Japan As a Country of Crypto-Christianity
Japan Has Been Christian-like
Many people think that Japan is not a Christian country. Certainly it is not Christian ostensibly. Japan is generally thought to be a country of Shintoism or Buddhism. However, Japan is in fact a country of crypto-Christianity, in which I mean that many people do not realize; however, it has ever had a strong Christian stream in history and culture since ancient times.
After Japan’s national isolation era during 1639–1854, many Westerners came to Japan, when they were surprised to see that there were many Japanese people having Christian-like virtues in spite that Japan was not a Christian country. Edward S. Morse (1838–1925), an American zoologist, wrote so after he visited Japan. So was Francisco Xavier, the first Catholic missionary to Japan who came in 1549. He was surprised to see many Japanese people having Christian-like virtues. He wrote a letter to the Vatican that perhaps Christianity was already preached in Japan.
Christianity was in fact taught in Japan in ancient times. The first Christians to Japan were the Hata tribe, who came to Japan in the 2nd -3rd centuries AD. According to the Japanese old records, Shinsen Shoji Roku (written in 815 AD) and Nihon Shoki (720 AD), King Koman came firstly to Japan as the advance person of the Hata tribe and met Emperor Chuai in the 8th year (199 AD) of his reign. And later, in the 14th year (283 AD) of Emperor Ohjin, King Yuzu of the Hata tribe from Yuzuki immigrated to Japan with a large group of people and became naturalized as Japanese citizens under the patronage of the emperor.
These years, 199 and 283, when the Hata tribe came are of the traditional understanding. But there are theories about the relation between the ancient Imperial years and the Gregorian calendar. Recent scholars think that the years may be actually 100–200 years later. Even if so, the Hata tribe came to Japan far earlier than the first Catholic missionary Francisco Xavier did in the 16th century.
It seems that King Koman came to Japan as the advance person and told about his Hata tribe to the Japanese emperor. The emperor was glad to hear about them and would have told, “Please come to Japan with all of your people.” So, 84 years later, King Yuzu, a son of King Koman, immigrated to Japan with a large group of the Hata people and became the Japanese.
As I mention later, the Hata people were dispersed Israelites who converted to Eastern Christianity. They became Christians when they had once lived in Yuzuki (Kung-Yueh in Chinese) which was located near Iri River in the western part of today’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region near Central Asia. The Hata people immigrated from there to Japan looking for a safeliving land. They brought a high civilization of the continent and Christianity to Japan.
The Japanese emperor welcomed them. It was rare that a country in East Asia bid such welcome to a Christian tribe. It is known that the first Christian country was Armenia in the Middle East. The apostles of Jesus, Thaddaios and Bartholomew, preached there. Later, an Armenian King converted to Christianity and it became a Christian country around 303 AD. The immigration of the Hata tribe to Japan was earlier than that.
The Hata Tribe Helped Japan
The homeland of the Hata Tribe, Yuzuki (Kung-Yueh), is also recorded in Chinese ancient documents, and there are still relics of Yuzuki near Iri River in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is along the north route of the Silk Road.
In ancient times, many Israelites of the so-called Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were also there. According to Yoshiro Saeki, ex-president of Tokyo Liberal Arts and Science University, most of the people of that region became Christians already in the 2nd century. Actually as I mention later, a lot of things show that the Hata tribe were ancient Eastern Christians.
The Hata tribe immigrated to Japan because they could not have lived safely in the lands near Central Asia, China and Korean peninsula. They finally found the safe land in Japan. They appreciated Japanese emperor for welcoming them and they helped the nation building. The role of the Hata tribe in the development of Japan was overwhelming in various fields. If they did not come to Japan, Japan would have been a primitive country for a long time.
The reason to say the Hata tribe were Christians is that after they came, the Japanese traditional religion Shintoism became Christianity-like. The Hata tribe is famous for founding of Yahata shrines and Inari shrines all over Japan, which consist of about 80% of all Shinto shrines in Japan.
Yahata shrines are also called Hachiman shrines today, but originally it was Yahata. There is a theory that Yahata came from Yehudah which means Jews in Hebrew, but rather it must be from Yah-Hata which means God of the Hata. Yah is a shortened form of Yahweh, God’s sacred name, like Yah in Hallelu-Yah (praise the Lord).
Today, the deity of the Yahata shrines is said to be Emperor Ohjin who welcomed the Hata tribe to Japan. But we can’t think the deity was Ohjin in ancient times. Historians say the deity was originally not Ohjin. At the beginning, people must have deified the God whom both the Hata clan and Emperor Ohjin had worshipped. In fact, at the famous Iwa-shimizu shrine of Iwa-Shimizu Hachiman-gu, the deified one is Ameno Minaka Nushi (meaning the Lord sitting at the center of heaven), the first and supreme deity mentioned in Kojiki which is the Japanese ancient chronicles.
A Shinto scholar Ikarimaru Watanabe (1837–1915), who was a disciple of famous Shinto scholar Atsutane Hirata, wrote in his book that Ameno Minaka Nushi is the same as God Yahweh. Ameno Minaka Nushi was another name for God of the Bible in ancient Japan. Yahweh would have thus the original deity of Yahata shrines. In other words, Yahata shrine was originally Yahweh shrine.
At the Iwa-shimizu shrine, there is a sacred well which has the legend very similar to the water which Moses took out by hitting a rock in the desert. Also at the land of Usa (Kyusyu), original place of the Yahata faith, there is the legend very similar to baby Moses who was in a basket made of papyrus and flown in river. Yahata shrine is also known as the birthplace of Shinto’s Omikoshi ark, which is very much like the ark of the covenant of Israel.
INaRI=Jesus Christ
The Hata tribe is famous also for founding Inari shrines. As it turns out, Inari shrine is Jesus Christ shrine. If you visit a Inari shrine, you may see many fox statues, but fox is no related to original Inari shrines. The fox was brought by a Buddhist monk Kukai in the 9th century. Concerning the name INARI, it has no specific meaning in Japanese. It must have originated from INRI, the capital letters for “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”, which is often seen at pictures of Jesus on the cross as the words of accusation.
INRI was well used among both Western and Eastern Christians as the words representing Jesus. But the ancient Japanese did not have any letters representing the sound N. N is the capital letter of Nazareth, so the Hata tribe must have used Na instead of N, calling it INaRI. Thus, Inari shrine was originally the shrine of “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. In other words, it was Jesus Christ shrine.
In fact, this was lively shown in the old Japanese capital Heiankyo (meaning City of Peace, same as Jerusalem) which the Hata tribe had much contributed to build. Heiankyo is today’s Kyoto city. In the times of Heiankyo, the city consisted of rectangle blocks and square blocks. If you would make color coating to all the rectangle blocks on the map, you will see a big T-shaped cross. At the location of the head of man on the cross lived the emperor. The place was a former residence of Kawakatsu Hata, the leader of the Hata tribe in the 6–7th century.
At the location of the accusation plate of the Heiankyo cross was a small mountain called Mt. Funaoka, which was a landmark to build the central main street of Heiankkyo. On the mountain, there is a small Inari shrine called “the original Inari”. The Inari shrine is older than the famous Fushimi Inari grand shrine. It is the original of all Inari shrines. INaRI (Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews) was thus at the very location of the accusation plate of the Heiankyo cross. This shows lively that INaRI meant Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The Hata tribe thus made Inari shrines as Jesus Christ shrines.
Ancient Shintoism was Monotheism
At the Inari shrines of the Hata tribe, they have the written confession of faith called Inari Ohkami Hibun, which begins with:
“Look, God is one and without form. He is Spirit.”
This is the same as Christian faith. Inari faith is thus monotheism. The God of Inari shrine is called the Spirit of Uka. It is believed to be the same as Toyo-Uke (meaning abundant Uke), the deity of the outer shrine of Ise-jingu. Uka or Uke means food in ancient Japanese. It is the same as okel (food) in Hebrew. So, the Spirit of Uka means God who gives us daily food. He is the Biblical God.
Today, Shintoism is generally called polytheism. However, in ancient times, Shintoism was monotheism. In those days, the monotheistic God was called Ohmototsu-kami, meaning the original God. The one and only God was called the Spirit of Uka at Inari shrines, or Toyo-Uke at Ise-jingu, or Ameno Minaka Nushi in Kojiki, the ancient Japanese chronicles.
Christians also call the one and only God by the names of “the Lord sitting at the center of heaven” and sometimes “God who gives us daily food”. The names are different, but it all means the one and only God. In Shintoism also, they called the one and only God with different names. The names eventually became like representing different deities, and it became like polytheism, but it was originally monotheism. The ex-chief priest of Kono shrine, Yoshisada Amabe, writes in his book that Shintoism was monotheism before the 8th century AD.
Their Faith in God the Trinity
The faith of the Hata tribe was not only monotheism, but also the faith in God the Trinity. They had faith in the God called Zoka Sanshin, which means three deities of creation. It is mentioned in the old Japanese chronicles, Kojiki, and the three are:
Ameno Minaka Nushi, Takami Musuhi, Kami Musuhi
The first deity, Ameno Minaka Nushi, means the Lord sitting at the center of heaven. This corresponds with God the Father in the Bible.
The second Takami Musuhi is, according to the book of Yoshisada Amabe, is the son of Ameno Minaka Nushi in Shinto old documents. This corresponds with Jesus, the son of God. If the name Takami Musuhi is a corruption of the Hebrew words Takan Mashiah（תוכן משׁיח）,it means the very one (substance) of the Messiah.
The third, Kami Musuhi, is understood as the spirit living among believers. It corresponds with the Holy Spirit in the Bible. If the name Kami Musuhi is a corruption of the Hebrew words Kamu Mushcha（קמו משחה）,it means the origin of spirit. Zoka Sanshin in which the Hata tribe believed was in fact God the Trinity of Christianity. This faith had been brought by the Hata tribe long before the publication of the Japanese chronicles, Kojiki, in 712 AD.
The faith in God the Trinity is symbolically shown at the Mihashira Torii, a kind of tripod, which is a compound of three Shinto Torii gates and looks as a triangle if seen from above. The most famous one is the Miharira Torii at Kaikono Yashiro, which was founded by the Hata tribe in Kyoto city. This is a symbol of the Trinity of Zoka Sanshin. Triangle has been well used to understand the Trinity of God in both the Western and Eastern Church since ancient times. A Mihashira Torii is also near Ohmiwa shrine in Nara, and its explanation reads that this shows the “trinity of Zoka Sanshin”. The explanation uses such a Christian term as trinity. The God in which the Hata tribe believed was thus God the Trinity in the Bible.
This faith of Zoka Sanshin became widespread among the Japanese. For example, Japanese people like to eat rice ball called O-musubi. It is shaped like a triangle. Musubi is the same as Musuhi of Takami Musuhi or Kami Musuhi, representing oneness and the trinity of Zoka Sanshin. Japanese people also have the custom of placing three bamboos standing in the shape of a triangle at the entrance of their homes on New Year’s Day. These also represent the trinity of Zoka Sanshin. Japanese people also used to put a white triangular cloth on forehead of a deceased in coffin as a Shinto custom. This was a wish so that the person may be able to meet Zoka Sanshin in the world after death. The faith of Zoka Sanshin has been thus widespread as Japanese customs since old times. Japan is thus, so to speak, a country of crypto-Christianity.
Biblical Teachings in Japanese Tradition
It is often said that Shinto has no clear doctrines. But actually it does. The most central teaching of Shintoism is pure and bright heart (Kiyoki Akaki Kokoro), which is pure, clean and blameless heart to serve God and people. You will see a laver to wash hands and mouth near the entrance of a Shinto shrine. This is not only to purify hands and mouth, but also to purify heart before worshipping. It is not clear why this teaching entered into Shintoism. But clearly it is the same as the teaching of the Bible. The Bible teaches to serve God and people with pure and bright heart.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
“holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience” (I Timothy 3:9)
Bushido, the way of Samurai, is also a Japanese tradition. This is not only for Samurais, but also in the hearts of general Japanese people. “Bushido: The Soul of Japan”, which was written in English by Inazo Nitobe, ex-Deputy Managing Director of the League of Nations, was widely read. He gave 7 virtues of Bushido as the following:
Justice (rectitude as man)
Courage (spirit of daring and bearing)
Benevolence (compassion, feeling of distress)
Politeness (respect to others)
Sincerity (veracity)
Honour (protect human dignity)
Loyalty (live for country and public)
We can say that these are also the same as the teachings of the Bible.
The people of Taiwan often use the words “Japanese Spirit” in good meaning. Taiwan had been a part of Japan during 1895–1945. What does the “Japanese Spirit” mean for them? Taiwan people say it means to live for public, keep a promise, be polite, do not lie, do not waste, observe law and rule, and be diligence. They say that Japanese people taught them these virtues. But these are also the same as the ones taught in the Bible. From where did the Japanese learn them? They must have learnt the virtues from the Biblical teachings which were already preached in ancient times. In that meaning, Japan was a country of crypto-Christianity.
Japanese Racial Equality
In addition, this Japanese Spirit contains the belief of racial equality. The Japanese has ever believed racial equality of all nations on earth since the first Emperor Jimmu, as expressed in the Japanese words like Hakko Ichiu (universal brotherhood) and Shikai Doho (all nations beyond the oceans are compatriots). As a result, Japan basically did not have slavery.
If we look around the world, China and Korea had used many slaves until the 19th century. Spain, Portuguese, America and other so-called Christian countries also used many slaves. But it was not in Japan. Racial equality was a strong Japanese tradition. In fact, Japan was the first country which proclaimed racial equality in the international politics. At the Paris Peace Conference after World War I, Japan submitted the bill to abolish racial discrimination from the world.
The bill was finally rejected by the countries which had slavery and discriminatory colonies. However, later Japan fought to abolish racial discrimination from Asia during WW II. Even during the war, Chiune (Senpo) Sugihara, Kiichiro Higuchi and others made every effort to save Jews. After the war, Asian and African countries could become independent, because Japan had fought to destroy the discriminatory structure of the Western bondage on the colonies. Later, the term racial equality entered the charter of the United Nations for the first time in history.
Why was the belief of racial equality such strong in Japan? In fact, racial equality was a teaching of Moses. He taught Israelites:
“One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord” (Numbers 15:15)
In front of God, Israelites and foreigners among them were equally treated. The foreigners could even become naturalized as Israelites if they observed the law of God. Moses was the first man who taught racial equality. The one who inherited the teaching was not Western Christian countries, China or Korea. It was Japan. In that sense, Japan was very Christian-like.
Amaterasu and Christ
Lastly, I will mention about Amaterasu, the mythological goddess who is believed to be the deity of the Japanese nation and the ancestor of the Imperial House. Amaterasu is worshipped at the inner shrine of Ise-jingu, the top shrine of Japan. Amaterasu is the most famous deity among the Japanese. You may think it is just a pagan goddess. But it is not that simple.
It was after the 7th century AD that the worship of Amaterasu had begun as the ancestor of the Imperial House. Before that, the Imperial ancestor was Takami Musuhi, which I mentioned above as the second deity of the trinity of Zoka Sanshin. Takami Musuhi was another name for Jesus Christ among the Hata tribe. Mutsuko Mizoguchi, a historian, demonstrated in detail in her book ‘The Birth of Amaterasu’ that Takami Musuhi was the original Imperial ancestor. Takami Musuhi was the deity who helped the first emperor Jimmu in various ways.
But in the 7th century, Empress Jito ascended to the throne. A woman thus became the empress, so it would be favorable for Imperial authorization to worship a goddess rather than a male god as the ancestor deity. That was why they changed Takami Musuhi to Amaterasu.
However, the nature of Takami Musuhi was later inherited to the faith in Amaterasu, for the original Imperial ancestor was Takami Musuhi. Actually, there has been a theory since old times that Amaterasu is in fact a male god. Many scholars pointed it out. In addition, the faith in Amaterasu includes many remains of the nature of Christ as the following.
The clearest example is Amaterasu myth of Ameno Iwato (heavenly cave), in which Amaterasu hid herself in a heavenly cave, and the world became dark. Jesus once said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). Since Jesus is the light of the world only when He is in the world, when He died and was in a cave tomb, the world became dark. Likewise, the world became dark when Amaterasu hid herself in the cave. In Shinto, the death of an emperor is expressed as having hidden. The hiding means death. So, the death and burial are thus implied in the hiding of Amaterasu.
This will become clear in the following. According to Shintoists, Amaterasu’s hiding in the cave had the meaning of redemption. Yoneo Okada of the Association of Shinto Shrines writes in his book,
“This hiding means that Amaterasu redeemed the sin of Susanoh completely.”
And Okada adds,
“The festival of Ameno Iwato is to pray the reappearance of Amaterasu. At the prayer, Amaterasu resurrects and lives forever as a living god and gives us bright light upon us.”
According to Shintoism, the hiding of Amaterasu had thus the similar meanings as the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The original of the faith in Amaterasu was thus Takami Musuhi = Jesus Christ. After the 7th century AD, degeneration and addition of various myths occurred in Shintoism; however, the faith in Amaterasu still shows remains of the faith in Jesus Christ. The substance which the Japanese used to see through Amaterasu was Jesus Christ. He was the real Imperial ancestor and God of the Japanese nation, like He is God of all nations of the world. The ancestors of the Japanese had the belief in Jesus the Messiah. It is most important to dig it out and throw light upon it.
