Yoshie Shiratori (白鳥 由栄, Shiratori Yoshie?, July 31, 1907 - February 24, 1979) was a Japanese national who committed a murder in 1933. He is best known for having escaped from prison four times over three years. He was eventually sentenced to life plus 23 years imprisonment for his crimes. However, served 26 years and was paroled in 1961.
Shiratori was born in Aomori Prefecture and had a daughter. Although he committed a murder with a peer in 1933, he was evidently not a career criminal. Prosecutors sought the death sentence. He escaped from Aomori prison in 1936. He was soon rearrested and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He escaped from Akita prison in 1942. After he was rearrested again, three years was added to his sentence. He rusted his handcuff and an inspection hole with miso soup and escaped from Abashiri prison in 1944. After World War II, he injured a man and the man later died. He was arrested again in 1946.
Sapporo District Court sentenced him to death and this made him angry. He dug a tunnel and escaped from Sapporo prison in 1947. In 1948, a policeman gave him a cigarette, and Shiratori admitted that he was an escaped convict. The high court revoked his death sentence and sentenced him to another 20-years in prison, while dismissing the allegation of intentional killing. He stayed in jail after that, and was paroled in 1961. He went to Aomori Prefecture in 1973, and he saw his daughter, but he didn't speak to her. He died of a heart attack in 1979. His ashes were taken by a woman who was cared for by him.
Shiratori became an anti-hero. Akira Yoshimura published a novel Hagoku based on him. His memorial is in the Abashiri prison museum. His family name Shiratori means swan in Japanese.