There is a small community of Mongolians in Japan, representing a minor portion of emigration from
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
. As of June 2021, there were 12,976 registered
Mongolian citizens residing in
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
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
, up from 2,545 in 2003.
Students
International students
International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying.
In 2019, there were over 6 million internati ...
form a large proportion of the registered population of Mongolians in Japan.
The earliest Mongol exchange students, all three of them women, came to Japan in 1906, when Mongolia was still ruled by the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. Japan was also a popular destination for students from
Mengjiang
Mengjiang, also known as Mengkiang or the Mongol Border Land, and governed as the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, formed in 1939 as a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, then from 1940 being ...
(in today's
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
) in the late 1930s and early 1940s; among them were several who would go on to become famous scholars, such as
Chinggeltei
Chinggeltei (12 June 1924 – 27 December 2013; also Činggeltei, Chinggaltai, Chenggeltai, or Chenggeltei) was a professor of linguistics at the Inner Mongolia University in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, focusing on the Mon ...
.
Japan and the
Mongolian People's Republic
The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...
officially agreed to send exchange students to each other in 1974; the first Mongolian student to arrive under the agreement came in 1976. , 1,006 Mongolian students were studying in Japanese institutions of higher education.
Aside from Mongolian citizens, there were also estimated to be roughly 4,000 members of the
Mongolian minority of China residing in Japan . Like migrants from Mongolia proper, they also came mostly on student visas, beginning in the 1990s; they were sponsored by professors of Mongolian studies at Japanese universities. They are a close-knit community; they reside mostly in the
Nerima
is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Nerima City.
, the ward has an estimated population of 721,858, with 323,296 households and a population density of 15,013 persons per km2, while 15,326 f ...
and
Sugamo
is a neighborhood in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It is home to , a shopping street popular among the older generation, earning it the nickname "Granny's Harajuku." It lies at the crossing point of the JR Yamanote Line and National Route 17.
Availab ...
areas of
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 ...
and in many cases the same apartment has been occupied serially by successive migrants for more than a decade, with each passing the lease on to another migrant before leaving the country or moving on to different accommodation.
Sumo wrestlers
Starting in 1991, Mongolians began to become especially prominent in
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
; , Mongolians composed roughly 5% of all ranked sumo wrestlers, making them more than 60% (37 out of 61) of non-Japanese ''
rikishi
A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...
'' in Japan. In a 2009 survey conducted by a Japanese statistical agency, of the four sumo wrestlers named as most famous by Japanese people, three were Mongolian.
Notable people
*
Asashōryū Akinori
is a Mongolian former professional sumo wrestler (''rikishi''). He was the 68th ''yokozuna'' in the history of the sport in Japan, and in January 2003 he became the first Mongolian to reach sumo's highest rank. He was one of the most successf ...
, originally Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, sumo wrestler
*
Hakuhō Shō
; , lead=yes) is a retired professional sumo wrestler (''rikishi'') from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in May 2004. In May 2007, at the age of 22, he became the second native of ...
, originally Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal, sumo wrestler
*
Kyokutenhō Masaru
in Nalaikh, Ulan Bator, Mongolia is a former professional sumo wrestler. He fought out of Ōshima stable, with the first group of Mongolians ever to join the sport in Japan.
He made his debut in March 1992, and reached the top ''makuuchi'' div ...
, originally Tsebeknyam Nyamjyab, sumo wrestler
*
Kyokutenzan Takeshi, originally Enkhbat Batmunkh, sumo wrestler
*
Harumafuji Kōhei
), lead=yes, previously known as , is a Mongolian former professional sumo wrestler. He was the sport's 70th ''yokozuna'' from 2012 to 2017, making him the third Mongolian and fifth overall non-Japanese wrestler to attain sumo's highest rank.
...
, originally Davaanyamyn Byambadorj, sumo wrestler
See also
*
Japan–Mongolia relations
Relations between Mongolia and Japan ( mn, Монгол, Японы харилцаа, ja, 日本とモンゴルの関係 / 日蒙関係) began in the 13th century, but the two countries had no formal, diplomatic interactions until the late 20th c ...
*
Mongol invasions of Japan
Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of mac ...
References
External links
Mongolian Association in JapanЯпон дахь Монгол Оюутны Холбоо(Union of Mongolian Students in Japan)
{{Immigration to Japan
Mongolians
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 member 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 ...