The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-09-09
DEATH AND
SEX PUZZLE
Jap Woman Marries jap
Woman and Dies
Strangely.

What caused the death of Inouye XII
kutaro and why came she to Hawaii
last January disguised as a man. mar
rying woman, Mumeno, who arrived
with her?
These questions may go beyond the
police department and be taken up by
the Federal authorities.
Here is the story as told in last Fri
days issue of the Jiyu Shimbun and as
added to by the discoveries of Chief
of Detectives Taylor and japanese Of
fieer Townsend.
On January IL last there arrived in
Honolulu per S. S. Korea two Japa-
nese, presumably man and woman, Civ
ing the names at the immigration sta
ton above noted. They were married
at the, immigration station and went
to live in three-story tenement near
the Honolulu Iron Works.
About one month ago there arose
trouble between the two, and another
Japanese, also named Inouye. acted as
sort of peacenaker. Some of the
Japanese of the tenement held a meet
ing, the peacemaker officiating, and the
result was that the woman, Mumeno,
and her supposed husband agreed to
separate and Mumeno was transferred
to a man whose name is not at present
known, but with whom she is now liv-
ing.
Inouye Kikutaro started to work in
a coffee shop near the Honolulu Iron
Works. AS was ascertained later by
reporter of the Jiyu Shimbun, those
who came in contact with Inouye XII
kutaro noticed some peculiar things.
He" always bathed alone, contrary to
the custom of Japanese men, and did
not battle as often as Japanese men
are in the habit of bathing. HE" also
was very particular about keeping
his clothes close up about his neck.
NOT wearing them loose as is the cus~
tom of Japanese men, In other ways
The seemed unmanly, though no par,
ticular suspicion seemed to have been
aroused at the time, these things being
recalled after it was ascertained that
Inouye Kikutaro was a woman and not
a man.
On August 80 the masquerader be,
came sick, mysteriously sick it devel-
oped. DR.. Uemura was called and
took charge of the case. DR.. Uemura
did not know what was the matter
with the patient, at least he so stated
at the time. The patient was removed
to the japanese hospital on Liliha
street.
A week ago the patient died. A re-
porter from the Jiyu Shimbun called
on DR. Uemura, having received word
that Inouye Kikutaro was a woman.
and asked him as to the sex of the
patient who had died and concernins
the nature of the disease. DR.. Uemura,
says the Japanese paper, denied that
the mysterious corpse was that of a
female. Later, says the Jiyu, threat
ened with a roast unless he admitted
the truth, DR.. Uemura consulted with
other physicians and admitted that
Inouye Kikutaro was a female. DIR.
Uemura, however, issued a certificate
of death in which he referred to the
body as that Of a male, for some mys.
terious reason still maintaining the de-
ception. At the autopsy it was estao~
lished that Inouye was female.
The Jiyu representative visited the
house near the Iron Works where
Inouye Kikutaro had lived and asked
the identity of the individ-
ual. The Japanese in the building held
a meeting and gave it out to the Jap
anese reporter that they had agreed not
to say anything about it. The reporter
then visited the cemetery where Inouye |
body lay buried and found
that the headstone declared 1t TO be I
The resting place of the BODY of a JAP
anese man.
The woman, disguised as man. had
come from F7JH1uoka province, Japan,
md was apparently about % years of
lge. Her hair was close-cropped ana
The had some reason, apparently, for
,oing through the marriage ceremony
With the other woman, Mumeno.
The matter has just come to the at
ention of the police and they are work
ng on the case, and the Federal au-
horities are likely to take hand.
Co.