A livestreamer known online as Ainosuke has issued a public apology after climbing onto the stone monument at the burial mound of Taira no Masakado, a legendary 10th-century warlord, during a livestream on the platform Kick, screaming and making an obscene gesture at the historic site in Tokyo’s Otemachi financial district. The stunt, which spread widely on X after being clipped and shared, drew immediate backlash from users who consider the site one of Japan’s most sacred, and most feared.
Managers of the site told Yahoo News affiliate Josei Jishin that they had reported the incident to police. Ainosuke’s X account, where he posted footage and commentary during the livestream, was subsequently suspended, and he said the suspension period has since been extended.
On August 21, Ainosuke posted an apology on X. “Regarding my actions concerning Lord Taira no Masakado, I deeply regret that it was a thoughtless act,” he wrote. “I am sorry to those who felt uncomfortable and to everyone involved. Going forward, I will keep in mind respect for history, culture, and faith, and act responsibly.” He added that he still could not stream due to the ongoing account suspension.
Later the same day, Ainosuke shared a photo saying he had gone to the mound in person to apologize, writing that he had gone to say sorry to “Masakado” directly and that police had not yet contacted him. Hours later, he followed up saying police had in fact reached out, and that he would “reflect and go.”
The backlash has extended beyond etiquette complaints. Some social media users noted that disturbing a religious site can constitute “contempt of a religious site,” a criminal offense under Japan’s penal code, and speculated Ainosuke could face legal consequences beyond the police inquiry already underway. Others focused on the mound’s storied reputation for misfortune, recalling widely circulated stories, including a postwar attempt to relocate the site that was allegedly followed by fatal construction accidents, that have led Otemachi office workers and companies to treat the mound with unusual reverence for decades.
Who is Ainosuke?
Ainosuke, who posts under the handle @gx_nse, is a livestreamer active on Kick, an overseas streaming platform that has become associated in Japan with so-called “meiwaku-kei” (nuisance) streamers, broadcasters who court views through stunts in public or culturally sensitive locations. Yahoo News and Josei Jishin’s coverage of the incident grouped Ainosuke’s mound stunt with a broader pattern of Kick streamers drawing complaints for disruptive behavior in Japan.
Author’s Comment
Listen, I don’t care what platform pays you or how badly you need the clip, you do not climb on Taira no Masakado’s grave. Every kid in the Kanto region grows up knowing you don’t mess with that mound; it’s basically rule one, right up there with not jaywalking in front of a police box. I’ll give him credit for actually going back to bow and apologize in person instead of just posting a text apology and vanishing, that’s more than most manage. But between the police, the internet’s long memory, and, if you believe the legends, Masakado himself, I have a feeling this apology tour is just getting started.
