The origin of the Japanese is traced to the Hebrew race by Dr. Jenichiro Oyabe, author of “Origin of Japan and the Japanese.”
Dr. Oyabe asserted in an interview with a representative of the “Japan Advertiser” that the Japanese Emperor is the descendant of the tribe Gad, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The book was placed on the market this spring and has already gone to the sixth edition. Dr. Oyabe presented volumes to the Emperor, the Empress and the Empress Dowager. The books were immediately accepted by the Imperial Household Department and placed before the Imperial Family.
Dr. Oyabe is a graduate of the Divinity School of Yale University. Upon graduation he traveled widely. He lived among the Ainu for more than ten years to trace the origin of the Japanese race.
“The annual festival of the Gion Shrine in Kyoto on July 17 is an interesting subject of study,” said Dr. Oyabe. “It is on this occasion that shrine festivals take place in all parts of the country. Mikoshi, or miniature portable shrines are then often carried into the water. The custom may be traced back to the age of Noah. It was on July 17, according to the Old Testament, that Noah’s ark arrived at Mt. Arrarat, Togarma, Armenia, when the flood subsided.
“The passengers of the ark offered thanksgiving to their god with dancing and music. The sacred casket containing religious objects of the Hebrew people, which is known as the ‘Ark,’ is the prototype of the mikoshi. The Old Testament states that the water was divided when the Ark was carried into the water. The carrying of mikoshi into the water on the occasion of a Shinto festival is traced to this tradition.
TOGARMA IS TAKAMAGAHARA
“Togarma, Armenia, in which Mt. Arrarat is situated, is the Takamakahara, from which the ancestor of the Japanese race is said to have descended. Takamagahara means the Plain of High Heaven. The ‘Arme’ in Armenia means heaven, and the ‘nia’ means place. There is also a palace in the neighborhood of Togarma called Hara. The Jewish people claim that the district is their birthplace, and the Japanese peolpe also claim that the Takamagahara is the birthplace of their ancestors. I can testify to the identity of Togarma, Armenia, as Takamagahara by producing countless evidence.
“The River Jordan was the river of purification. It was in this river that the Israelites purified themselves before they observed religious ceremonies. Izanami-no Mikoto and Izanagino-Mikoto performed the same rite in Huga. Until the Meiji Restoration, the Imperial messengers to the Grand Shrine of Ise observed purification rites in the River Watarai before they reached the shrine. It is for this reason that the river was known as Misogigawa or the River of Purification.
“No scholar or Shinto priest seems to know why the Shinto shrine is built of cypress. The Meiji Shrine was built of lumber from 5,500 cypress logs. Old shrines now existent in Japan are all of cypress. The fifth and seventh chapters of Samuel in the Old Testament make some references to the King living in a house made of cypress. David ordered his son, Solomon, to build a shrine for the first time, and I have good reason to believe that the shrine was built of cypress. The shrine was thirty feet with an entrance fifteen feet wide. This detail is exactly that of the Japanese shrine. It has also the haiden (place of worship) and the okuden (holy of holies) of the Japanese shrine.
“The main columns on both sides which support the beams of the shrine building were driven into the ground instead of being placed in a base of stones or other solid materials. This custom originated in the age in which the Israelites lived in tents. The two columns correspond to the two main poles supporting both sides of the tent. You will find that all the main
(Continued on Page 4)
(Continued from Page 3)
supporting columns of old Shinto shrines in Japan are erected in the same way, including the Grand Shrine of Ise and the Meiji Shrine. This fact bespeaks eloquently that the Japanese people faithfully followed the tradition of their ancestors.
UNCUT STONES
“I have visited the Grand Shrine of Ise many times and often wondered why the compound of the shrine is surrounded by walls about three feet high which are constructed of natural boulders instead of cut stones. The twenty-fifth verse of the twentieth chapter of Exodus states that God commanded Moses not to use cut stone in the construction of religious buildings. Iron was consequently avoided in such matters.
“The torii of Shinto shrines are of-often traced to a southern origin due to failure to study beyond the South Seas. Solomon erected two large columns on each side of the entrance to the temple he erected in Jerusalem, according to the seventeenth verse in the third chapter of Chronicles. Each pillar had a different significance, referring to the heroic ancestors of his race. Each column of a Japanese torii likewise has a different meaning. There is every reason to believe that the present torii originated in these columns.
MI-KADO CORRUPT FORM OF GAD
“The Emperor is the descendant of Gad, one of the twelve races of Israel. The Mi of Mikado is the honorary prefix. Kado is the corrupt form of Gad. It was the custom of the Hebrew people to adopt the name of a heroic ancestor as the name of their tribe or family. The eldest son of Gad, whose name was Jippon, came to Japan with the Imperial Regalia. It was for this reason that the country was originally named Nippon.
“The Imperial Regalia originally consisted of two objects instead of three. This is alluded to in the old Japanese records. The Regalia of the Hebrew people originally consisted of three articles, a metal staff, jar and the Ten Commandments. The stone tablet on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed was not brought to this country perhaps because it was too heavy. The metal staff and jar were well wrapped and no one was allowed to see them. The former was interpreted as a sword, it was long and made a metallic sound. Jar in Japanese is kame and the word has some connection with mirror, one of the Imperial Regalia. The jewel was added to the two Imperial Regalia, perhaps in remembrance of the stone tablet of the Ten Commandments,” Dr. Oyabe states.
The new synagogue of the Shearith Israel Congregation. Atlanta, Ga., now under construction, will celebrate its cornerstone laying August 18 with a public ceremony. The synagogue will be completed within the next two months.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
