A friend of mine, who is one of the best readers and subscribes to the monthly magazines WiLL and Hanada without fail every month as I do, told me that the following feature article was great.
I was working on it then, so I did not read it.
However, my friend confused Mr. Hidemichi Tanaka with Mr. Hidehiro Okada, Junko Miyawaki’s husband, and I replied that that was not true.
Last night, I was reading the rest of WiLL at once and reached the feature.
I am glad to know about it while I am still alive.
I am the best person in the world who visits Kyoto among those who do not live there.
In 2012, after I recovered from a severe illness that had kept me hospitalized for eight months, I visited Kyoto 300 days out of 365 days a year.
The most visited place at that time was the Kyoto Botanical Garden.
I spent most of my time photographing seasonal flowers, wild birds, butterflies, etc.
A few years ago, I spent 100 days out of a year walking and photographing in Arashiyama.
Crossing the Togetsu Bridge toward Arashiyama Park, there is a stream at the end of the bridge.
There, you will find a description of the Hata clan.
Of course, the description does not include Hidemichi Tanaka’s discovery of the century, a must-read for all Japanese citizens.
Everyone must have been aware, as I was, that the Hata and Soga clans were simply visitors to Japan.
Emphasis in the text other than the headline is mine.

Jews Came to Ancient Japan: Hidemichi Tanaka, Professor Emeritus at Tohoku University, Makoto Mogi, Lecturer of World History at a preparatory school.
Japanese history cannot be told without Jewish involvement: Approaching the truth of the theory of Jewish assimilation in Japan.

The Discovery of Jewish Haniwa Terracotta Tomb Figures
Tanaka　
Scholars at Japanese universities have been tight-lipped about new historical facts.
When I published my research on Jewish haniwa (clay figurines), Japanese historians were puzzled and remained silent.
Various traces of the arrival of Hebrews (i.e., Jews) to the ancient Japanese archipelago have been found in multiple forms.　
However, only some scholars are seriously engaged in such research.
On the other hand, this view was immediately accepted, and I was invited to present at an international conference at Tel Aviv University in 2019.
Mogi.　
I have always presented videos on Jewish history and other topics.
So it was an inspiring book for me to publish, “Ancient History & World History of Japan and Jews” (Wani Books), with Dr. Tanaka doing his Jewish research.
Tanaka　
Mr. Mogi, I heard that you went to see the “Jewish Haniwa” (terracotta tomb figurines) excavated from two front-rear round burial mounds called Tonozuka and Himezuka, also known as “Shibayama Kofun,” located in Shibayama Town, Chiba Prefecture, near Narita Airport (see image).
Mogi　
Yes, it was my first visit. I studied archaeology in college, so I was interested in ancient tombs, and I had seen the haniwa (clay figurines) excavated from the Shibayama Tomb many times.
However, I had assumed that this haniwa was a “warrior haniwa,” as archaeologists call it.　
However, when I went to see this haniwa again after I heard from Dr. Tanaka that this haniwa is a person haniwa modeled after a Jewish person, I could only see it as a “Jewish haniwa” anymore (laugh).
(Laughs) Why did you think that this haniwa was a Jew?
Tanaka.　
He is wearing a high triangular hat with a brim, a long beard, long sleeves, long pants, and a sword.
He was clearly of migratory descent.
At the very least, he has no Japanese features.
And the most distinctive feature is not his clothes or hat but his “mizura” (hairstyle).
Mizura” refers to hair that is tied up at the ears.
Mogi　
It is easy to imagine the hair of the children lined up on both sides of the portrait of Prince Shotoku.
What are the characteristics of this “mizura”?
Tanaka　
The “mizura” is not something that every ethnic group does, but Jews wear this hairstyle in addition to circumcision (partial removal of genitalia) as a sign that they are Jewish.
In the “Old Testament,” it is written.
Cut not off the hair of your “sideburns,” lest the hair of your beard be cut off, and the hair of your head be cut off, and the hair of your neck be cut off. You shall not cut off the ends of your beard (Leviticus 19:27).
Those who shave every part of their hair are heathens (Jeremiah 9:26).　
The “bottle” is the fringe on either side of the hair.
Jewish men tried to express physically that they were different from the pagans by not cutting their hair and beards and cutting off the foreskin of the male genitalia.
Have you ever seen any other ethnic group besides Jews with this “mizra” custom?
Mogi.　
No, I have not.
The fringe that resembles the “mizura” is called “bayot” (PAYOT in Hebrew) among the Jews.
Indeed, the “mizura” of the “Jewish haniwa” and the “payot” of the Jews look precisely alike.
Tanaka　
Such “Jewish Haniwa” have been excavated mainly in the Kanto area and from Kansai and Kyushu.
Mogi　
I think that Dr. Tanaka’s achievement is that he “rediscovered” a “Jewish haniwa,” which everyone had stopped thinking of as a “warrior haniwa.”
Why couldn’t historians and scholars have read it as a haniwa in the shape of Jewish people?
Tanaka　
I think it is because they were too ignorant about the history of the West and the Jewish people, as they could only talk about a narrow field of specialty.
In addition, they had a solid and entrenched stereotype that Japanese history had developed through interactions with China and the Korean peninsula.　
There would have been an aspect of doubt that could not be dispelled about the fact that distant and foreign people, the Jews, had anything to do with ancient Japan.

The Arrival of a Large Group of Jews
Mogi　
There is no disputing the fact that there were immigrants to Japan.
It would not be surprising if they came not only from China and Korea but also from farther away.
However, how can we determine that they were Jews?
Can we say that they are of Greek or Persian descent ……?
Tanaka.
It is definitely Jewish.
The Jews have been thrown into a desolate world, having given up their homeland many times due to religious conflicts such as the “Assyrian Captivity” (722 B.C.), the “Babylonian Captivity” (582 B.C.), and the “Jewish War” (135 B.C.).
Many Western nations have despised and persecuted the incoming Jews as an alien people.
It led them to be driven out of their countries in diaspora and arrived in Japan in a sort of deliberate way.
Mogi.　
That is true.
Even in modern times, there is a history of the massacre of Jews by Imperial Russia and Nazi Germany.
Their history has always been a history of humiliation.
Tanaka.　
The Jews are the only people in the world who have been persecuted like this.
Mogi　
When do you think the Jews came to Japan, Mr. Tanaka?
Tanaka　
The first Jews came to Japan when the original indigenous Japanese, or Jomon people, were in the Japanese archipelago.
Mogi　
There were several reasons Jews had to move due to wars and persecutions, including the Exodus in the 13th century B.C., the Assyrian captivity in the 8th century B.C., and the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century B.C.
This period is still the Jomon period.
Tanaka.　
The Jews came to Japan through the “Five Waves” (see table above).
Mogi　
The most clear is the fourth wave.
During the reign of Emperor Ojin (Kofun period), a large group of 10,000 to 20,000 Jews (Hata clan) came to Japan from Kunyue (a city-state in the Ili Basin along the Silk Road).
What kind of existence was this Hata clan?
Tanaka.　
The Qin Clan was a group of Jews driven out of the Roman Empire and traveled eastward, following the Silk Road, or steppe road, through Kun-yue, Manchuria, and Korea to Japan (see map on the left page).
It is said that Qin Shi Huangdi was also related to the Hata Clan.　
The fact that the Hata came to the Japanese archipelago via the Korean peninsula’s Silla Kingdom is recorded in the “Chronicles of Japan.”
The leader of the Hata clan, Yuzukinokimi, asked Emperor Ojin for help because he wanted to go to Japan, but the Silla people were getting in his way.
The emperor also sent soldiers to Silla to support them.
Mogi　
In the Judeo-Christian value system, Jerusalem is the center of the world, and the Garden of Eden (the ideal world in the Old Testament) is in the Far East.
Catholic churches also always face east, and worshippers worship facing east.
He dared to stay in Japan when he should have settled in Silla due to his longing for a country at the end of the East.
Tanaka　
Emperor Ojin, who supported and accepted the Jews, was also excellent.
Because the Jews who came to Japan presented the emperor with whirling silk fabrics, he gave them land (today’s Kyoto) and named it “Uzumasa.”
The Koryu-ji temple there is said to have been built by the Hata.
The word “weaving” is also derived from the Hata clan.
Mogi　
The population of the Kofun period is estimated to have been about 5 million.
If about 20,000 Jews came to Japan, that would be about 0.4%.
Biologically speaking, Jewish genes have little influence on Japanese genes.
However, these Jews served the Imperial Court with highly advanced technology.　
Today, the Jewish population in the United States is about 2%.
The influence of Jews in the U.S. is immeasurable, with strong forces in the media, finance, Hollywood, and academia.
Tanaka.　
If 2% of the U.S. population can do that, one can imagine how much power they had in ancient Japan.

Japan’s Amazing Assimilative Power
Mogi　
Why were Jews able to assimilate into Japan when they were persecuted and regarded as alien to the rest of the world?
Tanaka.　
It is because they could accept the Japanese climate as their ideal home.
They are a people who originally lived in the desert, so their natural environment is extremely harsh.
The surrounding area is a desert area, and life is tough.
They are tempted to cling to an invisible, transcendent being to survive in such a harsh environment.
It is why the Jews created “God.”　
However, in Japan, nature is lush and green, water is abundant, and everything is from fish to nuts.
The living environment was so different between Jews and Japanese.
It was more convenient for them to abandon their desert religion of monotheism and blend into the rich natural beliefs of Japan.
It is the excellent power of Japanese assimilation.
Mogi.
They assimilated into Japan and received names, status, and land from the Imperial Court.
They would then marry Japanese and spend the rest of their lives raising their mixed-race children.
After three generations, they became entirely Japanese.　
There is a stereotype that “Jews could not have adapted to Japan because Judaism is a monotheistic religion and Japanese Shinto is a polytheistic religion.
However, suppose you read the “Old Testament” correctly. In that case, you will find that of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, the “lost ten tribes” who were taken captive by the Assyrians and whose whereabouts are unknown had loose commandments and had already embraced polytheism.
So, it is unsurprising that they assimilated with the polytheistic Jomon people.
Tanaka.　
It is a mistake to assume that all Jews are monotheistic.
Internal divisions and factional strife occur not only among the Jewish people.

The Influence of the Hata Clan
Mogi　
How did the assimilated Jews influence Japan?
Tanaka.　
Emperor Ojin, who made the great decision to accept the 20,000 Hata clan, as mentioned above, was later enshrined as the chief deity of Hachiman Shrine.
The Hata clan founded Hachimangu Shrine, which was meant to express the gratitude from the Hata to Emperor Ojin, saying, “Thank you very much for accepting us Jews.
And they built the largest Front circle back tomb (Zenpokoenfun is wrong) at the time for Emperor Ojin.
Mogi　
Hachimanjin is considered a warrior god, but its origin is not clearly known.
Is it a god initially worshipped on the continent by the Hata clan? 
Tanaka　
Only later, Hachiman came to be called “Hachiman” and was initially called “Yahata.”
The number “8” means “a lot.”
In other words, does not Yahata mean “many Hata”?
It is also similar to the name of “Yahweh,” the sole God of Judaism.
Mogi.　
I see. 
It is true that “Yahata” and “Yahweh” are similar if you ask me.
What changes occurred during the Kofun period when the Hata clan arrived?
Tanaka.　
There were highly significant changes.
The Jomon and Yayoi periods, which lasted more than 10,000 years, were a culture of wood.
However, after the Kofun period, the Hata clan brought a culture of stone and civil engineering and construction technology to Japan.
Japan has always lived in harmony with nature and did not forcibly process character.
The six-pillar building at the Sannai-Maruyama site (Aomori Prefecture) is a good example.
On the other hand, Kofun tumuli are substantial artificial structures and a stone culture.
It is where the influence of the Hata clan can be seen.
Mogi　
A new sarcophagus tomb dating from the late Yayoi period was recently discovered at the Yoshinogari site (Saga Prefecture).
Stoneworking is clearly a technique brought by the visitors.
Kofun tombs also made chunky sarcophagi to preserve the bodies.
It is intended to revive the body, and a culture foreign to the Jomon view of life and death has entered the area.
The construction of substantial anterior and posterior circular tombs, such as Emperor Ojin’s Mausoleum and Emperor Nintoku’s Mausoleum, would have required considerable technical, organizational, and financial skills by people of migratory descent, such as the Hata clan.
Tanaka　
As a family that excelled in civil engineering projects, the Hata contributed to Japan by using irrigation and irrigation canal technology, such as building levees.
In a later period, a famous person named Hata Kawakatsu appeared as a close associate of Prince Shotoku.
The fact that his name means “victory over rivers” indicates that he was skilled in civil engineering technology.
The flood control of the Katsura and Kamo Rivers in Kyoto is also primarily due to Hata.
Thus, by contributing to the center of government with his advanced technology, he also became involved in politics.

Prince Shotoku = Jesus Christ　
Mogi　
What kind of influence did Jews have in the Asuka period?
I am particularly interested in their relationship with Prince Shotoku.
Dr. Tanaka, you have also studied the Soga clan related to Prince Shotoku.
Tanaka.　
I believe that the Soga were the fifth wave of Jews.
In 431, an essential Christian conference called the “Council of Ephesus” was held in the Eastern Roman Empire.　
At this council, “the Nestorians (a Christian sect) were officially recognized as heretics.
The Nestorians were driven out of the country and traveled eastward, arriving in Japan.
The family that came to Japan due to this expulsion of the Nestorians became the Soga clan.
Mogi　
First, the Nestorians were a sect of Christians, not Jews.
The Jews were suppressed by the Roman Empire in the 2nd century and dispersed throughout the world.
Tanaka　
It is thought that some scattered Jews converted to Christianity (Nestorianism) while spreading eastward.
As can be seen from the name “Soga,” he gave himself the term “I am reborn,” alluding to Christ.
Christ rose from the dead three days after his execution.
It is as if they call themselves “Nestorians.”
They are considered to be the founders of the Soga clan.
Mogi　
You consider the Soga clan the “new Hata clan,” so to speak.
The Soga were the most powerful clan in the Yamato regime. 
They were famous for entering the center of power and dominating politics by marrying their daughters to emperors.
Tanaka　
The Nestorian Soga secretly tried to spread “their sect of Christianity” in Japan but failed, and the Soga clan was destroyed.
Why did the Soga fall?
The key to solving this mystery lies in the question, “Why was Prince Shotoku called Umayado-Oji?
Mogi　
The Chronicles of Japan states that Prince Shotoku was born when his mother, Princess Anahobe no Hashinohime no Miko, gave birth in front of a stable.
It is similar to the Gospel episode in which Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ in a stable.
Tanaka　
Soga clan, in other words, wanted to make “Prince Shotoku the Christ of Japan,” so he tried to forcefully connect the birth of Christ with the story of Prince Shotoku’s birth.
However, this was unacceptable because Prince Shotoku was the Crown Prince and was committed to traditional Japanese values.
Prince Shotoku saw through Soga’s scheme.　
Although the record states that Prince Shotoku died of illness, I believe he was assassinated because of the antipathy of the Soga clan.
For more details, please read my book, “Shotoku Taishi was Assassinated. The setback of the Jewish Soga clan” (Fusosha).
Mogi　
Umako Soga assassinated Emperor Soshun and Prince Anahobe, an uncle of Prince Shotoku.
Umako’s grandson, Iruka, attacked Prince Yamashiro, the son of Prince Shotoku Taishi, and sent his entire family to their deaths.
Tanaka　
Nakatomi no Kamatari, unable to stand the cold-bloodedness of the Soga clan, established Prince Nakano Ōe, who assassinated Soga Iruka and completely removed his family’s power.
Mogi　
The “Ishi incident.
It was the beginning of the Taika Reformation.
Tanaka　
That is right.
After the fall of the Soga clan, there were no more terrorist attacks by powerful clans against the imperial family.
At that time, Japan was in danger of being swallowed up by the Soga clan.
Mogi　
During the Kofun period, the Hata clan became more powerful, but they never threatened the imperial lineage and wholly assimilated into Japan.
They spread the gentle Hachiman worship.　
The Soga clan, however, tried to step over the line.
It was because they were monotheists and tried to take over the government to spread Nestorian Christianity, but their forceful approach proved too much, and they were destroyed – I see.

Really Shinto?
Tanaka　
Through our discussion, you will understand that there was almost certainly an influx of Jewish clans into ancient Japan.
In fact, even today, many things are left behind that make us believe that Jews and Japan were assimilated.
Mogi　
In the “Old Testament,” there is a story called “Binding of Isaac.”　
There was a mountain in Jerusalem called Moriah.
The founder of the Jewish people was Abraham, the chief of a nomadic tribe of sheepherders.
On the mountain of Moriah, he was offering his sheep to God when suddenly God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac.
When Abraham was about to stab his son Isaac to death with the sword on the mountain of Moriah, an angel stopped him.
God had tested Abraham.
This story is called “Binding of Isaac.”
Tanaka　
Suwa-taisha Shrine is located in Nagano Prefecture, and there are two shrines, the Upper Shrine and the Lower Shrine, across Lake Suwa.
The sacred body of the upper shrine is called Moriya-san.
Suwa-Taisha is famous for the Gobashira Festival, but in addition to the Gobashira Festival, there is a strange festival called the “Onto Festival,” in which 75 deer heads were dedicated until around the Edo period.
As might be expected, stuffed deer are used today.
Also, until the end of the Edo period, there was a ritual in which a boy was tied to a pillar, and the priest beat him with a sword.
Mogi　
It is clearly a “Binding of Isaac.”
Mount Moriah =Moriya-san.
The story is too good to be true.
Can we say that this is a coincidence?
In the first place, the Shinto religion abhors blood, but the fact that they were offering the raw head of a deer is also highly foreign.
Tanaka　
There is more.
At Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto, there is a line in the prayer offered by the chief priest: “God is one and formless. It’s empty, and there’s a spirit.”
Mogi　
It is contradictory to say that there is only one God, even though Shinto is a polytheistic religion.
Tanaka　
Actually, the Inari Shrine was also spread by the Hata clan.
Mogi　
That makes sense, then.
Tanaka　
You may think that the Japanese and Jews are entirely different and unrelated, but the Jews have had more influence on Japanese culture and customs than the Chinese and Koreans.
In this light, Jews and Judaism should seem familiar.
However, most of the media, perhaps because they are sensitive to discrimination against Jews, are reluctant to mention Jews.
Mogi.　
Actually, for this book, I also received a lot of sidestepping from a specific newspaper company regarding the placement of advertisements.
Tanaka　
However, in light of what I have said so far, Japanese history cannot be told without mentioning the Jewish people.
More to the point, we cannot talk about world history and culture without discussing Jewish issues.
That is how influential it is.
That is why we should dispel prejudice, phobias, and the attitude of treating Jewish issues as if they were a tumor.
Mogi.　
You are absolutely right.
If we strangely hide things, irresponsible conspiracy theories will spread instead.
Tanaka　
Jewish conspiracy theories are wrong, but it is also harmful to think of Jews as absolutists.
Jews themselves should be more aware of this.
I think there are promising signs that such discussions can be held now.
Mogi.　
I hope that the time will come when we can openly discuss Jewish issues in Japan.
Tanaka
Totally.