著者

大塚 清恵

出版者

鹿児島大学

雑誌

鹿児島大学教育学部研究紀要 人文社会科学編 (ISSN:03896684)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.58, pp.127-146, 2006

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The ancient kingdom of Israel, which consisted of 12 tribes, was in circa 922 B.C. divided into the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. 10 tribes out of the 12 belonged to the northern kingdom and the rest to the southern kingdom. The people of the northern kingdom were exiled to Assyria in 722 B.C. never to return to Israel. They are called the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. They were dispersed all over the world. Their descendants are found not only in the western world, but also in the eastern world especially along the Silk Road. Japan and Israel are geographically far from each other and seemingly unrelated nations. However, the two nations are remarkably similar in mythology, religious rituals, language, daily customs, etc. Some of the Japanese and Jewish scholars who are conversant with the ancient cultures of Japan and Israel claim that numerous striking similarities between the two cultures are proofs indicating that the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel came to ancient Japan. The purpose of this paper is to examine the authenticity of their claim by making a comparisonof the ancient cultures of Japan and Israel, which may help solve some of the cultural riddles of Japan such as why Japanese like rectangles or why Japanese have numbers in their names.