Jesus was a Japanese garlic farmer.

[BikeWriter]

According to the local legend, Christ first came to Japan, aged 21, during the reign of the 11th emperor, Suinin, and landed at the port of Hashidate on the Japan Sea coast. Apparently, he settled in Etchu province where, under the tutelage of a great master, he studied Japanese language, literature and various other subjects. The Legend of Daitenku Taro Jurai (Daitenku Taro Jurai was the name Christ is said to have later taken) claims that at the end of his 11-year stay, Christ returned to Judea, aged 33, where he taught about the "sacred land" of Japan. But, unfortunately, "Christ's teachings about Japan were considered too radical," and he was condemned to death.
http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyotravel/tokyojapantravel/3523/tokyojapantravelinc.htm

[Floogeldy]

1. Sounds plausible to me!

;)

[BikeWriter]

3. Hey, it's written history in Japan, and they have shrines...

and descendants of his.

[Floogeldy]

4. That dude gets around.

;)

[BikeWriter]

6. Freak'n A! ;-)

[democracyindanger]

2. Well, you gotta admit one thing about Japanese historical revisionists

They really go for the gusto.

[BikeWriter]

5. I read about it years ago in the Houston Chronicle...

It has to be true!

[sakabatou]

7. I thought that was India...

[BikeWriter]

8. Nope, not that I've heard of. The Japanese even have relics.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Explanation:

Readers of Shogun will remember that there were Portuguese missionaries in Japan in the 16th century. After Tokugawa Ieyasu banned Christianity in the early 17th century, a lot of Japanese Christians went underground and practiced an increasingly garbled version of the religion for nearly 250 years. In addition, several Spanish and Portuguese priests sneaked into Japan and were caught. They were tortured and killed unless they agreed to renounce Christianity and become Buddhists. Several did so and were released and allowed to do whatever they pleased.

The combination of half-remembered Bible stories and the long-ago presence of a former European priest who assimilated to Japanese culture could have resulted in the legends described.

[BikeWriter]

10. Okay, go tell Jesus' descendants that. ;-)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Not a problem

I can easily imagine one of the lapsed priests settling down in a nice little village, getting married, and having descendants.

[BikeWriter]

14. Those Portuguese priests did not settle there 2,000 years ago.

The museum has documents saying Daitenku Taro Jurai did.

[BikeWriter]

11. Another source on Jesus in Japan.

In the museum is a scroll, said to be a copy of an original document that was the last will and testament of Jesus. The original document, first discovered in the hands of a priest in 1935, was reportedly destroyed during the war. But a copy exists and is contained in a glass case.

http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/id1157.html

[underpants]

13. I thought he was on toast and Chicago underpasses

MAybe this is a different Jesus we are talking about.

[BikeWriter]

15. Your own personal Jesus toast....

http://www.blacktable.com/gillin041202.htm

[underpants]

16. Step Five: Jeeee-licious!

:rofl:

[BikeWriter]

17. ROFL!