Jainism in Japan

Japanese Jains

Mahavir swami Jain Temple in Kobe
Total population
5,000 families
Languages
Japanese Languages Indian Languages
Religion
Jainism

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Jainism, unlike the closely related Buddhism, is a minority religion in Japan. At present, there are three Jain temples in Japan,^[1] with the Kobe Jain temple being the most famous one.^[2] Jainism is growing in Japan, more than 5,000 ethnic Japanese families in Japan have converted to Jainism.^[3]

History

Forty Japanese students were sponsored by the Government of India in the early 1950s to live and study in India. Some of them studied Navinaya^{[clarification needed]} in Varanasi and Gujarat, which led to new interest in the study of Jainism in Japan. One of the accomplishments was the first Japanese book by Minakata Kumagusu to simplify and translate the concepts of Jainism into Japanese for use by the common people in Japan.^[4]

See also

• Jainism in Canada
• Jainism in Europe
• Jainism in Hong Kong
• Jainism in Singapore
• Jainism in the United States

References

Citation

Source

• Kesavapany, K.; Mani, A.; Ramasamy, P. (2008). Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia. Japan: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9789812307996.
• Wadhwa, Megha (2020). Indian Migrants in Tokyo: A Study of Socio-Cultural, Religious, and Working Worlds. Routledge Studies on Asia in the World. Routledge. ISBN 9781000207811.
• Chhapia, Hemali (23 February 2020). "Thousands of Japanese making a smooth transition from Zen to Jain". The Times Of India.
• Mehta, Manish (March 2007). "Jain studies" (PDF) (2 ed.). SOAS University of London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2021.

Further reading

• A Japanese take on Jainism (in English)- kamit.jp