PREFACE

Dr. Yoshiro Saeki (1872-1965) was a world-famous scholar on the Luminous Religion(~the ancient Eastern Christianity). He studied linguistics in the United States, England, and Germany, and spent some time at Oxford in order to be well versed in the Persian and the Syrian languages that were indispensable to his study of the history of Eastern Christianity. Shortly after he had returned from abroad in 1907, he visited a small island called Ikushima located off the Sagoshi Port along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. There he discovered the traditional tomb of Hada (or Hata)-no-Kawakatsu, chieftain of the Hada tribe, and also a shrine called "Osake Jinja" (the "Shrine of the King David"). This discovery urged him to study as his lifework the origin of the Hada (Hata) tribe.

After forty years of extensive studies on the subject, Dr. Saeki came to the conclusion that the tribe of Hada had been a part of the Jewish Diaspora who had adopted the Luminous Religion as their tribal faith. This view was also supported by the late Dr. Toyohiko Kagawa, one of the most brilliant and devoted Christian leaders in Japan. Dr. Saeki claimed that the Hada tribe came to Japan by or even before the first century C.E. It is interesting to note that this was long before Buddhism was first introduced to Japan in 552 C . E .

Fortunately enough, I had an opportunity to visit Dr. Saeki before he died in 1965 at the age of 94. Having taught at Waseda University for years, he had been looking for a young student who would succeed his work on the Luminous Religion. He asked me if I would complete his life work, and thereby I would substantiate his belief that Hada-no-Kawakatsu was a Jew who later be came a believer of the Luminous Religion, nicknamed "Nestorians."

A few months later when I visited the Osake Shrine at Sagoshi the priests of the shrine showed me a mask of the king of "Ko". According to the ancient Chinese history, refers to the western territories extending so far as Persian and Syria. It is said that the mask was brought by Hada-no-Kawakatsu from the kingdom of Kungyueh, the Hada's homeland in Central Asia. Another theory claims that the mask was a portrait of Kawakatsu himself. When I showed a picture of the mask to Dr. Saeki, he joyfully exclaimed: "This surely is a portrait of a Jew!"

The purpose of this short report is to fulfill my promise to the late Dr. Saeki. I sincerely hope that this work will shed some light on the important role that the people of Hada played in the early Japanese history. I am of the opinion that the present form of the Japanese civilization owes much to their contributions.

Many historians are used to draw their conclusions merely from the studies on the extant documents, and therefore may not agree with my approach. However, in order to throw light upon such an intricate question as this subject, not only exegetical studies on the written materials but also a great deal of creative mindedness and imaginative insight is required. The origin of the Hada tribe belongs to the period by far preceding the beginning of Japan's history&emdash;even long before the writing system was introduced to this land.

The content of this manuscript was first delivered as a lecture in one of my Sunday meetings in Tokyo. Because it was given in Japanese for the Japanese people and then later translated into English, readers may find it somewhat difficult to follow the logical sequences. I will greatly appreciate tolerance and forgiveness on the part of the readers, and also welcome any constructive criticism and opinions.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Yoji Iwashita and Dr. Akira Jindo, who generously offered their assistance in preparing this manuscript. My special heartfelt appreciation goes out to Mr. Dov Ofer, who has spent much time to rewrite many parts of the original manuscript. His enthusiastic interest in this subject greatly encouraged me to envisage a future publication of this work in the book form.

Ikuro Teshima

Yoyogi, T okyo
March 1, 1973