a confession:
"I have always been a weak woman and need men to survive...... I want to get married, I want to have children, I want to have a lively home, but in the end I don't get anything, not even true love......"
In February 2005, 57-year-old Kazuko Fukuda suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died in prison.
When people learned the news, they all thought of a woman who had never been able to get out of the whirlpool of fate and finally ended her magnificent life in despair.
We should not ask how deep her sins are; Because we will not be able to understand her suffering, and we will not be able to impose the right to judge.
This woman was born frail, but she still tried her best to survive. She failed, fell, but still fantasized about flying again. Until the moment she died, the shackles of fate still did not spare her a bit.
People said she was a murderer, people said she was a wretched person. However, she is just an ordinary woman, stumbling on the bumpy road of fate, leaving endless regrets in the end.
What should we think of this woman? Her story is worth pondering for each and every one of us.