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August 04, 2006

Japanese-Israelism

   Have you ever heard the term "Japanese-Israelism"? There are a good number of varieties of the concept, but basically it means that the Japanese race and the Jewish race came from a common ancestor. In other words, the Japanese people are the descendants of one or more of Israel's 10 lost tribes (here's one example of a website devoted to the idea).

   There are some Christian pastors here in Japan that hold to this view and it seems as if lately, a good number of believers are being strongly influenced by the teaching of this theory. In general society, as well, there are a couple of publishing firms that seem to be taking full advantage of the commercial value of public interest in Japanese-Israelism.

   About 15 years ago, I wrote a book entitled A Jewish Primer, in which I developed a rebuttal to both anti-Semitism and the idea of Japanese-Israelism (the book is currently out of print). Unfortunately, this theory seems to have gained in influence over the course of the years. The concept seems to hold undying fascination for certain groups of people, but in terms of helping one gain a biblical understanding of Israel or elucidate the essential elements of the Gospel, it has no value whatsoever. In fact, there's a real danger that a person's preoccupation with this idea could cause the line between what's essential and what's not to become very much blurred.

   For this reason, I've had some real concerns about the spread of this idea. Lately, however, I've run across some balanced thinking on the subject and have been much encouraged by it. In particular, Myrtos, a Christian publisher that specializes in things related to Israel and Jewish culture, published an article in their June newsletter that was a big help. It was entitled, "Where Did Japanese-Israelism Come From?" (Japanese-language only). The article was denoted as having been written by the Myrtos staff, but my guess is that it was authored by their editor-in-chief, Kazumitsu Kawai. In a limited amount of space, the author was able to marvelously summarize the whole subject and I was deeply impressed by the depth and persuasive power of his opinion. In fact, we got their permission to reproduce the article and we'll be featuring it through three issues of Israel Today, starting with this month's issue (Japanese-language edition only).

   At the end of the article was a section entitled, "Evidence for Japanese-Israelism." It deals with the following items:

  • The idea that the Japanese language resembles ancient Hebrew
  • Physical evidence for a connection between the Shintō religion and ancient Judaism
  • Support for Japanese-Israelism on the basis of biblical prophecies
   The author summed up his conclusions in a section entitled, "The Problems with Japanese-Israelism." I quote him as follows:
   It's quite possible that Japanese-Israelism is in some way connected to "Jewish Conspiracy Theory" thinking. The lessons of the past teach us that with an erroneous understanding of history, even the idea of "Jewish parentage" can be turned into anti-Semitism under the right conditions. I feel that it's my duty to point out the problems with the theory, among which are: mixing historical fact with fiction, hindering a correct understanding of the Jewish people and promoting prejudice, spreading a distorted understanding of the essentials of the Christian faith, and distorting Japanese history.
   For those of you who have an interest in this subject, I'd definitely encourage you to read the article and take some time to dig more deeply in it. The truth is, to this very day, no scholarly investigations of the theory have ever turned up any credible evidence in support of it. I can't urge you enough to be very wary of the whole idea, no matter how interesting it may sound.

   I pray that your summer has been going well and that it's been a time of hearing God's voice for direction in your life. Rich blessings upon you and yours in Y'shua's precious name.

Kenichi Nakagawa
   Kenichi Nakagawa

Posted by HarvestTV at 04:35 PM | Comments (1)