Jews in Japan
Jewish merchants since 1861 - immigration of Russian Jews
since 1881 - anti-Semitism since 1922 from Russian expedition -
Manchuria since 1931 - religious wave in Japan after the defeat since
1945
<JAPAN,
Asian state.
For Jews Japan was practically an unknown land until the mid-19th
century. Jews may well have participated in the limited trade which
Europeans, particularly the Portuguese and Dutch, carried on during
Japan's so-called "Christian Century" (1542-1639), but their role was
at best minimal.
With the opening of the Japanese archipelago to international relations
after the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy in
1853, however, a small number of Jewish merchants settled down for
greater or lesser periods of time in the principal port cities of the
islands.
[since 1861: Jewish merchants in
Yokohama]
The first Jews to settle in Japan in modern times were Alexander Marks
and his brother who arrived in *Yokohama in 1861. Shortly thereafter
they were joined by Raphael Schoyer, an American businessman, who
served as president of the municipal council of the foreign settlement
from 1865 to about 1867. He was also the publisher of the Japan Express, one of the first
foreign-language newspapers to appear in Japan. By the end of the 1860s
about 50 Jewish families, mainly from Poland but also from england and
the United States, made their homes in Yokohama. Among their communal
organizations were a cemetery and burial society and, perhaps, a
synagogue and school. Yokohama has ever since been one of the main
centers of Jewish settlement in Japan.
[1875: Scottish missionary McLeod
states, all Japanese are of Jewish descent]
Among the foreigners in Japan in the 1870s was N. McLeod, an unusual
Scottish missionary. His "researches in Japan have satisfied him", a
local newspaper reported in 1875, "that the people of this country are
of Jewish family..." His notion that the Japanese people were
descendants of the "Ten Lost Tribes of Israel" was set forth in several
books; This nonsense has unfortunately been repeated occasionally by
Japanese "Judeophiles".
[1882-1887: Old Testament in
Japanese published]
A more serious publishing venture concerning the Jews was undertaken in
the 1880s. After many years of planning an interdenominational
committee of Protestant missionaries and Japanese Christian converts
prepared a translation of the Old Testament. Completed between 1882 and
1887, this translation was revised on several occasions in subsequent
years.
[since 1881: Russian Jews in
Nagasaki]
In the late 19th century a Jewish settlement, founded mainly by Jews of
Russian origin, grew up at *Nagasaki. (col. 1280)
The main well have decided to settle here because this city, in
addition to being a florishing entrepôt [[free haven]], was long used
by the Russian Far Eastern fleet as a base for rest and recreatikon.
Little is known about this community, which subsequently declined, but
evidence that it maintained its own cemetery has been uncovered in the
post-World War II era. Nagasaki's place as a center of Jewish life in
Japan was gradually taken by the rising port of *Kobe.
[since 1905 and 1917: Russian
Jewish immigration to Japan as a flight from revolutions - transit stay
- since 1919: "several thousand"]
Jewish emigration to Japan mounted during the decade before the close
of World War I. The Russian Revolution of 1905 and particularly the
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 compelled many Russian Jews to flee from
Russia. Many made their way to *Manchuria and *China, while others
continued on to Japan where they were assisted by their coreligionists.
Volunteer organizations, notably HIAS, played a major role in
evacuating these refugees to Japan. Though some settled down
permanently in *Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kobe, many others sooner or later
found haven in the United States and Latin America. For some years
after World War I the Jewish community in Japan did not number more
than several thousand.
[since 1923 approx.: Anti-Semitism
brought by Japanese soldiers from Siberian expedition]
Despite the concentration of Jews in a few cities, they did not impinge
upon the consciousness of the Japanese people, who remained unaware of
the Jews as a distinct people and as the upholders of a distinct faith.
(Even educated Japanese long believed that the Jews were a Christian
sect!) Then during the 1920s the first signs of anti-Semitism began to
emerge. Its purveyors were mainly soldiers who had taken part in
Japan's Siberian Expedition (1918-22) and who had been infected by the
tales of hatred peddled by anti-Semitic White Russians.
these were the people who introduced the infamous Protocols of the Learned *Elders of Zion
into Japan; in the following 35 years additional editions continued to
be published. Still, Japanese anti-Semitism was not widespread. Largely
"intellectual" in character and reflecting the growing fear of
Bolshevism, with which Jews were identified, it caused Jewish residents
of Japan neither embarrassment nor inconvenience.
[since 1931: Jewish emigration
movement from Japanese Manchuria]
When Japan embarked upon a program of military expansion in Manchuria
in 1931, the fortunes of thousands of Jews were directly and indirectly
affected. Though for a while the Jewish communities in Manchuria,
especially in *Harbin, were subjected to no special discriminatory
actions, in time many of the erstwhile refugees from Russia, finding
Japanese rule unpalatable, decided to emigrate elsewhere. Many
transferred their homes and business to *Tientsin, *Shanghai, and *Hong
Kong, while a few settled down in Japan.
[since 1938 approx.: link with
Nazi Germany - rise of anti-Semitic literature in Japanese -
indifferent government and population]
At the same time the development of closer relations with Nazi Germany
resulted in a tremendous expansion of anti-Semitic literature in Japan.
After 1937 many anti-Semitic works were translated into Japanese from
the German (col. 1281)
and additional works were written de novo in Japanese. But, by and
large, the Japanese government and people remained indifferent to this
inflammatory literature which circulated in limited circles.
[1939-1941: Influx of European
Jewish refugees to Japan and China - 1942-1945 - Japanese occupation of
Shanghai]
A stream of Jewish refugees from Nazism poured into the Far East during
the early years of World War II. Many of them, coming by sea, found
temporary homes in the International Settlement at Shanghai. Others,
coming overland through Siberia from Eastern Europe, stayed a while in
Japan. Perhaps the best known contingent of such refugees were the
members of the *Mir yeshivah [[religious Torah school of Mir]] in
Lithuania who arrived in Japan in 1941. Though they were not permitted
to remain, the Japanese government did not press them to leave until
arrangements had been made for their transit to Shanghai.
When shortly thereafter the International Settlement [[in Shanghai]]
was occupied by Japanese forces, about 50,000 Jews came under Japanese
military rule. Many of the refugees were placed in an internment camp
for the duration of the war. Strict as this military administration
was, it was a far cry from the Nazi-occupied areas of Europe.
After World War II.
[1945-1952: "US" occupation of
Japan - high number of Jews in Japan]
During the American occupation of Japan (1945-52) the number of Jews in
the islands reached its highest figure, some officials of General
MacArthur's regime and many "G.I.s" being Jewish. When many of these
servicemen returned home after the termination of the occupation and
the Korean War (1950-53) the number of Jews in Japan dwindled.
Organized Jewish life in Japan during these years revolved mainly about
the activities sponsored by the Jewish chaplains of the American armed
forces.
[Religious wave in Japan after the
defeat - Jewish studies in Japan]
The postwar disenchantment of the Japanese people with their
traditional faiths spurred a new interest in other religions and
philosophies, including Judaism. The study of Jewish history and
culture, which drew the attention of Prince Mikasa of the imperial
family, increased as never before. The Japanese Association of Jewish
Studies, scholarly in orientation, undertook the publication of the
journal Studies on Jewish Life and
Culture (Yudaya-Isuraeru Kenkyu). A prime mover in the promotion
of knowledge about Jewish matters was Masayuki *Kobayashi, professor of
history at Waseda University (Tokyo) and long a champion of Jewish
studies in Japan.
[since 1952: conversions: Japanese
women - emigration movement to the "USA" - some Japanese men]
Though for a while there was considerable speculation about the
conversion of Japanese to Judaism, in time it became apparent that this
development would not occur. The principal converts were Japanese women
who married American-Jewish servicemen; ultimately many of them moved
to the United States with their husbands. Among the few male converts
to Judaism the best known was Setsuzo *Kotsuji, descended from a family
of Shinto priests, whose quest for a faith had led him through
Protestant Christianity to Judaism. With his conversion, consummated in
Jerusalem in 1959, he took the name Abraham.
[1970: about 1,000 Jews in Japan]
By 1970 the size of the Jewish community in Japan had stabilized at
about 1,000, most of whom lived in Tokyo and Yokohama. Some of these
local Jews had found homes for themselves in the cities of Japan before
World War II; many others, however, were migrants from the United
States and Europe who had settled in the islands in the postwar era.
Engaging in the export-import trade, operating businesses, holding
professional positions, and serving as consultants, most seemed
prepared to live out their lives in Japan.
[H.K.]
Relations with Israel.
Relations between Israel and Japan have been consistently friendly. At
the beginning of 1952, the governments of Japan and Israel opened
negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and as the
(col. 1282)
year progressed the exchange of legations was announced and the Israel
legation, headed by a minister, opened in Tokyo in December. In 1955
the Japanese minister in Ankara presented his credentials as a
nonresident minister to Israel, and later the Japanese legation was
headed by a resident minister. In 1963 the legations were raised to the
level of embassies. In 1970 an agreement on mutual aid and the
formulation of legal documents was signed.
[Direct shipping line from Eilat
to Japan - Japan delivers the ships]
The relations between the two countries lie basically in the areas of
trade and culture. Since the initiation of a regular shipping line from
Eilat, the scope of trade has steadily extended. From 1965, Israel's
exports to Japan rose from $16,000,000 to over $31,000,000, and imports
rose from $18,000,000 to over $41,000,000. Israel exports mainly
diamonds, phosphates, fertilizers, chemicals, and food products, and
imports mainly tankers and other ships. The development of commercial
ties does not stand in proportion to Japan's economic strength,
however, due to Japan's wariness of the Arab boycott.
In 1961 a delegation of Japanese anthropologists and geographers dug on
the slopes of Mt. Carmel near Haifa. At the University of Tokyo, a
number of Japanese students have studied biblical Hebrew and the
archeology of the Land of Israel; other have studied Hebrew in
approximately a dozen other university-level institutions.
[since 1965: student and studies
exchange programs between Israel and Japan - Japanese youth in
kibbutzim]
Since 1965 Japanese studies have been part of the program of the Hebrew
University, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv University. Under the program of
annual educational grants, a number of Japanese research students have
studied Bible, Jewish musicology, and Jewish history in Israel and a
number of Israel students have studies in Japan. A Japanese art
pavilion was opened in Haifa.
The Kibbutz Society, founded in 1962 by N. Tezuka, numbers about 30,000
members and publishes the Kibbutz
Monthly in Japanese. The moral and social values of the kibbutz
serve as a source of inspiration for the members of the society, and
every year three groups of Japanese youngsters (with 50-70 in each
group have spent time on kibbutzim in Israel (about 550 people
participated in these visits in 1965-70).
[Religious splinter groups in
Japan with relations to Israel]
Many religious sects (most of them Protestant), related in some way to
the Holy Land and Jerusalem, exist in Japan. The largest of them, the
Tokyo Biblical Seminary, headed by Professor J. Tashima, claims 30,000
adherents. The Holy Jesus society, with 3,000 members, believes that a
second advent of Jesus will take place after the ingathering of the
exiles is completed. They study Hebrew and arrange annual pilgrimages
to Israel. Similar pilgrimages are arranged by the Association for the
Propagation of the Gospel, with 10,000 members. The above three
organizations met in 1968 for the purpose of joint activities on behalf
of Jerusalem.
[SH.TU.]> (col. 1283)
<Bibliography
-- C. Adler: Jacob H. Schiff: His Life and Letters, 2 vols. (1928)
-- I. Cohen: Journal of a Jewish Traveller (1925)
-- H. Dicker: Wanderers and Settlers in the Far East (1962)
-- A. Setsuzo: From Tokyo to Jerusalem (1964)
-- J. Kreppel: Juden und Judentum (1925)
-- H. Kublin, in: Congress Weekly, 12 (Oct. 22, 1956), 9-11
-- idem, in: Jewish Frontier, 25 (April 1958), 15-22
-- idem, in: Congress Bi-Weekly, 28 (Dec. 25, 1961), 13-15
-- A.J. Wolf, in: Commentary, 15 (April 1953), 352-6> (col.
1283-1284)
Sources
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Japan, vol. 9, col. 1280
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Japan, vol. 9, col. 1281-1282
|
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971: Japan, vol. 9, col. 1283-1284
|
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