The Man from Taured is a tale about a mysterious individual who arrived in Japan from a country called Taured, a place that does not actually exist.
The Arrival of the Man from Taured
According to Ancient Origins, the story begins on a hot July day in 1954 at Haneda Airport, the capital of Tokyo, Japan. Airport security was busy when an unusual event disrupted their routine.
Witnesses at the airport described the man as a white individual who spoke French, knew a little Japanese, and a few other languages.
The situation was not remarkable until the man presented a passport for stamping. The passport looked real but listed Taured as the country, which does not exist.
The next part of the story involves the man trying to convince customs officials that Taured was real. He claimed that Taured was located between France and Spain and had existed for over 1,000 years.
When customs personnel pointed out that the location he indicated was actually Andorra, the traveler grew angry and questioned why.
To prove Taured’s existence, the man presented a driver’s license issued by the Taured government and business documents.
As investigators tried to gather information about Taured, the mysterious guest became impatient. He stated that this was his third trip to Japan this year and that he had visited many times in the past five years.
His ability to speak some Japanese supported his claim. Therefore, he refused to accept the delay imposed by Japanese authorities on his travel plans.
In the end, Japanese police detained the man, citing possible criminal activity. He was taken to a hotel to spend the night before being questioned.
To ensure the man did not escape, two security officers were assigned to guard outside. By the next morning, he had vanished without a trace.
Everyone was shocked as the room had been secured all night, and the only possible exit was a window looking out onto the busy street below.
All of the man’s identification, considered evidence, also disappeared mysteriously.
Experts suggest that while this event may have truly occurred, it is not as mysterious as the story has become over the years. After decades and many retellings, the story of the missing man has turned into a legend.
Other opinions argue that this tale is not real and is merely someone’s imaginative creation.
Evidence of Time and Space Travel?
Many have sought to explain this strange event by delving into possibilities commonly associated with science fiction. Among them are Bryan Alaspa and Jeremy Bates, both of whom have written books inspired by the tale of the man from Taured. In fact, many people online have copied this story, claiming it as evidence of something greater.
One of the most notable explanations for this incident is that the man from Taured somehow accidentally passed through a parallel dimension and stopped at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Following this logic, the hypothesis is that there is a parallel Earth, similar to ours, except that the place known as Andorra here is called Taured there. Another suggestion is that the man is a time traveler from the future, although this explanation is considered more problematic than the idea of space-time travel.
While it is entirely possible that the story of the man from Taured is a fictional creation that became a legend, some argue that a similar event truly occurred.
Is There Any Truth to the Story of the Man from Taured?
According to snopes.com, the famous tale of the man from Taured is actually a fictional version inspired by a much less sensational true story. The origin of this strange tale seems to be derived from the real-life account of John Allen Kuchar Zegrus, also known as the
Zegrus, a 36-year-old con artist, attempted to fabricate a country, its capital, and its language, even creating a fake passport. He used this to travel throughout the Middle East, successfully deceiving customs officials in those countries.
Unfortunately for him, his scheme was uncovered in Japan, where he was charged with illegal entry and fraud in April 1960.
Zegrus had traveled to Japan with his South Korean wife from Taipei (Taiwan, China). He was not arrested until he presented a forged check to cover their expenses during their stay in Japan.
A Tokyo judge sentenced Zegrus to one year in prison. After hearing the verdict through an interpreter, Zegrus stood up, took a shard of glass hidden in his mouth, cut his wrist, and declared:
He was taken to a nearby hospital, and the story ends there. It is believed that he completed his sentence. Zegrus’s wife, then 30, returned to South Korea. What happened to him remains unclear.
Some suggest Zegrus came from Algeria. This is because he mentioned Tamanrasset, claiming it was the capital of Taured located south of the Sahara Desert. The name Tuared could be a variation of Taured – possibly a misspelling of Tuareg. Tamanrasset is the name of a province in Algeria, and the Tuareg are a Muslim ethnic group mainly living in the Sahara Desert, including southern Algeria.
The entire incident was referenced in a 1960s debate in the House of Commons in the UK about border procedures to illustrate how easily passports can be forged.
However, no one knows for sure who Zegrus really was or where he truly came from, and that remains a mystery.
