Syriac Christianity in the Japanese Empire

The Hatas were a Syriac tribe who lived originally under Parthian rule in the province of Khotan, which is now in eastern Turkistan. Rather than immigrating to India, as so many other Syriac speaking Christians did, they travelled to China, and then Korea, finally settling on the island nation of Japan. According to Ken Joseph Jr, of the Kyoto Institute, these Christians landed at Sakoshi, near the present city of Himeji in Kyoto prefecture, some 1500 years ago. They erected the first Christian churches long before St. Francis Xavier arrived there in 1549. Later they move to Uzumasa 1 where they erected many other churches. Although they were persecuted by Buddhists in both China and Korea they were granted full freedom in all but name from the time of their arrival in Japan, down to the days of the Empress Suiko. Under Shotoku, Prince Regent under the Empress Suiko in the Seventh Century, the Hatas were happy indeed since the wise Prince Regent 2, though himself a Buddhist, granted them full liberty under the provisions of his famous Seventeen-Article Constitution. In the days of this great Prince Regent the Nestorian church grounds at Kyoto had their own "Well of Israel" attached to a Davids Shrine, and on the well-spring stood a Sacred Tripod symbolizing the Trinity 3 from which a limpid stream flowed. Visitors to Uzumasa can still see a tripod, build in the style of a triangular torii, which marks the exact spot where the original tripod of the Nestorians once stood. These various Nestorian sites have been identified only recently by the writer of this article with the aid of archology, philology, and the science of folklore. The writer admits, however, that this would have been impossible without the suggestions and hypothesis advanced by the English author, Mrs. E. A. Gordon in her several published works. A study of some historical sources has convinced me that it was a Nestorian, Raca, who directed the first orphan asylum ever established in Japan. In the days of the Empress Suiko exerted not a little influence on the culture of Japan. It is true that Shotoku may be regarded quite justly as the founder of social work in Japan. It was he who established the Shitennoji Buddhist Temple in Osaka which comprised four separate charitable institutions including the Kyoden-in or a sanctuary of religion, learning and music, The Ryobyo-in or charitable hospital, the Seyaku-in or a charitable dispensary, and the Hidenin or an asylum for the helpless. To him goes the credit for having been the first to carry on social work on a large scale in Japan, but I believe that it cannot be denied that this work was modeled on the charitable work of the Nestorian church at Uzumasa. The Bactrian physician, missionary and priest, Milis, visited Japan from Syria in 736. His missionary work was not only to the Syriac Christians living in Japan, helping them renew their work, but also to the whole Japanese nation. Empress Komyo gave the physician an audience in that same year, and immediately thereafter a leper hospital was built at Nara in Kyoto Province. The Empress herself was known to frequent the hospital. It is unknown whether or not the Empress accepted baptism. It is well established that Syriac Orthodox Christianity, contributed much towards Japanese civilization.

Now known as Kyoto. The name Uzumasa is probably a variant of the Aramaic," Ishoo Mshikha," which translates: Jesus Christ. 2 Well noted English scholar, Professor Lewis Bush, then a high official of the occupation Forces, declared in 1947 that "Shotoku Taishi was essentially a democrat: ..Indeed, had it not been for the complete indifference of the Japanese to this great man, the world would know more about him today." 3 Cross Reference the Apocalypse of John (Rev XXI,22,XXII 1,2