By Andrea Poole-Presslor
The Legend
In 1954, a man appeared in Haneda Airport in Japan. He was middle aged, had Caucasian features and a beard. He was dressed professionally in a suit and tie and moving through the airport smoothly. Nothing appeared unusual about this man… until he went through airport security. Security officials asked for the man’s passport.
As security looked at his passport, the man calmly waited for it to be stamped and be cleared to go. The few seconds it normally took for the stamp to be issued turned into a couple of minutes. They noticed the passport stated the man was from a country called Taured. The passport looked genuine with stamps and seals from real countries, including several from Japan, Germany, and the United States. The problem was, the man’s home country of Taured didn’t exist.
Officials escorted the man to the office of the head of immigration and began questioning him about Taured. He was quite confused and argued, in a thick French accent, that his home country had been in existence for over one thousand years. He also told the airport staff that he had visited Japan from Taured for business on several occasions, something they noted from his passport stamps. He spoke Japanese fluently along with a few other languages. Trying to validate his country, the man began showing the staff his driver’s license, which was also issued from Taured. He also showed them a check issued to him from the country of Taured, just adding to the mystery. He was also carrying currency from a few other legitimate countries. Security began to think the man was playing an elaborate hoax on them, but he did seem genuinely upset. They eventually brought the man a map and opened it on the table in front of him. He was asked to point to his country. He immediately pointed to an area on the map between France and Spain, where in reality is the principality of Andorra (although, to be honest, I had never heard of Andorra either).
Officials were left scratching their heads. The man was also very confused and frightened. Immigration officials decided to put the man in a hotel until things could be straightened out. The man agreed, because what else could he do? They told him to get some rest and hopefully things would be worked out in the morning (because, yeah, countries just have ways of disappearing and then reappearing the next day, right?)
During the night, two security guards were placed outside the man without a country’s door. It was a very uneventful night. The next morning, when officials went to check on the man, he had vanished. Both security guards were stunned. They had heard no noises coming from his room that night and his room was also several stories high so there was no way he could have escaped through the windows. Security rushed back to their offices at the airport and all of the man’s confiscated belongings had also vanished; his passport, drivers license, luggage, and the check. The man from Taured was never seen again.
My Investigation
This story, even though it happened in 1954, was not discussed for nearly forty years. The first time it was mentioned was in the book, “The Directory of Possibilities,” by Colin Wilson and John Grant, written in 1989.
The story was mentioned again in 1999, in the book, “Strange but True: Mysterious and Bizarre People,” by Thomas Slemen.
Although the story appears in both books, there is absolutely no evidence to support this is a true story and was more than likely written as entertainment.
There are a few theories about where this man came from. One theory is that he was an interdimensional traveler. Somehow, without his knowledge, he slipped from his dimension into an alternate dimension where Taured is non-existent.
Another theory suggests there was a glitch and he was accidentally placed in our universe, then he was sucked back into his own universe. All of his belongings disappeared with him because he was never actually here.
A third theory is that he was a time traveler on the same time line but in a parallel universe.
There are different ideas on time travel. One idea is a person will move back and forth between universes. There is also the belief that time travel is not actually changing universes but changing timelines.
Some people believe Taured is a place from the future. However, this man didn’t seem to realize he was in a different time. If we theorize he was a hundred years or more in the future, I think he would be able to tell.
Things change drastically over time; even in a short amount of time.
One more theory is that the entire story was an accident by the government officials. Perhaps they couldn’t understand the man if he was from a different country. This theory doesn’t hold much weight since they say he had published documents from Taured and could speak Japanese fluently. Also, the fact that he, along with all his belongings, vanished. I don’t think he could pull off that stunt.
My Thoughts
I think this is a pretty cool story but my call is… urban legend. I hate to be a Debbie Downer because it is a fun idea. Many people think the story is true and many “resources” say it is true. Time travel, I suppose, is a possibility (even though Albert Einstein seemed convinced it is impossible, at least how we think of time travel). I just don’t think this is a factual example. The story says it happened in 1954, but was never mentioned until the 1990s. How would anyone keep this quiet for almost 40 years?
There are other stories of people just appearing out of nowhere, claiming to be from non-existent places. These examples don’t have reliable sources either.
In 1851, a man by the name of Josef Vorin, was found wandering in Frankfurt, Germany. When German officials stopped to question him, he claimed to be from the country of Laxaria on the continent of Sakria. The authorities were baffled because they had never heard of such a place. After checking a world map, they found the country of Laxaria and the continent of Sakria did not exist. The fate of Josef Vorin is unknown to this day.
Another incident in 1905, told of a young man caught stealing bread in Paris.
Authorities interrogated him and realized he was speaking an unknown language. After many efforts, the man finally conveyed he was from Lizbia. Authorities thought he meant Lisbon so they brought in a Portuguese translator. It was soon discovered, however, that he was not Portuguese. Eventually he was released and was never seen or heard from again.
If the story of the man in Frankfurt and the young man found in Paris are true, although there is no evidence proving the stories are true, they could have simply been delusional or even feigning delusion to get away with a crime.
All three of these stories are definitely not verified but they are fun to ponder. Does time travel exist? Are there parallel universes? Is Taured out there? Lizbia, Laxaria?
Is it possible they fell backward through time or passed through different dimensions?
In Conclusion
My belief is all three stories are legends. If there is any validity to any of the three stories, then the men were probably perpetrating hoaxes or were mentally ill. The idea of time travel is fascinating and exciting. Someday time travel may exist and who is to say it doesn’t exist somewhere in some time? Maybe we are visited by travelers from other times or parallel universes. But if so, wouldn’t they stop the Titanic from sinking, the Holocaust, 9/11? Maybe they have tried and failed. We may never know. The Man from Taured has always fascinated me and I honestly hoped to find some evidence that the story was true.
I hope you enjoyed the article. I would love to read your thoughts and ideas on The Man from Taured in the comments section!
Ghost is the Word 