Japanese-Jewish theory of common ancestry

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Japanese-Jewish theory of common ancestry ( Japanese : 日 ユ 同 祖 論 、 日 猶 同 祖 論 Nichiyu Dōsoron) is a marginal theory that appeared in the 17th century as a hypothesis claiming that the Japanese people were the main part of the ten lost tribes of Israel . A later version portrayed them as descendants of a tribe of Jewish Nestorians . Some versions of the theory applied to the whole population; others only claimed that a certain group within the Japanese people was descended from Jews.

Tudor Parfitt writes that "the spread of the fantasy of Israelite origin [...] is a consistent feature of Western colonial enterprise".

“In Japan we can see the most remarkable development of an imagined Judean past in the Pacific. As everywhere in the world, the theory that aspects of the land should be explained by an Israelite model was introduced by Western agents. "

Researcher and author Jon Entine points out that DNA evidence rules out the possibility of meaningful links between Japanese and Jews.

Origins

During the Age of Discovery , European explorers attempted to associate many of the peoples with whom they came in contact with the Ten Lost Tribes, sometimes in conjunction with attempts to introduce Christian missionaries. The first person to identify the lost tribes with an East Asian nation was João Rodriguez (1561–1634), a missionary and interpreter for the Jesuits. In 1608 he argued that the Chinese were descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. He believed that the Chinese sages Confucius and Lao Tzu took their ideas from Judaism. Rodriguez later gave up that theory. In his "Historia da Igreja do Japão" (German: "History of the Church of Japan") he argued that Japan was settled in two waves of immigration from the mainland, with one group from Chekiang and the other from Korea.

According to Parfitt, "the first comprehensive development of the theory was proposed by Nicholas McLeod , a Scotsman who began his career in the herring industry before ending up as a missionary in Japan."

In 1870 McLeod published an Epitome from the Ancient History of Japan and Illustrations to the Epitome from the Ancient History of Japan that the Japanese people included descendants of the lost tribes of Israel that made up the aristocracy and the traditional priestly caste. Evidence cited for this theory included similarities between the legends of Emperors Jimmu and Moses , the presence of "Portuguese-Jewish" racial traits in some Japanese, and similarities between Shinto and Judaism.

Effects in Japan

These theories have had little impact in Japan, although they have recently been translated in Japan and published in Japan.

In 1908, Saeki Yoshiro (1872-1965), professor at Waseda University , published a book in which he developed a variant of the theory. Yoshiro was an expert on Japanese Nestorianism . Saeki theorized that the Hata clan , who came from Korea and settled in Japan in the third century, were a Jewish Nestorian tribe. According to Ben Ami-Shillony: "Saeki's writings spread the theory of 'the common ancestry of the Japanese and the Jews' (Nichiyu Dōsoron) in Japan, a theory that has been advocated by some Christian groups."

There is no evidence, including modern DNA analysis, to support this hypothesis. A recent study of the genetic origins of Japanese people does not support genealogical connection as suggested by Saeki.

Effects elsewhere

The Japanese-Jewish theory of common ancestry was seen as one of the attempts by European racial scientists to explain the rapid modernization of Japan, as opposed to the other "inferior" or "inferior" Asians, especially the Chinese. However, the theory itself has been taken in different directions.

Jews in China

In the same year Saeki's book on the theory was published. An article promoting another version of the theory appeared in Israels Messenger , a magazine published by the Shanghai Zionist Federation. While McLeod claimed that the priestly caste and ruling class of Japan were descendants of Jews, the article published by the Shanghai group offered a more proletarian version of the theory. Ami-Shillony writes: "The author claimed, contrary to what McLeod had written, that these were the outcasts of Japan, the Eta (or Ety, as the article called it), the descendants of Jews."

The author of the article said that the Japanese Eta, like the Jews in the West, were hard-working people, especially those related to the shoe industry who also lived in ghettos, “not that the Japanese are forcing them, but they seem to be prefer to be isolated from the rest of the population ”. The author also claimed that the Eta adhered to Jewish customs: “In the Nagasaki ghetto, for example, the Ety observe the Sabbath very religiously. Not only do they work on this weekday, they also don't smoke or light a fire, just like the Orthodox Jews. "

According to Ami-Shillony, "This ridiculous and completely baseless story was neither challenged nor refuted in later editions of the magazine."

“There is evidence that around 240 BC Small groups of Jews settled in China. "

Christian Zionism

Ami-Shillony also describes a letter later published by the same magazine, written by Elizabeth A. Gordon, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria who was also a prominent Christian Zionist . Gordon tries to associate Japan with Anglo-Israelism , particularly with the view that the British royal family is of Israelite descent. Gordon was well known in Japan, where she studied Shingon Buddhism , which she claimed was of Christian origin. In her 1921 letter, she adopted a "fantastic chain of reflections" to prove that "the meeting between the Japanese and British Crown Princes marked the long-awaited reunification of Judah and Israel". Gordon was influential in Japan at the time.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tudor Parfitt: The Lost Tribes of Israel: The History of a Myth . Ed .: Phoenix. 2003, p. 162 .
  2. ^ Tudor Parfitt: The Lost Tribes of Israel: The History of a Myth . Ed .: Phoenix. 2003, p. 158 .
  3. ↑ a b Abraham’s children: race, identity, and the DNA of the chosen people
  4. ↑ Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders , pp. 134-135 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)
  5. ^ CR Boxer, "Some Aspects of Western Historical Writing on the Far East, 1500–1800" in EG Pulleyblank (ed), Historians of China and Japan , Oxford University Press, London, 1961, p. 317
  6. ^ Tudor Parfitt: The Lost Tribes of Israel: The History of a Myth . Ed .: Phoenix. 2003, p. 159 .
  7. ↑ McLeod, Norman. subtitle: Japan and the Lost Tribes of Israel , Nagasaki, 1876
  8. ↑ An article from this book can be viewed on the Rare Books page of the National Library of Scotland by searching for “Norman McLeod Epitome” (accessed March 9, 2011)
  9. ↑ a b Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / east-asia.haifa.ac.il
  10. ^ David Goodman Masanori Miyazawa: Jews in the Japanese mind: the history and uses of a cultural stereotype . Ed .: The Free Press. 1996, ISBN 978-0-02-912482-6 , pp. 60 ( google.co.uk ).
  11. ↑ Takahashi and McLeod (1997). Tennouke to Isuraeru Jyuu Shizoku no Shinjitsu . Tokyo: Tama Shuppan.
  12. ^ McLeod and Kubo (2004). Nihon Koyuu Bunmei no Nazo wa Yudaya de tokeru . Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten.
  13. ↑ Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders , pp. 136-137 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)
  14. ↑ Dual origins of the Japanese: common ground for hunter-gatherer and farmer Y chromosomes. PDF
  15. ^ Communities - The Jewish Community of China
  16. ^ A b c Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders , p. 137 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)
  17. ↑ Ben Ami-Shillony, The Jews and the Japanese: The Successful Outsiders , pp. 137-138 (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1991)

literature

  • Bandou, Makoto (2010). Yudayajin Torai Densetsu Chizu . Tokyo: PHP Kenkyuusho.
  • Eidelberg, Joseph (2005). Nihon Shoki to Nihongo no Yudaya Kigen . Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten.
  • Kawamorita, Eiji (1987). Nihon Heburu Shiika no Kenkyuu . (Literally research of Japanese Hebrew verses.) Tokyo: Yawata Shoten.
  • Kojima et al. (1994). Shinpen Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshuu (2) Nihon Shoki (1) . Tokyo: Shougakkan,
  • Kojima et al. (1996). Shinpen Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshuu (3) Nihon Shoki (2) . Tokyo: Shougakkan,
  • Kojima et al. (1998). Shinpen Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshuu (4) Nihon Shoki (3) . Tokyo: Shougakkan,
  • Kubo, Arimasa. Israelites Came to Ancient Japan , Chapter: 2 3 4 .
  • Kubo, Arimasa (2011). Nihon to Yudaya Unmei no Idenshi . Tokyo: Gakken Publishing.
  • Kubo et al. (2000). Nihon Yudaya Huuin no Kodaishi (2) . Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten.
  • Yamaguchi and Kounoshi (1997). Shinpen Nihon Koten Bungaku Zenshuu (1) Kojiki . (literal translation: New edition of Japanese Classical Literature Series (1). Tokyo: Shougakkan.