Bani Israil Datang Ke Jepang Kuno
(The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Myanmar, and China )
Arimasa Kubo
Bagian Kedua
http://www.akhirzaman.info/yahudi/8-12-suku-bani-israel/404--bani-israil-datang-ke-jepang-kuno-bagian-kedua.html
What Are Israelites?
Around the time of 1900 B.C.E., there
was a man named Jacob who was the ancestor of the people of Israel.
Later Jacob's name was changed to Israel.
Israel had 12 sons, who were Reuben,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zevulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali,
Joseph, and Benjamin. The descendants of these sons formed 12 tribes of
Israel. These 12 tribes are called "Israelites".
When they had territories in Canaan
(Israel, Holy Land), the tribe of Levi did not have a territory for they
were the tribe of priests. Instead, the tribe of Joseph was divided
into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and have their own territories.
Thus the land of Canaan was divided into 12 territories.
Later, the 12 tribes of Israel
experienced the height of prosperity in the time of King Solomon in the
10th century B.C.E.. But after Solomon died, the united kingdom of
Israel was divided into two countries: One is the Northern Kingdom of
Israel and the other the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom
is also called Samaria, the Southern Kingdom is also called Judea.
The word "Jews" is used basically for
the people and descendants of Judea, the Southern Kingdom, but sometimes
used for the same meaning as Israelites.
The Ten tribes of Israel belonged to
Samaria, the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They were Reuben, Gad, Ephraim,
Issachar, Zevulun, Naphtali, Asher, Dan, Simeon, and Manasseh. While
the other tribes belonged to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
In the 8th century B.C.E., the Northern
Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the army of Assyrian empire, and the
Ten Tribes of Israel was led captive and compelled to march to the land
of Assyria. They did not come back to the land of Israel. They are so
called "the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel."
Josephus Wrote About the Lost Tribes of Israel
Where was the exact place of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel to be carried captive in Assyrian Empire? The Bible records:
"the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." (2 Kings 18:11)
These places are located in today's
northern Iraq or Northwest Iran called Kurdistan. The Ten Tribes of
Israel were firstly compelled to emigrate there, and this is also a
starting point of our research.
There is a Jew named Josephus Flavius, a
very reliable historian who lived in the first century C.E.. In his
book of history, there is a description about whereabouts of the Ten
Tribes:
"...the Ten Tribes who are beyond the
Euphrates till now, and are an immense multitude, whose numbers cannot
be estimated." (Antiquities 11:2)
Josephus wrote that in the first century
C.E., the Ten Tribes of Israel lived as an immense multitude beyond
Euphrates River. This may mean that some of of them lived in the close
area east of Euphrates River and others moved to a place far beyond east
of the Euphrates.
The Lost Tribes of Israel in Afghanistan
The Bible mentions the cities of Medes,
today's Iraq and Iran, as the locations of the Assyrian exile of the Ten
Tribes of Israel. It is an accepted tradition that the people of this
area are from the Assyrian exile.
It seems that later, many of the Ten
Tribes of Israel moved to the east along the Silk Road. We find the
descendants of them in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Myanmar (Burma),
China and other countries, which are along the Silk Road. I will have a
brief explanation about them in this chapter. The information is mostly
from the books which were written by Rabbi Marvin Tokayer and published
in Japan, and "Beyond the Sambatyon, The Myth of The Lost Tribes"
written by Simcha Shtull.
East of Iran is Afghanistan. There are
so many tribes in Afghanistan with names that have Yusuf in the name as
Yusufzai, Yusufuzi, Yusufzad, etc.. Yusuf means Joseph and Yusufzai
means children of Joseph.
They claim their origin to be from the
Lost Tribes of Israel, that is, from the tribes of Joseph, which are the
tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and are a part of the Ten Lost Tribes of
Israel. They also call themselves Bani-Israel meaning children of
Israel. Their tradition is that they were carried away from their
ancient homeland.
Formerly they were shepherds in search
of pasture but they gave up their nomadic life and settled into village
communities. The people of Yusufzai live separated from the rest of the
world by mountains and difficult rivers and it is hard to find them.
They marry among themselves.
Today they are devout Muslims but have
Hebrew names, wear the fringes which only Jews and Japanese Shinto
priests wear, light candles for the Sabbath on Friday night which only
Jews do (The Sabbath is from the sunset of Friday until the night of
Saturday). They also have the custom called peyot (side-curls) which is
to have curled hair of about 10 centimeters long in front of both ears.
This is a custom which only Jews have and which may very well be of the
Lost Tribes of Israel.
Pathans As the Descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, there also
live people called Pathans numbering about 15 million. They live mainly
in Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as in Persia and India. Most of them
are Muslims but they have a tradition of being of the Lost Tribes and
have Israeli customs.
According to a book written by Rabbi
Marvin Tokayer, the Pathans have custom of circumcision on the 8th day.
This is a known Jewish custom, and is the oldest Jewish tradition. Rabbi
Tokayer once told me that he had witnessed and been present at a very
joyous circumcision ceremony on the 8th day after birth among the
Pathans. Muslims have custom of circumcision but it is not on the 8th
day, usually at the age of 12.
The Pathans have a sort of small Tallit
called Kafan. This is a 4 cornered garment which they tie strings
similar to the fringes (Jews call them Tzitzit) and is one of the oldest
Jewish traditions going back to the Torah and it is a sign of their
Israeli origin.
The Pathans have custom of the Sabbath,
Israeli tradition of the day of rest. On the Sabbath they do not labor,
cook or bake. The Pathans prepare 12 Hallot (traditional Jewish bread,
Leviticus 24:5) in honor of the Sabbath as was done in the ancient
Israeli temple. One of the significant indicators proving the Israeli
origins of the Pathans is the lighting of the candle to honor the
Sabbath. After lighting, the candle is covered usually by a large
basket. The candle is lit by a woman past her menopause. This is the
same as Israeli custom.
Pathans have custom of Kosher, diatary
laws same as Jews. Pathans do not eat horse or camel meat, which is most
common in their area but forbidden to Jews. There is some evidence to
their not eating meat and milk together which is also an ancient Israeli
tradition. And they have a tradition regarding differentiating between
pure and impure birds which means permitted and not permitted birds
similar to the Torah.
Some still wear a small box which Jews
call Tefillin (phylactery) containing a verse of the Bible. This box
resemble Japanese Tokin of Yamabushi's forehead, too, which I will
mention later. This is an ancient custom of Israel. In the Jewish box
there is the verse of Shema Israel, that is, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one!" (Deuteronomy 6:4) This custom of Tefillin
came from a verse of the Scriptures, "You shall bind them as a sign on
your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes"
(Deuteronomy 6:8).
It is interesting to note that the
Pathans retain family names of the Lost Tribes such as Asher, Gad,
Naphtali, Reuben and Manasseh and Ephraim. Among them there are people
who are called by these names, which are of the Ten Lost Tribes of
Israel. There are also people who are called Israel, Samuel, and so on,
which are never found among the Muslims.
The Pathans were mostly called "Bani-Israel" meaning children of Israel even though they live today as devout Muslims.
The legal system which is known as
Pashtunwali, the law of the Pashtu, is very similar to the Torah, which
is the holiest Jewish book and the book of ancient Jewish way of life.
There are pages and even complete books among the pathans and they honor
greatly what is called Tavrad El Sharif (the Torah of Moses), and they
rise at the mention of the name of Moses even though it is not important
in Islam.
Besides the oral tradition related by
the elders of the tribe, there are also interesting testimonies of
keeping of scrolls of genealogy among the tribes, reaching back to the
Fathers of the Jewish nation. These scrolls are well preserved and some
are written in gold on the skins of a doe.
No less interesting and significant are
the names of the tribes which bear close resemblance to the Tribes of
Israel. The Rabbani Tribe is really Reuben, the Shinware Tribe is
Simeon, the Lewani Tribe is Levi, The Daftani Tribe is Naphtali, and the
Jaji Tribe is Gad, and the Ashuri Tribe is Asher, The Yusefsai Tribe is
children of Joseph, and the Afridi Tribe is really Ephraim. These are
the names of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
The Pathans themselves point out the
differences between the original names of the tribes and their present
names are because of the different dialects of the languages so that,
for instance, Jaji was actually called Gaji for the tribe of Gad.
Women of the Pathans keep laws similar
to the Jewish laws regarding menstruation. During this time and for 7
days after, no contact is allowed with the husband. After this period,
the woman immerses in a river or spring or in a bathhouse if a natural
spring is not available. This is exactly the same as the Israeli
tradition going back to the days of the Bible.
The Lost Tribes of Israel Who Came to Kashmir
Leaving Afghanistan and Pakistan where
the Pathans live, when one goes east, it is the State of Kashmir in
northern part of India which is west of Nepal.
There are 5 to 7 million people there.
Generally speaking, they have clearer complexions and are different from
the other citizens of India. An Interesting tradition is passed down
among the Kashmiri people regarding their ancestry from the Lost Tribes
of Israel.
The people in Kashmir perform a feast
called Pasca in Spring, when they adjust the difference of days between
the lunar calendar and solar calendar and the way of this adjustment is
the same as Jewish. Several books are published on this. The Udu
language which is used in Kashmir includes many words of Hebrew.
In Kashmir, various places are called
with Israeli names, like Har Nevo, Beit Peor, Pisga, Heshubon. These are
all the names in the land of the Ten Tribes of Israel.
The same thing is true in the names of
people, male names, female names, and names of village. For example, one
of the tribes of Kashmir is called Asheriya which is Asher, the tribe
of Dand is Dan, Gadha is Gad, Lavi is Levi. The Tribe of Shaul is the
Hebrew name of King Saul. Musa is Moses, Suliamanish is Solomon. And you
also have the tribe of Israel, the tribe of Abri which is the tribe of
Hebrew, and the tribe of Kahana which is the word for Jewish priest.
There are also 50-75 names of places in
Kashmir which are in fact the Hebrew names that ancient Israelites were
very familiar with. There is a place called Samaryah which is Samaria.
Mamre is Mamre, Pishgah is Pisgah, Nabudaal is Mt. Nevo, Bushan is
Bashan, Gilgit is Gilgal, Heshba is Heshbon, Amunah is Amon, Gochan is
Goshen, Median-pura is Midian, and Guzana is Gozan which is a place name
in Assyria and the very place where the Ten Tribes of Israel were
deported.
The name Israel is very common among them as it is among the Pathans, and this name is never used among the Muslims.
The history of the Kashmiris is shrouded
in mystery as is the history of other people in that region. Most
Kashmir researchers are of the opinion that many inhabitants of Kashmir
are descendants of the Lost Tribes who were exiled in 722 B.C.E.. They
wandered along the Silk Road into the countries of the East, Persia and
Afghanistan until they reached the Kashmir valley and settled there.
The priest Kitro in his book, the
General History of the Mughal Empire, said that the Kashmir people are
the descendants of the Israelites. The priest Monstrat said that in the
time of Vasco da Gama in the 15th century, "all the inhabitants of this
area who have been living here since ancient times can trace their
ancestry, according to their race and customs, to the ancient
Israelites. their features, their general physical appearance, their
clothing, their ways of conducting business, all show that they are
similar to the ancient Israelites."
Among Kashmiri people there are customs
to light a candle for the Sabbath, have sidelocks, beards, and emblem or
design of the Shield of David (Star of David) just like Jews do.
In an area which is on the border of
Pakistan, called Yusmarg (Handwara), there lives a group which to this
very day calls itself B'nei Israel meaning children of Israel. Many of
the inhabitants of Kashmir say that this is the ancient name of all the
people of Kashmir. The two primary historians of Kashmir, Mulla Nadiri,
who wrote The History of Kashmir and Mulla Ahmad who wrote Events of
Kashmir have established without a trace of doubt that the origins of
the Kashmiri people are to be found in the people of Israel.
In Kashmir there is a strange legend
which says that Jesus did not die on the cross but in his search for the
Ten Tribes reached the Kashmir valley and lived there until his death.
They even point to his grave in Kashmir.
This is very much like a legend which
exists in Japan (Herai village, present Shingou village in Aomori
prefecture), where they also have the legend that Jesus came to Japan
and died there. They even point to his grave. It seems that sometimes
the legend of coming of Jesus and his tomb is born where the Ten Tribes
are said to come.
In Kashmir, there is another strange
tradition of a small community next to the Wallar Link who point out the
grave of Moses. There is yet another tradition in connection with King
Solomon according to which even King Solomon reached the Kashmir Valley
and through his wisdom aided the people of Kashmir by successfully
regulating the Jalum river. This tradition is also connected to a place
called Solomon's throne which is situated above the capital of Kashmir,
Srinagar. Isn't it strange and fascinating that there are historical and
even folkloristic tales of ancient Israeli heroes in these strange and
exotic places?
These also strangely resemble the
legends of Japan. There is so called the grave of Moses on Mt. Houdatsu
in Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, and also a legend says that many secret
treasures of Solomon are kept in Mt. Tsurugi in Shikoku, Japan. What is
this phenomenon?
The Lost Tribes of Israel Who Came to India and Myanmar,
In the mountainous region which lies on both sides of the border between India and Myanmar (former Burma), lives the Menashe (Shinlung) tribe
which numbers between 1-2 million people. They intermarried with the
Chinese and look Chinese-Burmas, but the entire tribe is conscious of
their Israeli ancestry.
Recently, Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, who is
the president of Amishav, an organization in Jerusalem for the search
of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, went to Myanmar and investigated the
Menashe tribe.
Menashe people with Rabbi Avichail (right)
The word Menashe appears often in their
poetry and prayer. It is the name of their ancestor and they call
themselves children of Menashe (Beni Menashe). When they pray, they say,
"Oh, God of Menashe," which is from the name Manasseh, a tribe of the
Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
According to the history which Menashe
people say, they were exiled to Assyria in 722 B.C.E. with other Tribes
of Israel. Assyria was later conquered by Babylon (607 B.C.E.), which
was later conquered by Persia (457 B.C.E.), which was later conquered by
Greece of Alexander the Great (331 B.C.E.), when the people of Menashe
were deported from Persia to Afghanistan and other places.
There Menashe tribe became shepherds and
Idol worshipers. They were later conquered by Islam and forced to
convert to Islam. Because of their speaking Hebrew they were called the
Semitic speakers. Throughout this entire period they possessed a Hebrew
Torah scroll which they guarded with their elders and their priest.
Among them there were those who left
Afghanistan and migrated eastward until they reached the area of the
Tibetan-Chinese border. From there they continued into China following
the Wei River until they reach the central China, near Kaifeng. They
settled there at about 231 B.C.E..
But the Chinese were cruel to them and
made them as slaves. Some of them escaped and lived in caves in the
mountainous areas called Shinlung, which became another name for the
tribe of Menashe. They are also called the cave people or the mountain
people.
Menashe people lived in caves in poverty
for about two generations but they still kept the Torah scroll with
them. But they started to assimilate and have Chinese influences. Later
they were banished from their cave area and went west through Thailand
and eventually reached the area in Myanmar.
There they wandered along the river
until they reached Mandaley. From there they reached the Chin Mountains.
In the 18th century a part of them migrated to Manipur and Mizoram
which are in northeastern India. Generally, they maintained the
tradition about their wandering and they realized that they were not
Chinese even though they spoke the local language.
They call them themselves Lusi which means the Ten Tribe ("Lu" means tribes, and "si" means ten).
According to the history which Menashe people state, when they were banished from their cave area they lost their Torah scroll when or perhaps it was stolen or burnt by the Chinese. But the priests of the tribe of Menashe continued to hand down their tradition orally including their ritual observances until the 19th century.
They had kept the custom of
circumcision, which when it became difficult was no longer practiced but
they blessed the child in a special ceremony on the 8th day. They also
had holy days which were very similar to the Jewish days.
The following poem accompanied them throughout their migrations. It is a traditional song about the crossing of the Red Sea which was written by their ancestors. This is the English translation:
We must keep the Passover feast
Because we crossed the Red Sea by dry land
At night we crossed with a fire
And By day with a cloud
Enemies pursued us with chariots
And the sea swallowed them up
And used them as food for the fish
And when we were thirsty
We received water from the rock
Because we crossed the Red Sea by dry land
At night we crossed with a fire
And By day with a cloud
Enemies pursued us with chariots
And the sea swallowed them up
And used them as food for the fish
And when we were thirsty
We received water from the rock
This content is similar to the
experience of Israelites written in Exodus. The people of Menashe call
their God Y'wa, which is the same as Biblical God's name Yah, or Yahweh.
In every village they had a priest whose
name was always Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first Jewish
priest. One of his duties was to watch over the village.
The priest wore a tunic and a
breastplate and an embroidered coat fastened with a belt and a crown on
his head. And they always sang about Menashe at the beginning of each
gathering.
Rabbi Tokayer says that he met this
group in the jungles of Burma in 1963 or 1964 and he can describe their
offerings and sacrifices as exactly the same as was offered in the
Bible.
Recently a return to Judaism began.
Several thousand people of Menashe decided to observe the laws of the
Torah and returned to Judaism. They have synagogues in Manipur, Assam,
and Mizoram. There are also those who emigrated to Israel. Thousands
long for returning to Israel.
The Lost Tribes of Israel Who Came to China
In the mountainous area of northwest
China, west of the Min River, near the border of Tibet, in Szechuan
lives an ancient people called by the Chinese, Chiang or Chiang-Min, who
numbers about 250 thousand people.
In 1937, a book was published entitled,
China's First Missionaries, subtitled, Ancient Israelites, by Rev.
Thomas Torrance, who was a missionary in this area of China and was the
first to write about this tribe and what he believed to be their ancient
roots of the Lost Tribes of Israel.
According to the reports by Torrance, he
believed that the customs, rituals, modes of thought, domestic and
religious practices of the Israelites who were the contemporaries of
Amos, Hosea and Elijah, were found within the Chiang people of
northwestern China. Torrance was basically very impressed with the
simple monotheism of this people in China in an area where the term God
was not even known.
The language of the Chiang tribe had been forgotten and they had also lost their ancient script. Today they speak Chinese.
They themselves see themselves as
immigrants from the west who reached this area after a journey of three
years three months. The Chinese treated them as Barbarians, while Chiang
people related to the Chinese as idol worshipers.
Chiang Min people (Photo: Thomas Torrance in 1920's)
Hate and enmity existed between the
Chinese and this tribe for a long time. They lived independently until
the middle of the 18th century when they became part of the general
population to earn more freedom. The religious pressure from the
Chinese, the spread of Christianity, and the influence of intermarriage
caused the Chiang tribe to generally and greatly give up their special
monotheistic way of life.
However it is still possible even today
to learn about the past traditions of the Chiang tribe through their
customs and their faith which they still keep. This tribe had been
living a special Israeli way of life since the time of B.C.E..
According to their tradition, the Chiang tribe is the descendant of Abraham and their forefather had 12 sons. Those among them who did not take Chinese wives after their victory in war still look Semitic.
They believe in one God whom they call
Abachi meaning the father of heaven, or Mabichu, the spirit of heaven,
or also Tian, heaven. As a result of Chinese influences they all call
Him God of the mountains as the mountains are the central place for
worship of God.
Their concept of God is that of an all
powerful God who watches over the entire world, judges the world fairly,
rewards the righteous, and punishes the wicked. This God gives them the
opportunity to do repentance and to gain atonement for their actions.
In times of trouble, they call God in the name of "Yawei", the same as
Yahweh.
They also believe in spirits and demons
and they are forbidden to worship them, but this is probably a Chinese
influence. In the past they had written scrolls of parchment and also
books but today they only have oral traditions. They themselves do not
understand the prayers that they recite every week.
The Chiang tribe lives a very special
way of life based on the offering of animal sacrifices which seems to
have been seen among the Ten Tribes of Israel. It is forbidden to
worship statues or foreign gods and anyone who offers a sacrifice to
another god faces the death penalty.
These priests wear clean white clothes
and perform the sacrifices in a state of purity as the priests in
ancient Israel did (1 Samuel 15:27). I recall that Japanese Shinto
priests also wear clean white clothes at holy events.
A priest of Chiang Min tribe (Photo: Torrance in 1920's)
The priest of the Chiang tribe wears a
special head turban. The priest is ordained in a special ceremony in
which sacrifices are also offered. Unmarried men may not be a priest,
which was the same in ancient Israel (Leviticus 21:7, 13).
The altar itself is built of earth which
is molded into stones which are then laid one on top of the other
without being cut of fashioned by any tool of metal. It is important to
remember that in the Torah, the ancient altar could not be made of cut
stones (Exodus 20:25), since the sword or whatever tool to be used to
cut the stone was also an instrument of war and harm.
The main part of the service is
performed at night perhaps to conceal it from other Chinese or because
of the special effect of the silence and the tranquility of night. This
was also ancient Israeli tradition. It is interesting that the important
rituals of Japanese Shinto religion are also performed at night.
Before the offering of sacrifices, one
is required to wash one's self and one's clothing and to dress in clean
garments. Sacrificial animals themselves must be washed and purified.
There is a special place for purification and washing. The elders and
priest place their hands on the head of the sacrifice which is to be
slaughtered then offer their prayers.
Circumcision is not performed. It seems to have obsoleted. But after the 7th day or at the eve of the 40th day of the child's life, a white rooster is slaughtered in the child's honor and he is given a name.
Ancient Jewish Communities in Kaifeng, China
As I mentioned before, Menashe people
once went to the region near Kaifeng, China. The Jewish community in
Kaifeng is most famous as the very ancient one which had existed since
the time of B.C.E..
Kaifeng was the former capital for
several dynasties in China. The Jews there did not eat the sinew of the
hip which is on the socket of the thigh, which is a custom of
Israelites, and their religion was called by the name meaning this.
There are still a few thousand Jews in Kaifeng. They had maintained some Jewish tradition. In Kaifeng they had a synagogue. They intermarried with the Chinese and look Chinese.
We can trace the history of Israelites
in China to very ancient times. According to a stone monument in
Kaifeng, Israelites already came to Kaifeng in 231 B.C.E.. Many
Israelites or Jews lived in parts of China even before the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 C.E..
The Lost Tribes of Israel Went East Along the Silk Road
I have mentioned above about the people
of the Yusufzai and the Pathans in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the people
of Kashmir, the Menashe tribe in India and Myanmar, and the Chiang
(Chiang-Min) tribe in China. These places are all along the Silk Road.
Are these all where they went?
Otherwise, were there any other people who went further east along the Silk Road?
Where is the destination of the Silk Road? Japan. Did the Ten Tribes of Israel come to Japan?
If the Ten Tribes came to China, we must say that there is a strong possibility that they came to Japan also, for next to China is Japan. But someone may think, "There is a sea between China and Japan, which makes it difficult to get to Japan."
Where is the destination of the Silk Road? Japan. Did the Ten Tribes of Israel come to Japan?
If the Ten Tribes came to China, we must say that there is a strong possibility that they came to Japan also, for next to China is Japan. But someone may think, "There is a sea between China and Japan, which makes it difficult to get to Japan."
However, it was not a big problem for
the Israelites. Scholars say that Israelites already traded in the time
of King Solomon (the 10th century B.C.E.) with India and other countries
of the Mediterranean Sea with a fleet of ships (see 1 Kings 10:22, Some
of the words are from Sanskrit). Israelites knew well about ships even
in the times before the country of Japan started.
The Silk Road was actually Silk Roads
because there were several roads on the land and the sea already in the
time of B.C.E. The Israelites were experienced people for getting across
the ocean.
Bani Israil Datang Ke Jepang Kuno
(Did the Lost Tribes of Israel Come To Ancient Japan?)
(The infomation of this Chapter 3 and
Chapter 4 is mainly from what I learned from Rabbi Marvin Tokayer's book
published in Japan, plus my study.)
Arimasa Kubo
Bagian Ketiga
The Land of Far End
There is a book called the Forth Book of
Ezra, which was written in the end of the first century C.E.. Although
this is not the Bible but just one of the ancient Hebrew documents, an
interesting thing is written:
"They are the Ten Tribes which were off
into exile in the time of King Hosea, whom Shalmaneser king of Assyria
took prisoner. He deported them beyond the River and they were taken
away into a strange country. But then they resolved to leave the country
populated by Gentiles and go to a distant land never yet inhabited by
man, and there at last to be obedient to their laws, which in their own
country they had failed to keep. As they passed through the narrow
passages of the Euphrates, the Most High performed miracles for them,
stopping up the channels of the river until they had crossed over. Their
journey through that region, which is called ARZARETH, was long, and
took a year and a half. They have lived there ever since, until this
final age. Now they are on their way back, and once more the Most High
will stop the channels of the river to let them cross." (13:39-47)
This article was mentioned in the form
of a vision and we cannot immediately think that this is a historical
fact. But it is possible to think that there was some fact which became
the background for this article. There might be the news or oral
tradition that the Ten Tribe of Israel started their journey to the east
and settled to a land of a year and a half distance away.
Where is ARZARETH which the Ten Tribes
are said to have gone to? We cannot find the same name in the world by
looking at the map.
Dr. Schiller Szinessy suggests that this
is nothing else but the Hebrew words "eretz ahereth" (ARZ AHRTh) which
means the other land. Otherwise, if we interpret this as the Hebrew
words "eretz aherith" (ARZ AHRITh), they mean the end of land, or most
far away land. Not a few people thought that Japan might be the land.
Japan Which Kaempfer Saw
Engelbert Kaempfer was a German medical
doctor who stayed at Dejima, Nagasaki Japan during 1690-1693 C.E.. He
came to Japan after he traveled and saw various countries of the world.
He was an erudite man and published a book about Japan after he went
back to Europe.
In the book Kaempher states that the
Japanese language, customs and religion are much different from the ones
of the Chinese or the Koreans, and that the main race of the Japanese
are not derived from the Chinese or Koreans but rather a tribe from the
area of Babylon came to Japan and became the main race of the Japanese.
He wrote:
"The Japanese must be of a tribe who immigrated directly from the area of Babylon."
The area of Babylon is the Middle East
where there was the Assyrian Empire which the Ten Tribes of Israel were
exiled to. Kaempher also states:
"The appearance of the Japanese is so
different according to regions in Japan that we can clearly distinguish.
This proves that the Japanese are formed through the process that
several tribes were added to a basic nation. The most noble, old lineage
family and "daimyo", feudal lords, and high officials are generally
intelligent, elegant in appearance than others, full of dignity, having
higher nose and somewhat look European. The people in the region of
Satsuma, Oosumi, and Hyuga are middle in the height, but strong and
manly in language and ability...."
And he states that there are differences
in appearance and nature according to the peoples of various parts of
Japan. He also states:
"As for the roots of the Japanese and
their origin, it seems that we should admit the Japanese are independent
from others and did not derived from the Chinese."
Rabbi Tokayer's Experience
Rabbi Marvin Tokayer tells a story about
what he saw in Japan. He lived in Tokyo, and on the first Sunday in
Japan he visited Meiji-jingu, a grand shrine of Shinto which is the
religion unique to Japan. There he saw a Shinto priest wearing a white
robe, putting a unique cap, and on the corners of his robe were fringes
which were cords of 20 - 30 centimeters long.
The Shinto priest was waving a branch of
Sakaki tree to right and to left and upward and downward. He was
purifying a baby of one month old who was brought to him by the parents
but never carried by the mother. When seeing this scene, he says he
thought:
"Did I come to my home land?"
Because all of these he saw were the
customs of ancient Israel. The way of waving the branch by the Shinto
priest resembled Jewish custom. And in ancient days of Israel, the
mother was considered impure, after birth, and would not carry the baby
for the ceremony in the temple. Today, Jews no longer observe this
ritual, but how fascinated he was to see everyone except the mother
holding the baby. He said, "Cute." to the family and asked why the
mother was not carrying the baby, and his wife and he were stunned into
silence, when told that the mother was still impure, just as the Bible.
He asked a Shinto priest, "Why do you
put on fringes on your robe?" The priest answered, "This is just a
tradition from ancient times." But this is originally the custom of
Israel. There is a description about the fringes in the Bible
(Deuteronomy 22:12).
Fringes were actually a trademark that
he was an Israelite. Today, Jews wear prayer shawl called Tallit which
is a large white cloth with fringes (called Tzitzit) on the corners.
These are the same as the ones of the Japanese Shinto priest.
The Three Holy Objects in Israel and Japan
Like the ancient Israelites had three
holy objects, the Japanese have three holy objests, which are a mirror
(called Yata-no-kagami), a bead (Yasaka-no-magatama), and a sword
(Kusanagi-no-tsurugi). These have been believed very holy as the tokens
of authority of the emperors and as the holy Yorishiro since very
ancient times. Today these three are kept separately in different
places.
There are several differences between
the holy objects of ancient Israel and the ones of Japan, but are common
in having three things and thinking them holy. Though in fact the three
holy objects of Israel were lost in the time of Babylonian Empire, so
it was impossible to have the same objects in Japan.
An orthodox Shinto believer, a Japanese
scholar and a professor of Kyuusyuu Imperial University, Dr. Chikao
Fujisawa, believed that the three holy objects of Japan originated from
the three holy objects of ancient Israel. And there are not a few Shinto
scholars who think the same. Some suggest a parallelism between the
mirror and the tablets, the bead and the manna, the sword and the rod.
Some point out that mirrors were also
used in the temple of King Solomon (1 Kings 7:28). Others point out that
the shape of the Japanese bead is the same as a Hebrew letter yod which
is also the first letter of the holy name Yahweh.
Offerings
To Shinto shrine people bring rice,
Mochi (Japanese Matzah), Japanese liquor (Sake), cereals, vegetables,
fruits, confectioneries, salt, water, fish (sea bream, etc.), and bird
(pheasant meat, etc.) as their offerings to god and place them in the
Holy Place of the Shrine. These must be the best ones, and the fire for
cooking them must be a holy one lit by flint or heat of rubbing.
The offerings are displayed beautifully
on a table of wood and the priest prays to god in front of it. After the
ceremony the priest and participants are to eat the offerings. In that,
modern Shintoists find significance that man eats with god or dines
with god.
In the Holy Place of the Israeli
tabernacle or temple, there was also a table of wood on which the bread
made of cereals of the land, liquor (wine), and incense were offered
(Exodus 25:29-30). These offerings to God had to be the best ones. The
priest prayed to God and after the ceremony the offerings, which had
been offered to God, were eaten by the priest and his family (Numbers
18:11). And in the Bible there is an article that Moses and the leaders
of Israel "ate and drank" in front of God on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:11).
The Bible does not mention the concept
of "dining with God" though, later, Jews in Talmudic times find
significance of dining with God.
With a few exceptions, meat of four
legged animals is generally not offered in Shinto religion. The most
common offerings are firstfruits, salt, fish as bonito, Mochi (Japanese
Matzah), rice, liquor (Sake), seaweeds, etc. Usually most of them are
Kosher, or permitted foods in the Jewish diatary laws. But in modern
Shinto, shellfish is sometimes offerred (Abalone is offered at Ise grand
shrine). This is non-Kosher and the Jews not only never eat it, but
also never offer to God. How was it in the start of Japanese Shinto?
In the Holy Place of the Israeli
tabernacle or temple, there were also lamps which were never exting fire
as lamps and the table with offerings on it in the Holy Place of the
Shinto shrine resemble the Holy Place of ancient Israeli tabernacle.
Thus the functions of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies of the
Japanese shrine are very similar to thenguished (Exodus 27:20-21), since
they were holy fire. There is also an eternal light burning in every
synagogue to this very day. In the same way, in the Holy Place of
Japanese shrine, there is holy fire as lamps lit by divine means. Placi
ones of ancient Israel.
It is noteworthy that the liquor is
indispensable for both Israeli and Japanese shrines. Like the liquor was
offered in the Israeli temple, the liquor is offered in the Japanese
shrine. The Bible says that the drink offering shall be of "wine,
one-fourth of a hin" (Leviticus 23:13). "A hin" is about 6 liters, and I
hear that its one-fourth is about the quantity of the liquor which is
offered in grand shrines of Shinto.
Surprise of Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi Marvin Tokayer, who used to live
in Japan, tells a story about when the chief rabbi of Israel, Shlomo
Goren, once visited Japan.
Chief rabbi Goren was very curious and
fascinated with Japan and enjoyed his stay very much. He said that he
wanted to learn the essence of Japanese Shinto religion, and he attended
for a while a lecture at Kokugakuin University which is a Shinto
university in Tokyo.
At the lecture, the chief rabbi asked
the lecturer a question about how to guard Shinto grand shrine, that is,
where the guards stand, how they patrol, in what turn they patrol the
places, and how to shift the guards. Hearing the answer, Rabbi Goren was
very surprised and said, "Unbelievable." Turning his face pale, he said
to Rabbi Tokayer who was young in those days, "Do you understand the
importance of what the Shinto lecturer said?" Then he added, "Read the
Mishnah, and you will know why I was so surprised to hear it."
The Mishnah, the teachings of ancient
Jewish scholars, has an explanation on how the ancient temple of
Jerusalem had been guarded. As a matter of fact, Shinto's way of
guarding, patrolling, and shifting guards at shrine are just the same as
the one which had been done at the ancient temple of Jerusalem. The
temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E. and not yet rebuilt. How
cound the way of guarding at Japanese Shinto shrine be the same as the
one at the temple of ancient Israel? Chief rabbi's word "Unbelievable"
is a natural response.
Uncovered Dancing of David
In old Shinto shrines men often wear
white robes to carry the Omikoshi ark, while in other shrines men wear
short and colored garments with headbands and carry the Omikoshi very
cheerfully shouting "Wasshoi, Wasshoi". Around them people in the same
wear are dancing and sometimes we find half naked ones. This reminds us
of the scene of the dancing of David.
David undressed the usual gorgeous robe
for king, clothed in a simple white linen robe and danced before the ark
of God. His wife Michal saw him and despised him in her heart. Later
she said an irony to David, "How glorious was the king of Israel today,
uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants!" (2
Samuel 6:20)
David did not become totally naked but
he who usually wore gorgeous robe danced wearing a simple white robe,
which looked almost uncovered or half naked to the eyes of Michal. She
would feel the same if she looked at the Japanese people dancing.
Using Water and Salt for Sanctification
In Japanese Shinto they have a custom to use water or salt for sanctification.
Most of the Japanese shrines are built near clean river, pond, lake, or the sea. This is to do sanctification there. In Shinto, water is to purify man. In ancient Israel they had this custom, for the Bible says that before priest serves at holy events or at the temple, he has to "wash his clothes" and "bathe in water" (Numbers 19:7).
Most of the Japanese shrines are built near clean river, pond, lake, or the sea. This is to do sanctification there. In Shinto, water is to purify man. In ancient Israel they had this custom, for the Bible says that before priest serves at holy events or at the temple, he has to "wash his clothes" and "bathe in water" (Numbers 19:7).
So, it was also an ideal in ancient
Israel that they have clean water near a worship place. Japanese Shinto
priests also wash their clothes and bathe in water before they serve at
the shrine. Buddhist priests generally do not have this custom.
In the Shinto religion they also use
salt for purification. Japanese Sumo wreslers sow the Sumo ring with
salt several times before they fight. The Western people wonder why they
sow salt, but the Jews get the meaning immediately that it is to purify
the ring. In Japan, salt is used to purify the holy place of shrine, or
to purify Omikoshi.
And when you go to a Japanese-style
restaurant, you will sometimes find some salt put near the entrance. The
Western people wonder why, but the Jews get the meaning immediately
that this is for purification. Even today, the Jews have a tradition of
welcoming a new neighbor or distinguished guest with salt. If a world
leader were to visit Jerusalem, the chief rabbi would welcome him at the
entrance to the city with Hallah (Jewish bread) and salt.
or: #000000; font-family:
georgia,palatino;">In Japan they offer salt every time they perform a
religious offering. So is the offering at Japanese feasts. Salt is not
offered in Buddhism. Offering salt is again the same custom used by the
Israelites, for it is writtenJews start each meal by salting bread, this
makes every meal table an altar. Meat is "Koshered" by putting salt on
the meat to remove all the blood.
In Judaism, salt is very essential.
Talmud (the wisdom of Judaism) confirms that all sacrifices must have
salt. Salt is preservative. While, honey and leaven were prohibited with
sacrifices since they symbolize fermentation, decay and decomposition,
the opposite of salt. There is the words "the everlasting covenant of
salt" in the Bible (Numbers 18:19). Salt has meaning of anti-decay and
permanence, and symbolizes the everlasting holy covenant of God. The
Temple of Jerusalem had a special salt chamber, and Joshephus, a Jewish
historian in the first century C.E., records a Greek king making a
donation of 375 baskets of salt to the temple.
According to Zen'ichiro Oyabe, Japanese
people before Meiji-era had the custom to put some salt into baby's
bath. The ancient people of Israel washed a new born baby with water
after rubbing the baby softly with salt; there is a description about
"rubbing baby with salt" in the Bible (Ezekiel 16:4). Salt has cleansing
and hygienic power and newborn babies were rubbed with salt.
Thus, there was the common custom of
sanctification in both ancient Israel and Japan, and for this
sanctification water and salt were used in both countries.
Uncleanness of the Dead
In Japan, salt in a pouch is distributed
to participants of a funeral. After the funeral, when the participants
come back and enter their houses, they have to be sprinkled on
themselves with the salt for purification. Ancient Israelites who
touched a dead body or went to a funeral also had to be purified in a
specific way; the Bible says that a clean person shall take hyssop and
dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the persons who were at funeral , or
on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave (Numbers
19:18). Thus in Israel the person who touched the dead had to be
purified himself.
Even today, you find water outside a
Jewish cemetery and outside the home, so people who are returning from a
cemetery or funeral can wash their hands before entering the house.
Before one goes to a funeral, one prepares water outside the home, so
you can wash before reentering your home. Also in Japanese mythology, it
is written that deity Izanagi went to the world of the dead (called
Yomi in Japanese) to take his dead wife back, and when he came back from
Yomi, he bathed in water of a river and purified himself from the
impurity of the dead. In addition this Yomi, Japanese Shinto's world of
the dead, is very much like Sheol which is the world of the dead
mentioned in the Bible.
The very important feature of Japanese
Shinto is that it has the concept of uncleanness or impurity of the
dead. A house which has the dead, or a person who went to a funeral is
said to have touched the uncleanness. The Western people do not have
this concept. This uncleanness is not material but religious or ritual.
This Shinto concept is the same as was in ancient Israel, for the Bible
says that the one who touches the dead body of anyone shall be "unclean
seven days" (Numbers 19:11).
In Shinto religion, a person with
his/her family dead or relative dead is regarded unclean for a certain
period. In the period, the person cannot come to a shrine, which was
also a custom of ancient Israel.
Buddhist funeral is held inside temple,
but Shinto funeral is held always outside shrine not to bring impurity
into it. And the Shinto priest who participated the funeral does not
bring things he used at the funeral into the shrine. Even when he has to
bring in, he purifies them and then brings. He has to purify himself,
too. Also in ancient Israel, funeral is never held at the temple.
The Bible records that the Israelites
wept and mourned for "30 days" at the death of Moses and at the death of
Aaron (Deuteronomy 34:8, Numbers 20:29). While a Japanese ancient
Shinto book called Engishiki, which was written in 10th century C.E.,
set a period of 30 days for the uncleanness that a person cannot
participate holy events, and set a period of 7 days for uncleanness of
death of a fetus of within three months and death of a person lacking a
part of the body. Thus, the Shinto concept of uncleanness of the dead
resembles the custom of ancient Israel.
Salt to Offensive Person
In old days, the Japanese had a custom
to sow offensive person with salt. When watching Japanese TV drama of
Samurai times, we sometimes see the scene of sowing offensive person
with salt.
This can be understood by Jews, since
the Bible has an article that an Israelite, Abimelech, caputured and
destroyed an enemy city and "sowed it with salt" (Judges 9:45). Salt is
also a symbol of barren, death, and curse.
In Israel, there is a lake named Dead
Sea, which is called in Hebrew Salt Sea (Yam Ha-melech) since it has
very high density of salt (5 times as the ocean). No fish. The
surroundings are also covered with salt or rock salt. This place is also
the ruin of ancient cities called Sodom and Gomorah.
Bathing
The Westerns use soap inside bathtub and
enter the tub with their bodies still unclean. But Jews never do this.
They wash their bodies and make themselves clean and then enter ritual
bath. Every Jewish community has a Mikveh, ritual bath. Jews follow
ritual of washing before entering the Mikveh. Everyone from the Western
is surprised to see the washing before bath.
But this is the same as the Japanese custom of bathing.
But this is the same as the Japanese custom of bathing.
When you get to a public bath in Japan,
there you will see that Japanese people wash their bodies and make
themselves clean before they enter the bathtub. This is the same in
their homes. European and American people do not have this custom except
for Jews.
The Japanese like cleanness very much.
Many of them have a bath everyday, make their clothes clean, and wash
their hands very often. This is a tradition from ancient times
In the 14th century of Europe, there was
a big fatality of plaque called Black Death and many people died,
although only a few Jews died. So, the people of Europe douted the Jews
and spreaded the groundless rumor that the fatality was due to that the
Jews sowed with poison. But the fact was that the Jews liked cleanness
very much, made their cloths and houses always clean, have a bath, and
washed their hands very often. While most of the people except for Jews
in Europe had never experienced bathing even once in their whole lives.
The reason why perfume was developed in Europe was the smell of their
bodies.
But the Jews washed hands after going to
restroom, after going outside, and before every meal. That was why they
rarely became sick. The Japanese have had this same custom since
ancient times.
Pillars of Stone
It is also interesting to note that as the Japanese say "one man, two men, three men..." when counting the number of men, ancient Japanese people said when counting the number of gods "one pillar of god, two pillars of gods, three pillars of gods..." This way of counting gods is understandable to the Jews, because the ancient Israelites set up pillars of stone for their worshipping, and the pillars were associated with gods.
Pillar of stone in Kazuno city, Japan (left), and pillars of stone in the land of Israel (right)
The way of setting up these pillars of stone is almost the same as the pillars of stone discovered in Israel. This was a custom which the ancient Israelites had. Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites, set up "a pillar of stone" to worship God and "poured a drink offering on it" (Genesis 35:14).
As Jacob poured a drink offering on the
pillar of stone, Shinto priest pours a drink offering (Sake) on the
pillar of stone. Moses also set up "12 pillars of stone" near the altar
according to the 12 tribes of Israel (Exodus 24:4). Thus, the pillars of
stone were an element of worshiping God Yahweh.
But in the latter days when idolworship
came into Israel, people inclined to use the pillars of stone as an
element of their idolworship. So, later, prophets of Israel blamed the
pillars of stone and rejected them. The Bible says concerning when the
people of the southern kingdom of Judah degraded to idolworship that
they built for themselves "high places" and "sacred pillars" (pillars of
stone, 1 Kings 14:23). The pillars of stone were used as pagan sacred
pillars. Many of these are discovered in Israel and look similar to the
Japanese pillars of stone.
In Japan, not only the pillars of stone,
there are many shrines with big holy natural stones or rocks. These
stones are thought to be objects where the spirit of god comes down and
sits. They are connected to worship.
This kind of stone was also seen in
ancient Israel. The Bible records that the first Israeli king Saul
rolled a great stone and made it an altar (1 Samuel 7:33). He brought a
big natural stone and made it a worship place. He used natural stone
because it was forbidden to use hewn stone for an altar. The Bible says
that when one makes an altar of stone for God, he "shall not build it of
hewn stones." (Exodus 20:25)
Also in Japanese Shinto, the stone for worshiping is always natural stone.
Altar of Earth
While, insead of stone, earth is
sometimes used for religious worship. Nihon-shoki records that the first
Japanese emperor Jinmu took earth from Mt. Ameno-kagu-yama, made many
bricks from it and made an altar for worshiping gods. It seems that
ancient Israelites also made altar from earth, for the Bible says, "An
altar of earth you shall make for me (God)" (Exodus 20:24)
Altar could also be made of earth. In
case of the altar made of earth, it meant that it was made of bricks.
The history of brick is very old; in the Near East many bricks were
already used even in the time of the Tower of Babel, about 4000 and
several hundred years ago (Genesis 11:3).
It seems that the Israelites sometimes
made bricks from earth and made altar of bricks. But compared with
stone, brick is weak and easily decomposed by time, so archaeologists
have not yet found altar of bricks in Israel, but found in other Near
East countries.
Bronze Serpent
When the Israelites were wandering the
desert after their exodus from Egypt, they met a flock of serpents and
many people were bit and died. The poison were very strong like a fire.
To save the people, Moses made "a bronze statue of serpent" according to
the commandment of God and set it on a pole so that the people could
look at it, and when one who had been bitten by serpent looked at the
bronze serpent, he lived (Numbers 21:9).
After this incident ended, this bronze
serpent had been in the safekeeping among the Israelites. The exsistence
of this statue was never bad as long as the faith of the Israelites
were sound. But when the Israelites degraded later, they began to
worship the bronze serpent as their idol rather than to worship true
God. As a result Hezekiah, a king of the southern kingdom of Judah in
the 8th century B.C.E., broke the stature to stop the idolworship. The
Bible records that he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had
made; for until those days the Israelites "burned incense to it" (2
Kings 18:4).
It was before this when the Ten Tribes
of Israel were exiled to Assyria (722 B.C.E.). So it seems that the Ten
Tribes had the custom of worshiping the bronze serpent when exiled.
At a Shinto shrine on Mt. Inomure, Ooita
prefecture, until about 40 years ago, there had been a unique feast for
begging rainfall, in which they firstly make a foundation by
constructing 6 trunks of tree into the shape of the Shield of David,
then on it they pile up a lot of branches and make it a tower, and on
top of it they put a vertical pole with a slough of snake twining round
it. People burn the branches and the tower and pray for rainfall. They
burn incense to the snake expecting a supernatural power from it.
Pole with a slough of snake in fire on Mt. Inomure
I saw the scene on a video and this reminds us of the custom of ancient Israel to worship the bronze serpent. Besides, gods which are worshiped in Japanese Shinto shrines are sometimes snakes. This might have some connection to ancient Israel.
Remnant of Celebration of Circumcision?
If the ancient Israelites came to Japan,
do the Japanese have the custom of circumcision? Although I have heard a
rumor that circumcision is performed among the Imperial family of
Japan, I have not been able to confirm yet whether or not there was the
custom of circumcision in Japan.
Today we cannot see the custom of
circumcision among Japanese citizens, but they have a traditional
Japanese custom called O-shichi-ya which means 7th night. On the 7th
night from the day a baby was born, the Japanese parents have a
celebration to introduce the baby to relatives and friends and let them
know the name of the baby.
The 7th night is, according to the
Jewish way of counting days, 8th day from the day the baby was born, for
from the sunset the next day starts in the Jewish calendar. Is this a
remnant of the Jewish custom of circumcision on the 8th day? The
Israelites gathered together on the 8th day from the day a (male) baby
was born, and the parents introduced the baby to relatives and friends,
circumcised him, introduced his name and rejoiced his birth together (In
case of a female, it was done on the first Sabbath). This is the same
in modern Judaism. For the seven days, the baby has no name. This is the
same custom as the Japanese.
Customs of the First Month
The Japanese traditionally celebrate a
new year magnificently. They also do Obon feast on July 15 or August 15
every year as a national event. They have a saying, "It is as if Obon
and a new year came together" which means very very busy. These two
events are the most magnificent ones throughout a year in Japan.
Looking at the new year first, on
January 1 many Japanese people begin to gather together at shrines even
before dawn. And on January 1 they sit a happy circle with family and
eat Mochi (Japanese Matzah). They eat Mochi for 7 days and on the 7th
day they eat porridge with 7 kinds of bitter herbs.
Today, the Japanese use the solar
calendar; the New Year's Day is January 1 and the day of eating porridge
with 7 herbs is January 7. But historically the Japanese used the lunar
calendar, when the New Year's day was the 15th of the first month
because on that day was the first full moon. It is a remnant of this
that today January 15 is called Small New Year's Day (Koshougatsu in
Japanese). This day was also called "New Year's Day of Mochi". New
Year's celebration was a feast of Mochi. And the night of January 14 is
called New Year's Eve of the 14th Day. In the time of the lunar
calendar, the 15th day of the first month was a national holiday.
According to Zen'ichiro Oyabe, the
Japanese before the 12th century C.E. had eaten porridge with 7 bitter
herbs on the 15th day of the first month, and on the following days they
performed events to pray for good harvest of the new year. This is
similar to the custom in ancient Israel. They celebrated the Feast of
Unleavened Bread throughout the "7 days" "from the 15th day of the first
month", when they ate the unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:6).
The unleavened bread, which is "matzah"
in Hebrew, is a very thin bread prepared by kneading and baking without
using yeast or leaven. The way of preparing Japanese Mochi is similar to
this except for using rice instead of flour. Israeli "matzah" and
Japanese Mochi are very similar each other in pronunciation as well as
in meaning, recipe and purpose.
And the Israelites ate with "bitter
herbs" on the 15th day of the first month (Exodus 12:8). Thus, just as
the ancient Japanese ate with 7 bitter herbs on the 15th of the first
month, the Israelites ate with bitter herbs on the 15th of the first
month.
In the Jewish calendar, the 15th day of
the first month, that is the first day of the feast, is full moon and
the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:7). On the next day of this Sabbath, the
Israelites offered firstfruits and prayed for a good harvest of the year
(Leviticus 23:11).
The Japanese clean their houses
thoroughly before the coming of New Year's Day. When the Jews look at
it, they think, "This is the same custom as ours!" for they also had to
clean their houses thoroughly before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for
the Bible says, "you shall remove leaven from your houses" (Exodus
12:15). So they had to purge all the houses and remove leaven from them.
Passover among the Jews in India is called Holiday of Cleaning the
House and they remove all leaven and clean the house.
Obon Feast
Next, let us look at the Obon feast. In
Japan they have an event called Obon on July 15 or August 15. In the
time they used the lunar calendar it was held on the 15th day of the 7th
month.
Today Obon is regarded as one of the
events of Buddhism, but since the time long before Buddhism was imported
to Japan, there had been a feast called Tama-matsuri which was the
original of Obon. When Buddhism was imported to Japan, this Tama-matsuri
was took in the events of Buddhism and became Obon. In ancient Israel
on the 15th day of the 7th month was a big feast called the Feast of
Booths (harvest feast, Leviticus 23:39).
Today the Japanese use the solar
calendar and in many cases they now hold the Obon feast on the 15th day
of the 8th month. Strangely this was the day when the harvest feast was
held in the northern kingdom of Israel of the Ten Tribes. The Bible
records that Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, ordained a
feast "on the 15th day of the 8th month" like the feast which was in the
southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12:32).
It was an Israeli tradition since
ancient times to have the harvest feast on the 15th day of the 7th
month, but King Jeroboam rejected this tradition and ordained a new day
for the harvest feast on the 15th day of the 8th month.
In Israel, the Feast of Unleavened Bread
(New Year) and the Feast of Booths (harvest feast) on the 15th day of
the 7th month (or 8th month) were the most magnificent events throughout
a year. Similar to this, the Japanese have been performing magnificent
feasts at the same times as these. In Japan today, the 15th day of the
8th month is also the memorial day of the end of the last war.
Dancing at Obon
There is an interesting point The
Utagaki dance has been held since the time before the 5th century C.E.
and became very popular in the 8th century. Men and women gathered for
dance and they sang, danced, met with a view to marriage and promised to
marry. Their way to dance was that men and women joined alternately to a
circle of dancing, danced in the rhythm of song by a singer, and when
the number of people increased, they made the dancing circle double or
threefold.
The ancient Israelites also had this kind of custom. They had a time of dancing during the harvest feast from the 15th day of the 7th month (8th month in the northern kingdom), and single men and women looked forward the time of dancing and meeting to come.
The ancient Israelites also had this kind of custom. They had a time of dancing during the harvest feast from the 15th day of the 7th month (8th month in the northern kingdom), and single men and women looked forward the time of dancing and meeting to come.
I heard that in Japan there used to be a
custom of plunder marriage during the Obon feast. In Oita, Kyusyu
Japan, there was a custom that during many people are fanatical in
dancing, men took women they like and brought to forest. The same custom
was among the ancient Israelites.
The Bible records that there was an
incedent that all of the women of Benjamin tribe of Israel were killed,
when the elders of Israel talked each other how they can let Benjamin
tribe continue to exist. "There is a yearly feast in Shiloh (a city in
the northern kingdom of Israel)", the elders said, and instructed the
men of Benjamin, "Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, and watch; and just
when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come
out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the
daughters of Shiloh". The men did so. They "took enough wives for their
number from those who danced, whom they caught" (Judges 21:16-23).
Israel in those days was in such a period of confusion.
Full Moon On the 15th Day
In Japan there is also a custom called
Juugo-ya, which means 15th night, on the 15th day of the 8th month in
the Japanese old lunar calendar. This is during September-October in
today's solar calendar. This corresponds to the 15th day of the 7th
month (Tishri) in the Jewish calendar, which is the day of the Feast of
Booths. When the Japanese are celebrating Juugo-ya, the Jews are
celebrating the Feast of Booths.
On this day, the Japanese often build a
booth, gather together there with family, put Japanese pampas grass to a
vase, offer harvest of the season like dumpling, taro, pear, etc., and
enjoy the beauty of the full moon in Autumn. In Israel, on the 15th day
of the 8th month in the northern kingdom of Israel, or on the 15th day
of the 7th month in the southern kingdom of Judah, they built a booth,
gathered together there with family, offered harvest of the season,
rejoiced the harvest looking the beauty of the full moon in Autumn
(Leviticus 23:39-42).
Offering Harvest
In Japan they have an elegant custom to
offer firstfruits of harvest to god. They offer the firstfruits of
cereals and fruits or a part of what they first get from their
production.
Kanname-sai is a feast in October at Ise
grand shrine to offer firstfruits to god. The ancient Israelites also
had the custom of offering first fruits, for the Bible says that the
first of the firstfruits of the land shall be brought to the temple
(Exodus 34:26).
It is interesting to note that in Ise
grand shrine in the time of Kanname-sai feast, the clothes, tables, and
tools which are used in the service are all renewed. They do this in the
sense of coming into a new year. In Judaism also, the month of the
harvest feast (Tishri, September-October) is the time of a new year.
About a month after the Kanname-sai
feast of Ise grand shrine, a feast called Niiname-sai is held at the
Imperial House of Japan. Although the name is different, this is also
the feast of offering a part of harvest.
Niiname-sai feast is held as follows;
the feast begins at 6 p.m. and ends at around 1 a.m.. It is held at
night. The emperor offers the harvest to god and after that, he eats
them in front of god. By this ceremony the emperor is given from god the
role as the leader of the nation. In ancient Israel, the leaders of
Israel - Moses, Aaron, 70 elders, etc. - also ate in front of God
(Exodus 24:11).
And the Niiname-sai feast which the emperor performs for the first time after he ascended to the throne is especially called Daijou-sai feast which is a larger Niiname-sai feast, when special booths are built for offering harvest. In the Daijou-sai feast of today's emperor Akihito, there were also simple but large booths built, and after the ceremony they broke the booths and burned them.
And the Niiname-sai feast which the emperor performs for the first time after he ascended to the throne is especially called Daijou-sai feast which is a larger Niiname-sai feast, when special booths are built for offering harvest. In the Daijou-sai feast of today's emperor Akihito, there were also simple but large booths built, and after the ceremony they broke the booths and burned them.
Daijou-sai feast is also held at night. Akihito's Daijou-si was held from 6:30 p.m. to the next morning. The emperor offered the harvest and ate in front of god. In ancient Israel and also today, the Jewish Feast of Booths begins at sunset. The Israelites came into the booths, decorated with harvest products, ate in front of God and rejoiced together.
Wedding
I find several similarities between the Japanese Shinto way of wedding and the Jewish way of wedding.
In Shinto wedding, the bridegroom and bride drink from the same cup of liquor (Japanese Sake). In the same way in the Jewish wedding the bridegroom and bride drink from the same cup of wine, although this is not Biblical but Talmudic (the 3-6th century C.E.). Christian wedding does not have this custom.
In the Jewish wedding today, after
drinking wine, the bridegroom break a wine glass. This is to remember
that the Temple of Jerusalem is destroyed. This custom started after the
Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E., and the Israelites before
that did not have this custom of breaking the glass.
In Shinto wedding the bride has a shawl
on her head and hides half of her face. The shawl is to the hight of her
eyes today, but in old days, this was to hide all of her face (called
Kazuki in Japanese). In old days, this shawl was also put when a
Japanese woman attended a shrine.This custom of shawl was also seen
among the ancient Israelites. In the Bible, Jacob, the ancestor of the
Israelites, thought that he had married Rachal though, the bride was in
fact not Rachal, but her sister Lear. It was due to darkness and the
shawl on her face that he could not distinguish her. Even today, Jewish
bride puts a veil on her face in wedding . Ancient Israeli woman had the
custom to put a shawl and hide her face when she comes out. Every time
she comes to a synagogue, she had to put a shawl on her head.
It is also an important feature of
Shinto that every Shinto priest is married. There is no rule in Shinto
to make priest single. In modern Japan, most of Buddhist monks are
married but this is a custom since Meiji-era. Before then, it was the
custom of Buddhist monks to be single. Every Buddhist monk outside Japan
is single. Catholic father is single. But Shinto priest is married.
This is a tradition from the time immemorial. So was the ancient priest
of Israel. So is rabbi of modern Judaism.
Concerning Japanese marriage, a Japanese
woman told her memory. One day, her mother told her about the marriage
of her aunt. After the aunt's husband was killed in a war, the aunt, who
did not have any children then, married her husband's brother who had
been at that time unmarried. About this marriage, the mother told her,
"This is a traditional custom of Japan," but then she thought that today
is the age of free love and it is consequential to marry whom one
loves, and she could not understand what the mother said. However she
told that later she was surprised knowing that this is the same as a
Jewish custom.
It is true that that this is the same as
a Jewish custom, for the Bible says that if brothers dwell together,
and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be
married outside the family to a stranger; her husband's brother shall go
in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a
husband's brother to her (Deuteronomy 25:5)
In Japan today, we cannot see this
custom anymore usually, but it seems that this custom had been performed
widely in Japan until recent time.
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