Japonia jako ostoja dla wyznawców judaizmu do 1941 roku .......... 25

JAPAN AS A REFUGE FOR FOLLOWERS OF JUDAISM UNTIL 1941

The chapter describes the circumstances surrounding the arrival of Jews in Japan and shows that, for a long time, they were treated as ordinary newcomers from the West, with little attention paid to their distinctiveness. The situation began to change when European ideas about Jews entered Japanese circulation – first through The Merchant of Venice and later through the widely discussed “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. The publicity surrounding financier Jacob Henry Schiff, who helped Japan obtain funds for the war with Russia in 1904–1905, was also significant. These elements gave rise to a mixture of distrust and kindness, which nevertheless created a space in Japan where Jews could live peacefully and with dignity – until 1941.