Chinese people in Japan include any people self-identifying as ethnic
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. People aged 22 or older cannot possess
dual-citizenship
Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...
in Japan, so Chinese possessing
Japanese citizenship
Japanese nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds nationality of Japan. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the 1950 Nationality Act.
Children born to at least one Japanese parent are generally automaticall ...
typically no longer possess Chinese citizenship. The term "Chinese people" typically refers to the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
, the main ethnic group living in China (PRC) (including
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
SARs
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...
),
Taiwan (ROC)
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
Tibetans
The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live ...
, though these people might not self-identify as Chinese.
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
people have had a long history in Japan as a minority.
Population and distribution
Most Chinese people, or descendants of Chinese immigrants, who are living in Japan reside in major cities such as
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
,
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, although there are increasingly also significant populations in other areas as government immigration policies increasingly attract workers to 'training programs', universities seek increasing numbers of international students and Chinese people see business opportunities. Japan's first recognised
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
was in Nagasaki, developing in the 1680s when economic prerogatives meant that the shogunate needed to restrict and control trade to a greater extent than previously. Before this, there had been a large number of Chinese communities in the west of the country, made up of pirates, merchants, and people who fitted into both categories. In the 19th century, the well-known Chinatowns of
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
and
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
developed, and they are still thriving today, although the majority of Chinese people in Japan live outside Chinatowns in the regular community. The communities are served by Chinese schools that teach the
Chinese language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...
.
The Chinese community has undergone a dramatic change since the PRC allowed more freedom of movement of its citizens, but citizens of Taiwan (ROC), Singapore and Hong Kong nationality are not counted in these figures. A study that was conducted in 1995 estimated that the Chinese population of Japan numbered 150,000, among whom between 50,000 and 100,000 could speak Chinese. In 2000, Japanese governmental statistics revealed that there were 335,575 Chinese people in Japan. Current demographic statistics reveal that these numbers have reached over 600,000 legal immigrants, although there is probably also a significant population, although of unknown number, of undocumented immigrants. A significant number of Chinese people take Japanese citizenship each year and therefore disappear from these figures. As Japanese citizenship, like France, does not record ethnicity, once a person has naturalised, they are simply Japanese, so the category of Chinese-Japanese does not exist in the same way as it would in a country which recognises ethnicity. Therefore, the numbers of Japanese people who are of Chinese descent is unclear.
History
Pre-modern era
It is believed that a substantial component of the
Yayoi people
The were an ancient ethnicity that migrated to the Japanese archipelago from Korea and China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Although highly controversial, a single study that utilized radiometric dating techniques inconclusively ...
migrated from China to Japan. The Yayoi people who introduced wet rice cultivation to Japan may have come from
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
near the
Yangtze River Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...
in ancient China.崎谷満『DNA・考古・言語の学際研究が示す新・日本列島史』(勉誠出版 2009年)(in Japanese) This is supported by archeological research and bones found in modern southeastern China and western Japan. According to several Japanese historians, the Yayoi and their ancestors, the Wajin, originated in the today
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
province in southern China. Suwa Haruo considered Wa-zoku (Wajin) to be part of the
Baiyue
The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, ...
(百越).諏訪春雄編『倭族と古代日本』(雄山閣出版、1993)また諏訪春雄通信100 It is estimated that Yayoi people mainly belonged to
Y-DNA
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
Haplogroup O-M122
Haplogroup O-M122 (also known as Haplogroup O2 (formerly Haplogroup O3)) is an Eastern Eurasian Y-chromosome haplogroup. The lineage ranges across Southeast Asia and East Asia, where it dominates the paternal lineages with extremely high freque ...
(O2, formerly O3) (today ~23%) and
Haplogroup O-M119
In human genetics, Haplogroup O-M119 is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. Haplogroup O-M119 is a descendant branch of haplogroup O-F265 also known as O1a, one of two extant primary subclades of Haplogroup O-M175. The same clade previously has been ...
(O1) (today ~4%), which are typical for East- and Southeast-Asians. Mitsuru Sakitani suggests that haplogroup O1b2, which is common in today Koreans, Japanese and some Manchu, and O1 are one of the carriers of
Yangtze civilization
Yangtze civilization () is a generic name for various ancient Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures from the Yangtze basin of China, the representative civilization of the Chinese alongside the Yellow River civilization.
Cultures Upper Yangtze
* ...
. As the Yangtze civilization declined, several tribes crossed westward and northerly, to the
Shandong peninsula
The Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula or Jiaodong (Chiaotung) Peninsula is a peninsula in Shandong Province in eastern China, between the Bohai Sea to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south. The latter name refers to the east and Jiaozhou.
G ...
, the
Korean Peninsula
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and the Japanese archipelago. It is suggested that the
linguistic homeland
In historical linguistics, the homeland or ''Urheimat'' (, from German '' ur-'' "original" and ''Heimat'', home) of a proto-language is the region in which it was spoken before splitting into different daughter languages. A proto-language is the r ...
eastern China
East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China.
A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Governme ...
before the proto-Japanese migrated to the
Korean Peninsula
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and the
Japanese archipelago
The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a archipelago, group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to t ...
.Reconstructing the Language Map of Prehistorical Northeast Asia - Juha Janhunen Studia Orientalia 108 (2010) According to linguist,
Alexander Vovin
Alexander (Sasha) Vladimirovich Vovin (russian: Александр Владимирович Вовин; 27 January 1961 – 8 April 2022) was a Soviet-born Russian-American linguist and philologist, and director of studies at the School for Adv ...
, the
urheimat
In historical linguistics, the homeland or ''Urheimat'' (, from German '' ur-'' "original" and ''Heimat'', home) of a proto-language is the region in which it was spoken before splitting into different daughter languages. A proto-language is the r ...
of the
Japonic languages
Japonic or Japanese–Ryukyuan, sometimes also Japanic, is a language family comprising Japanese, spoken in the main islands of Japan, and the Ryukyuan languages, spoken in the Ryukyu Islands. The family is universally accepted by linguists, and ...
may have been located in
Southern China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
. Japanese linguist, Miyamoto Kazuo, instead has suggested a homeland further north in China, around modern
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
.
Ambassadorial visits to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
by the later Chinese dynasties Wei and Jin recorded that the Wajin of Japan claimed to be descendants of
Taibo of Wu
Taibo () (circa 1150 BCE), or Wu Taibo, was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou and the legendary founder of the State of Wu. His exact birth and death dates are unknown.
Biography
According to Sima Qian, Taibo was the founder of the State of ...
, traditionally believed to be the founder of Wu. Several scholars in Japan suggested that the
Yamato people
The (or the )David Blake Willis and Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu''Transcultural Japan: At the Borderlands of Race, Gender and Identity,'' p. 272: "“Wajin,” which is written with Chinese characters that can also be read “Yamato no hito” (Ya ...
and the
Imperial House of Japan
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...
are descendants of the Wu and possibly Taibo. Many Japanese historians also link the early Japanese
Yayoi people
The were an ancient ethnicity that migrated to the Japanese archipelago from Korea and China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Although highly controversial, a single study that utilized radiometric dating techniques inconclusively ...
to the
Baiyue
The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, ...
tribes that also include the Wu people.
A
Chinese legend
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
of uncertain provenance states that
Xu Fu
Xu Fu (Hsu Fu; ) was a Chinese alchemist and explorer. He was born in 255 BC in Qi, an ancient Chinese state, and disappeared at sea in 210 BC. He served as a court sorcerer in Qin Dynasty China. Later, he was sent by Qin Shi Huang to the eas ...
, a
Qin Dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
court sorcerer, was sent by
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
to
Penglai Mountain
Penglai () is a legendary land of Chinese mythology. It is known in Japanese mythology as Hōrai. McCullough, Helen. ''Classical Japanese Prose'', p. 570. Stanford Univ. Press, 1990. .
Location
According to the ''Classic of Mountains and Sea ...
(
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
) in 219 BC to retrieve an
elixir of life
The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means ...
. Xu could not find any
elixir of life
The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means ...
and was reluctant to return to China because he knew he would be sentenced to death, Xu instead stayed in Japan. Other immigrants are also thought to include major population movements such as that of the
Hata clan
was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period (250–538), according to the history of Japan laid out in '' Nihon Shoki''.
''Hata'' is the Japanese reading of the Chinese surname ''Qin'' () given to the State of Qin and the Qi ...
. The Hata clan claimed to be the descendants of Qin Shi Huang.
In 499 CE, a Chinese
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
missionary
Hui Shen
Fusang () refers to various entities, most frequently a mythical tree or location east of China, described in ancient Chinese literature.
In the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' and several contemporary texts, the term refers to a mythological ...
, paid visit to an island east of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
known as
Fusang
Fusang () refers to various entities, most frequently a mythical tree or location east of China, described in ancient Chinese literature.
In the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' and several contemporary texts, the term refers to a mythological ...
, typically identified with modern-day Japan, which was described in the 7th-century '' Liang Shu''.
Master Jianzhen came to Japan in 754 CE, he helped to propagate
Buddhism in Japan
Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had a ...
and introduce the
Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
Emperor Shōmu
was the 45th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period.
Traditional narrative
Be ...
and
Empress Kōmyō
(701 – 23 July 760), born Fujiwara Asukabehime (藤原 安宿媛), was the consort of Japanese Emperor Shōmu (701–756) during the Nara Period.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' pp. 57-58.
Life
A member of th ...
received their ordination from him and he also established
Tōshōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the '' kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archety ...
, he is also an important conductor of Chinese culture with the introduction of
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
,
Chinese calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high est ...
and other Tang era cultural relics into Japan.
According to the
Shinsen Shōjiroku
is an imperially commissioned Japanese genealogical record. Thirty volumes in length, it was compiled under the order of Emperor Saga by his brother, the Imperial Prince Manta (万多親王, 788–830). Also by Fujiwara no Otsugu and Fujiwara no ...
(815), 176 Chinese aristocratic families lived in the
Kinai
is a Japanese term denoting an ancient division of the country. ''Kinai'' is a name for the ancient provinces around the capital Nara and Heian-kyō. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kinai''" in . The five provinces were called ''go-kinai ...
area of
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
, around the modern-day
Kansai
The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...
region. These immigrant clans were referred to as Toraijin (渡来人).
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
was a court noble, general and ''shōgun'' of the early Heian period of Japan. He served as Dainagon, Minister of War and ''Ukon'e no Taisho'' (Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). He held the ''kabane'' of Ōsukune and ...
(坂上 田村麻呂, 758 – June 17, 811) was a court noble, general and ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
'' of the early
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. According to the ''
Shoku Nihongi
The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the ''Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi ...
'', an official historical record, the Sakanoue clan is descended from Emperor
Ling
Ling may refer to:
Fictional characters
* Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice''
* Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise
* Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang''
* Ling ...
of
Han China
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
. The Sakanoue clan's
family tree
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Representations of ...
shows that Tamuramaro is a 14th-generation descendant of Ling.
During the Mongol invasions of China, many Chinese refugees fled to Japan. Some of these Chinese refugees became immensely powerful, for example,
Mugaku Sogen
, also known as Bukko Kokushi (1226 – 1286) was a prominent Zen Buddhist monk of the 13th century in Japan, an emigre from Song dynasty China. He was adviser to Japan's most powerful ruler of the day, the regent of the ''shōgun'' (''Shikken'' ...
, a Chinese
Zen Buddhist
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
who fled to Japan after the fall of the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. After fleeing Japan, Mugaku Sogen became an advisor to the then ruler of Japan,
Hōjō Tokimune
of the Hōjō clan was the eighth ''shikken'' (officially regent of the shōgun, but ''de facto'' ruler of Japan) of the Kamakura shogunate (reigned 1268–84), known for leading the Japanese forces against the invasion of the Mongols and fo ...
. The Chinese refugees who fled the Mongols warned the Japanese that the Mongols would also intend to invade Japan. Mugaku Sogen gave a bad report to Tokimune about the barbarity and cruelty of the Mongols after witnessing Mongol soldiers killing his fellow monks at a monastery. This encouraged Tokimune to not pay tribute to the Mongols as the emissaries
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
sent to Japan demanded, and instead resist the Mongols in their later attempted invasions of Japan. During the second Mongol invasion of Japan, many Chinese soldiers landed in Japan. After the Mongol defeat, the Japanese defenders killed all the
Koreans
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula.
Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refe ...
,
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
, and Jurchen soldiers they found, except for the Southern Chinese, who the Japanese felt had been coerced by the Mongols into joining the attack on Japan.『元史』巻二百八 列傳第九十五 外夷一 日本國「(至元十八年)官軍六月入海、七月至平壷島(平戸島)、移五龍山(鷹島?)、八月一日、風破舟、五日、文虎等諸將各自擇堅好船乘之、棄士卒十餘萬于山下、衆議推張百戸者爲主帥、號之曰張總管、聽其約束、方伐木作舟欲還、七日日本人來戰、盡死、餘二三萬爲其虜去、九日、至八角島、盡殺蒙古、高麗、漢人、謂新附軍爲唐人、不殺而奴之、閶輩是也、蓋行省官議事不相下、故皆棄軍歸、久之、莫靑與呉萬五者亦逃還、十萬之衆得還者三人耳。」 The Southern Chinese soldiers were spared from being killed by the Japanese, but instead forced to become slaves.
During the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
, Japan became decentralized without a central government and with many local
daimyo
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...
reigning the country, in what would be called the Sengoku Period. Many of these daimyo encouraged Chinese immigration to Japan due to their skills and boost to the local economy. Many Chinese communities would be established in Japan, especially on the island of
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
. Many Chinese pirates would set up their bases in Japan in order to launch raid and attacks on mainland China as part of the
wokou
''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Wang Zhi, who became known as the "king of the wokou", established his base of operation in Japanese islands, in order to launch raids against the Ming government. Many of the Chinese pirates were supported by Japanese daimyo themselves.
Chinese people are also known to have settled in
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
during the
Sanzan period
The is a period in the history of the Okinawa Islands when three lines of kings, namely , and , are said to have co-existed on Okinawa Island. It is said to have started during King Tamagusuku's reign (traditional dates: 1314–1336) and, accord ...
at the invitation of the Ryukyuan kings; these were high level royal advisors who lived in the village of
Kumemura
was an Okinawan community of scholars, bureaucrats, and diplomats in the port city of Naha near the royal capital of Shuri, which was a center of culture and learning during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The people of Kumemura, traditionally ...
, for example, claim to all be descended from Chinese immigrants.
During the
Manchu conquest of China
The transition from Ming to Qing, alternatively known as Ming–Qing transition or the Manchu conquest of China, from 1618 to 1683, saw the transition between two major dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decades-long conflict between the em ...
, many Chinese refugees would again flee to Japan to escape Manchu rule. For example, the Chinese scholar,
Zhu Zhiyu
Zhu Zhiyu (; 1600–1682), courtesy name Luyu (魯璵), and commonly known as Zhu Shunshui (朱舜水; romaji: Shu Shunsui) in Japan, was one of the greatest scholars of Confucianism in the Ming dynasty and Edo Japan. Zhu remains the best remem ...
, was one of the greatest scholars of
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
in the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
and
Edo Japan
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteri ...
. Zhu remains the best remembered of the Ming political refugees in Tokugawa Japan and the one who contributed most to Japanese education and intellectual history.
One of the most well-known Chinese folk heroes was the Ming loyalist Koxinga, who conquered the island of Formosa, Taiwan from the hands of the Dutch Formosa, Dutch, in order to establish the Kingdom of Tungning, Tungning Kingdom, the last remnant of the fallen Ming dynasty, where he could continue to fight against the Manchu invaders of China. Despite being a Chinese folk hero, Koxinga was actually born in Japan, to a Chinese merchant father and a Japanese mother. Koxinga is still worshiped as a folk deity, especially in Fujian and Taiwan.
Modern era
During the Meiji and Taisho eras, it is estimated that up to 100,000 Chinese students came to study in Japan. Japan was both closer to China culturally and in distance than the American and European alternatives. It was also much cheaper. In 1906 alone, more than six thousand Chinese international student, students were in Japan. Most of them resided in the district of Kanda, Tokyo, Kanda in Tokyo.
Post-World War II
The term ''shin-kakyō'' (新華僑) refers to people of Chinese descent who immigrated to Japan from Taiwan and mainland China.
Groups
Foreign students
Many famous Chinese intellectuals and political figures have studied in Japan, among them Sun Yat-sen, Zhou Zuoren, Lu Xun, Zhou Enlai and Chiang Kai-shek.
Workers
The industrial "training scheme" used to bring Chinese workers to Japan has been criticized by lawyers as exploitation, after several deaths.
Others
Many Japanese orphans in China, Japanese war orphans left behind in China after World War II have migrated to Japan with the assistance of the Japanese government, bringing along their Chinese spouses and children.
Culture
Cuisine
Chinese restaurants in Japan serve a fairly distinct style of Chinese cuisine. Though in the past Chinese cuisine would have been primarily available in
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
s such as those in port cities of
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, or
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japanese-style Chinese cuisine is now commonly available all over Japan. As Japanese restaurants often specialise in just one sort of dish, cuisine is focused primarily on dishes found within three distinct types of restaurants: ramen restaurants, dim sum houses, and standard Chinese-style restaurants.
Education
As of 2008 there are five Chinese day schools in Japan: two in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
and one each in
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
,
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. Three are oriented towards the Republic of China on Taiwan while two are oriented towards mainland China. In Japanese the PRC-oriented schools are called ''tairiku-kei'', and the ROC-oriented schools are ''taiwan-kei''. The ROC-oriented schools teach Traditional Chinese and Bopomofo while the mainland-oriented schools teach Simplified Chinese and Hanyu Pinyin. The ROC-oriented schools, by 2008, also began teaching Simplified Chinese.As of 1995 most teachers at these schools are ethnic Chinese persons who were born in Japan. By that year there were increasing numbers of Japanese families sending their children to Chinese schools. Other students at Chinese schools are Japanese with mixed Chinese-Japanese parentage, Japanese children with Chinese parents, and returnees from abroad.
Sun Yat-sen established the Yokohama Chinese School in 1898. In 1952 it split into the mainland-aligned Yokohama Yamate Chinese School and the ROC-aligned Yokohama Overseas Chinese School. The Kobe Chinese School is also oriented towards mainland China. The Osaka Chinese School is located in Naniwa-ku, Osaka. There is also the Tokyo Chinese School.
Media
The ''Chūnichi Shinpo'', a biweekly paper, is published in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Chūbun'' and ''Zhongwen Dabao'', both weekly newspapers, and about 28 other Chinese newspapers are published in Tokyo. In addition the ''Kansai Kabun Jihō'', published in Chinese and Japanese, is based in the Osaka area.
Issues
Ethnic relations
During his time in office, former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara publicly used controversial terms such as ''sangokujin'' to refer to Taiwanese people, Taiwanese Benshengren staying illegally in Japan, and implied that they might engage in rioting and looting in the aftermath of a disaster.
I referred to the "many ''sangokujin'' who entered Japan illegally." I thought some people would not know that word so I paraphrased it and used ''gaikokujin'', or foreigners. But it was a newspaper holiday so the news agencies consciously picked up the sangokujin part, causing the problem.
... After World War II, when Japan lost, the Chinese of Taiwanese origin and people from the Korean Peninsula persecuted, robbed and sometimes beat up Japanese. It's at that time the word was used, so it was not derogatory. Rather we were afraid of them.
... There's no need for an apology. I was surprised that there was a big reaction to my speech. In order not to cause any misunderstanding, I decided I will no longer use that word. It is regrettable that the word was interpreted in the way it was.
Notable individuals
This is a list of Chinese expatriates in Japan and Japanese citizens of Chinese descent.
Before 20th century
* Koxinga or Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping, Chinese Southern Ming, Ming loyalist, founder of the House of Koxinga and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning (currently Taiwan); born in Hirado, Nagasaki, Hirado, Hizen Province (currently Hirado, Nagasaki), son of a Chinese father (Zheng Zhilong) and a Japanese mother (Tagawa Matsu)
Early 20th century
* Chen Kenmin, chef regarded as the "father of Szechuan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine" in Japan and father of Chen Kenichi (born in Yibin, Sichuan Province)
* Go Seigen, professional Go (board game), Go player (Real Name: ''Wu Qingyuan'', , born in Minhou County, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China)
* Sun Yat-sen, politician (born in Cuiheng, Guangdong)
* Lu Xun, writer (born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang)
* Qiu Jin, feminist (born in Xiamen, Fujian)
* Shosei Go, professional baseball player (born in Taiwan)
* Chiang Kai-shek, politician and general (born in Ningbo, Zhejiang or Xikou, Zhejiang)
* Song Jiaoren, revolutionary and political figure, founder of Tongmenghui (born in Taoyuan County, Taoyuan, Hunan)
* Jiang Baili, general (born in Haining, Zhejiang)
* Guo Moruo, poet and political figure (born in Leshan, Sichuan)
* He Yingqin, general (born in Xingyi, Guizhou)
* Wang Jingwei, revolutionary and political figure (born in Sanshui, Foshan, Guangdong)
* Dai Jitao, political figure (born in Guanghan, Sichuan)
* Chen Duxiu, co-founder of Chinese Communist Party (born in Anqing, Anhui)
* Li Dazhao, co-founder of Chinese Communist Party (born in Tangshan, Hebei)
* Zhou Zuoren, writer (born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang)
* Huang Fu, general and politician (born in Shangyu, Zhejiang)
* Chen Qimei, revolutionary (born in Huzhou, Zhejiang)
* Zhou Enlai, politician (born in Huai'an, Jiangsu)
Late 20th century
* Momofuku Ando, founder of Nissin Foods, with Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese Taiwan origins and Taiwanese nationality law, ROC citizenship. (Born in Puzi, Chiayi County, Taiwan)
* Chen Kenmin, Sichuan-born Sichuan cuisine, Sichuan-style chef in Japan (born in Yibin, Sichuan Province)
* Chen Kenichi, son of Chen Kenmin, also a Sichuan-style chef and longest-serving participant on Japanese cooking show ''Iron Chef'' (born in Tokyo, Japan)
* Chire Koyama, table tennis player, formerly known as He Zhili (born in Shanghai, China)
* Agnes Chan, pop singer, professor, and writer (born in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
)
* Lou Zhenggang, artist (born in Heilongjiang)
* Lee Teng-hui, politician (born in Sanzhi District, New Taipei, Taiwan)
* Rissei Ō, professional Go player (born in Taiwan)
* O Meien, professional Go player (Real Name: Wang Ming-wan, simplified Chinese: 王铭琬; traditional Chinese: 王銘琬; pinyin: ''Wáng Míngwǎn''; born in Taipei, Taiwan)
* Sadaharu Oh, professional baseball player (Chinese Name: Wang Chen-chih, Chinese language, Chinese: 王貞治; pinyin: ''Wáng Zhēnzhì''; born in Sumida, Tokyo,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
)
* Rin Kaiho, professional Go player (Real Name: Lin Haifeng, Chinese language, Chinese: 林海峰; pinyin: Lín Hǎifēng; born in Shanghai, China)
* Cho U, professional Go player (born in Taipei, Taiwan)
* Chin Shunshin, novelist (born in Kobe, Hyogo,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
)
* Judy Ongg, actress, singer, author, and woodblock-print artist (born in Taipei, Taiwan)
* Teresa Teng, Taiwanese (ROC) pop singer (born in Baozhong, Yunlin, Taiwan)
* Yinling, swimsuit model, race queen, singer and former professional wrestler (Real Name: Yan Yinling, simplified Chinese: 颜垠凌; traditional Chinese: 顔垠凌; pinyin: ''Yán Yínlíng''; born in Taipei, Taiwan)
* Kimiko Yo, award-winning Japanese actress of Republic of China nationality (born in Yokohama, Kanagawa)
* Takeshi Kaneshiro, actor, singer (born in Taipei, Taiwan)
* Reika Utsugi, softball player and manager of the Japan women's national softball team
21st century
* Tsuyoshi Abe, actor and film director with mixed Chinese-Japanese ancestry
* Rola Chen, gravure idol (Real Name: Chen Yi, simplified Chinese: 陈怡; traditional Chinese: 陳怡; pinyin: ''Chén Yí''; born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang)
* Mo Bangfu, author (born in Shanghai, China)
* Tomokazu Harimoto, naturalized table-tennis player, born to Chinese parents
* Lee Haku, volleyball player (born to Chinese parents)
* Leena (model), Leena, female model (immigrant; born in Tai'an, Shandong)
* Qian Lin & Junjun (singer), Li Chun, singers (Qian Lin: born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang/Junjun (singer), Li Chun: born in Yueyang, Hunan)
* Kaito Nakahori, composer (1/2 Chinese, 1/2 Japanese; born in Chiba Prefecture,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
)
* Renhō, politician (born to a Taiwanese father)
* Emi Suzuki, female model (immigrant; born in Shanghai, China)
* Wei Son, female model (immigrant; born in Dalian, Liaoning)
* Zheng Yongshan, murderer (born in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
)
* Hana Hishikawa, voice actress (1/2 Chinese, 1/2 Japanese; born in Tokyo, Japan)
See also
* Japanese missions to Imperial China
* Japanese missions to Sui China
* Japanese missions to Tang China
* Japanese missions to Ming China
* Tokyo Mazu Temple
* Yokohama Ma Zhu Miao
*
Kumemura
was an Okinawan community of scholars, bureaucrats, and diplomats in the port city of Naha near the royal capital of Shuri, which was a center of culture and learning during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The people of Kumemura, traditionally ...
*
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
* Chinatowns in Asia
** Yokohama Chinatown
** Kobe Chinatown
** Nagasaki Chinatown
** Ikebukuro Chinatown
* Anti-Japanese sentiment in China
* Anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan
* Japanese orphans in China
* Japanese people in China
Archive . ''Les cahiers d’Ebisu''. Occasional Papers No. 3, 2013, pp. 3–40. French Research Institute on Japan, ''Maison Franco-Japonaise'' (日仏会館).
* Shao, Chunfen. "Chinese Migration to Japan, 1978-2010: Patterns and Policies" (Part IV: Chinese Migration in Other Countries: Chapter 11). "A Biographical Study of Chinese Immigrants in Belgium: Strategies for Localisation". In: Zhang, Jijiao and Howard Duncan. ''Migration in China and Asia: Experience and Policy'' (Volume 10 of International Perspectives on Migration). Springer Science & Business Media, 8 April 2014. , 9789401787598. Start p 175
Yokohama Overseas Chinese School * Hannah Beech, Beech, Hannah (6 December 2007) "Chinese Immigrants Chase the Japanese Dream" ''Time (magazine), Time''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese People In Japan
Chinese diaspora in Japan,
Japanese people of Chinese descent,
Japanese people of Taiwanese descent,
Demographics of Japan
Ethnic groups in Japan
Racism in Japan
Immigration to Japan