There are many Mysteries in Japanese culture the origins of which have been lost long ago. Records destroyed by wars, arson, and natural disasters. Other records that have been lost or hidden somewhere, but that may one day be revealed. The Japanese language changes and evolves much faster than English, meaning even words for things and names may be difficult to comprehend for the modern Japanese speaker. One of the big mysteries still to be answered: Is there a connection between the Japanese people and the Israelites? Did one of the 10 lost tribes migrate here? Or did members of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin or Levi migrate here after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD?
Over time I've been photographing the occasional suspected evidence of a connection. However one day I was going through some photos of a parade and noticed a resemblance between the carrying of a “mikoshi” (portable Shinto Shrine) and the carrying of the Ark of the Covenant. So I Googled “Mikoshi Ark of the Covenant” and found a lot of info. And it wasn't just from a group of elderly Japanese Christian gentlemen in Kobe! Even some Jewish scholars were doing their own research into the possible connection.
One of the places in Japan which many of the researchers believe has evidence of a connection is Kurama-yama, a mountain to the North of Kyoto city. So Ritsuko, I and our friends Mitsuko and Maki headed off to Kurama-yama during our Golden Week Holiday in 2010. On arrival at the base of Kurama-yama we came across the Tenggu (pictured) which many believe is one of the evidences of the connection. We also explored the mountain and looked at the supposed “Star of David” and “Menorah” emblems that could be found there. I'm still not sure if it's proved anything to me yet, but our search continues and I'm planning to BLOG more about the search in future. And it was worth going there just for the view. I'll leave you with this video which is one of the better ones I've seen so far...
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