Katharina Buczek
Issei Sagawa, better known as the “Kobe Cannibal,” admitted to daydreaming for decades about feasting on human flesh. But, even though he eventually succumbed to the gruesome urge in 1981, Issei is walking free today.
Issei’s Early Life
He was born in Japan on April 26, 1949, and ever since Issei can remember, he has experienced relentless cannibalistic urges.
It all began when Issei’s uncle put on a monster costume and pretended to lower him and his brother into a cauldron as a joke. But, while entirely make-believe for his uncle, Issei cherished the memory fondly.
Next, he became obsessed with finding fairy tales that involved characters getting eaten. And his favorite quickly became Hansel and Gretel.
Finally, Issei’s urges began to impede his day-to-day thoughts while in just the first grade. In fact, he remembers looking at a classmate’s thighs while at school and thinking they looked delicious.
Issei has since been open about where he thinks these cannibalistic urges stemmed from. He has blamed the portrayal of Western women in popular media and equated his desires to other romantic dreams.
“For example, if a normal man fancied a girl, he would naturally feel a desire to see her as often as possible, to be close to her, to smell her and kiss her, right?” Issei began.
“To me, eating is just an extension of that. Frankly, I cannot fathom why everyone doesn’t feel this urge to eat, to consume, other people.”
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