ISLAM IN JAPAN ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE BY ABU BAKR MORIMOTO TRANSLATED BY ISKANDAR CHOWDHURY PREPARED BY PROF. DR. SALIH SAMARRAI [email protected] 1 اﻻسﻻم في اليابان بقلم أبو بكر موريموتو إعداد أ. د. صالح مهدى السامرائى [email protected] الدكتور السام ارئي وأبو بكر موري موتو في حج عام 1978 م Abu Bakr Morimoto with Dr. Salih Samarrai Hajj 1398 AH - 1978 2 ISLAM IN JAPAN: ITS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE CONTENTS PREFACE CHAPTER I Religious Environment in Japan and Islam……... 1 CHAPTER II Advent, Growth and DevelopMent of Islam in Japan………………………………………………………..…. 8 PART ONE 1. Historical Background 8 2. Lack of Historical Records of Muslim Contact with Japan.. 13 3. Who Was the First Japanese Muslim?.................................. 14 PART TWO 1. Establishment of Mosques……………………………….... 18 2. TranslatiorKof the Holy Quran into Japanese ..................... 29 3. Growth of Islamic Organizations…………………………. 38 4. Leaders of Islamic Movement…………………………….. 57 5. Relations with Foreign Muslims…………………………... 73 6. Muslim Students Community……………………………... 76 7. A Dialogue' among Japanese Muslims……………………. 79 8. Pilgrimage to Mecca: Experience of a Japanese Muslim…. 83 CHAPTER III Present Condition of Islam in Japan……….. 90 1. The Problems……………………………………………... 90 2. A Dialogue with Indonesian Muslims……………………. 92 3. An Interview with Prof. Ali Hassan EI-Sarnny………….. 102 3 4. Mass Media in Japan and Islam………………………….. 109 5. The problem of Muslim …… in Japan……………………… CHAPTER IV Future Outlook of Islam in Japan…………... 119 4 Introduction By Abdulrahman Siddiqi [email protected] Prof. Dr. Salih Samarrai [email protected] Islamic Center Japan has been receiving requests for information on Islam in Japan, from almost all over the world show in the progress of Islam in Japan. The center therefore decided to publish this collection to apprise the Muslim world about Islamic scene in Japan. Here, in the following few papers, our respected Japanese scholar Br. Abubaker Morimoto, has collected the articles and comments which give us a fairly broad idea about Islam in Japan. Br. Alhaj Abubaker Morimoto is a Muslim in its true sence. His love for Islam keeps him busy writing, talking and successfully guiding those who stand in need of it. This booklet is an attempt to draw attention of others who may be willing to do some service to 5 the cause of Islam but could not do so due to lack of knowledge about the past, present and the prospects of Islam in Japan. Also it is hoped the book may serve as a guide for further research. Islamic Center Japan though realising that improvements are required here and there presents this work with the hope that it will serve as a fore runner to many other works on this subject. It is hoped that the readers and the leaders of Muslims would go through the book and forward their comments and suggestions to Islamic Center Japan. This would greatly help us when revising the book or reprinting the same. Though this work has our bleassing, it is opinions expressed here in. 6 مقد مة الدكتور عبد الرحم ن صديقي [email protected] اﻷستاذ الدكتور صالح مهدي السامرائي [email protected] هذه محاولة لرصد تاريخ اﻹسﻻم في اليابان من قبل أحد أعﻻم الدعوة اﻹسﻻمية من اليابانيين. ورغم أنها لم تشمل جميع النواح ي إﻻ أنها تغطي جانباً مهماً من وجهة نظر عالم ياباني قضى جهده في تقديم اﻹسﻻم لبني قومه. وهذا الكتاب يستحق الترجمة إلى اللغة العربي ة ، ونسأل هللا العلي القدير أن يوفقنا لذلك. أ.د. صالح مهدي السامر ائي 7 PREFACE Japan is perhaps one of those countries of the world where Islam found its way last of all and, finally, it is now about to spread in this country. Its course of events is being watched not only by the Japanese people but also by the people of the world, specially those of the Muslim countries. But is spread of Islam in Japan really possible? There are numerous difficulties and obstacles standing in its way. In order to overcome them, what must the Muslims of Japan as well as of the world do? For that purpose, first of all, the most important thing for them to do is to study and understand the history and the people of Japan, its national character and religious situation. Only chronologically arranged historical knowledges, as seen from outside, have no meaning at all. They have to learn from various things and events as well as from the hidden truth found in the expressions of human feelings. And taking this fact as a clue, one can find out the process of thinking about future outlooks and policies. I have made an attempt here to collect my articles on Islam in Japan, which have so far been published in the ISLAMIC CULTURE FORUM magazine and other journals, and arrange them in this book in an orderly sequence, by adding some recent points of view. But not all about Islam in Japan is told in this small book. Japan today is one of the economically most advanced countries of the world. Also spiritually, in the field of religion in particular, Japan has become a saturated melting pot of existing religions. In order for Japan to establish the most friendly relations with all the countries. and all the people of the world and co-exist with them, at the same time, in order to seek for spiritual equilibrium of each individual Japanese, acceptance of 8 the truth of Islam is indispensable. With that end in view, I have prepared this humble report by the will of Allah and shall be very happy if it becomes useful to its readers. Ramadan 1400 H August 1980 Abu Bakr MORIMOTO 9 CHAPTER I Religious Environment in Japan and Islam We often hear from visiting foreigners in Japan or from people we encounter in the foreign countries that the Japanese people have io religious belief. It is true that at gatherings, specially at meetings which have something to do with religion, it is a common practice among prominent Japanese people or scholars to begin their speeches with apology for having no religious belief. At this time, we, the Japanese Muslims should ponder anew about .the significance of the expansion of Islam in this country, the 'religious atmosphere vis-a-vis Islam and its future prospects. Religious Vacuum? An eminent foreign Muslim who is well-known to the Muslims of Japan wrote in an article after visiting Japan a number of times in which he made a remark that Japan is a land of "religious vacuum." If this remark were made from the point of view that Islam is the only religion in the world, then the prospects, so far as Islam in Japan is concerned, can be said to be almost zero. Hence, if we think that there has been no achievement at all socially, there may be truth in it. But, in fact, Islam is not the only religion on earth. There do exist many .different religions among different races or regions, and looking from that angle Japan cannot be called a land of religious vacuum for it has.so many religious, indigenous or imported. Any foreigner who has travelled across Japan must have seen numerous Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, Christian churches and prayers halls of sanctuaries of many other new religions all over Japan, whether in cities or in villages. In the early morning of the New Year, millions of adherents of these religions visit 10 their holy places and offer prayers. If we see the religious statistics of Japan, we can find three main religions in this country: Shintoism, Buddhism and Christianity. According to a survey of the Japanese Ministry of Education published in 1979, the following figures concerning religions and their adherents can be found: 1) Shintoism 98,545,703; 2) Buddhism 88,020,880; 3) Christianity 950,491, and others 13.729,376, total becomes 201,246,450. But, on the other hand, the actual total population of Japan in 1979 was only 115,170,000. The figures shown against each religion above were based on the reports submitted by the religious legal bodies registered with the Government of Japan. Therefore, it is clear that the figures are not based on any census on the believers of religions. Even so, leaving aside the child population crf the present-day Japan, every Japanese adult adheres to at iglast two different religions, that is, syncretism. In the eyes of the believers at a single religion, such as the Muslims, this fact may seem impossible or absurd to its extremity, or even despisable. But the figures show a reality of religious relationships in this country. Therefore, the figures may provide a key toward understanding the religious environment in Japan. Judging from this fact, Japan is not at all a land of religious vacuum, it can rather be called a country which has reached the point of saturation religiously. ipso, why then the Japanese people are looked upon by many foreigners as irreligious "economic an To answer this question it is imperative to explain a few problems. Firstly, we should deal with the problem as to) what kind of characteristics have the religions which have so far been spread among the Japanese people and how are their influencing powers. Secondii„ the question of the social environment in which the Japanese people are living today, the relationship between their religious thinking and their religious life by to be looked through. 11 Shintoism To deal with the first question, we have to see what is Shintoism that has had a very deep impact upon the life of the whole race throughout the long history of the Japanese people.