The place name “Gifu” is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for “father-in-law.” According to Ise Hakusando, who mastered both Shinto and Zen, one of the women of ancient Israel married into the Japanese imperial family. It is said that Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga, who was the most powerful daimyo of the Warring States period, apparently heard various secret stories from Christian missionaries.
I knew there were many ancient Israelites in neighboring Nagano Prefecture, but it seems they also migrated to Gifu Prefecture. Well, the only places ancient Israelites didn’t go to might have been Okinawa in the far south and Hokkaido in the far north.
Mount Moriya in Nagano, Japan / Holy Bible / Moriah hill of Jerusalem
The Hida Takayama and Hakusan-go areas, designated as World Heritage Sites, saw an explosive surge in popularity about 10 years ago and are known as tourist destinations frequented by many Jewish visitors. Data from 10 years ago indicated that 10,000 people visited Hida Takayama. That may have been the height of the boom.
Many of them visit the Chiune Sugihara Memorial Museum (details below), and some of the wealthier visitors seem to take helicopter tours. They appear to have been told that Takayama City, with its high elevation, is a place that will remain intact even if sea levels rise—a place akin to the “Promised Land.”
I had thought that the KANAN region in Ishikawa Prefecture, which borders Gifu Prefecture, was famous to them as a place associated with Moses, but its significance likely lies not in that specific region itself, but rather in the area surrounding Mount Haku, an extremely sacred mountain.
History about Moses / Ark of the covenant / Ishikawa Prefecture
Moses park in Ishikawa pref Japan / Ancient Hebrews / Mount Houdatsu
Mount Haku was the stronghold of a certain dynasty in prehistoric times—long before the emergence of global sun worship.
Hakusan dynasty /
In Japanese mythology, “Hakusan” refers to Ame-no-Minakanushi (also known as Kukuri-hime), the god who governs the universe, as well as Izanagi and Izanami, the primordial divine couple.
These three sacred aspects represent Izanagi as “Creation,” Izanami as “Destruction,” and Kukuri-hime as “Maintenance and Harmony.”
In particular, the verb “kukuru,” hidden within the name “Princess Kukuri,” is significant; it implies more than simply “to tie” or “to bind”—it carries the meaning of forcibly and securely binding something together. Princess Kukuri, who prevented the quarreling divine couple from separating, appears only once in Japanese mythology.
There are currently nearly 3,000 shrines dedicated to Mount Hakusan in Japan, but their numbers have declined significantly. I believe many have been renamed—such as Hachiman or Inari—or have disappeared due to land development.
At the foot of Mount Hakusan, there are four major Hakusan Shrines, which serve as vital points of connection for offering gratitude to Mount Hakusan itself as a deity.
Heisen-ji Hakusan Shrine is one of these four. The role of leading the Hakusan-affiliated shrines across Japan rotates among them over time, and it is said that this shrine currently holds that position.
In Shinto, it is recommended that you place an “ofuda” (a rectangular piece of paper imbued with the shrine’s spiritual energy) received from one of the Four Great Hakusan Shrines upright inside the left door of the kamidana (home altar) and offer your gratitude during your daily prayers. There is a specific ritual for this.
Of course, if these shrines are too far away for you to visit, it is perfectly acceptable to enshrine an ofuda from your nearest Hakusan Shrine, Japan’s oldest Isonoue Jingu, or any shrine with which you feel a special connection on your home altar.
However, please keep in mind that these rectangular pieces of paper are not meant to protect you. Their purpose is to invite the energy of each shrine into your home, allowing you to express your gratitude and assist the deities’ work from home, rather than actually visiting the shrine every day.
As for the number of tablets to place inside the left door of the kamidana, some people put just one, while others put several. There are also combinations that shouldn’t be placed together, and deciding which one to place at the front when stacking them can be difficult for a layperson to judge.
Kamidana /
Chiune Sugihara, a native of Gifu Prefecture, is known as the “Schindler of the East.”
During World War II, while serving as chargé d’affaires in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara acted on his own initiative to continue issuing visas issued by the Japanese government to Jewish refugees from across Europe. As a result, he saved the lives of more than 6,000 Jews who successfully escaped Europe. Mr. Sugihara was later treated coldly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is said that it all began when Mrs. Sugihara, upon seeing the emaciated children among the refugees, suddenly had the words “Lift up your hands to the Lord for the life of a young child who is starving and on the verge of death on the street corner” (from the Book of Lamentations by the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament) come to mind.
According to the Ise-Hakusando, it is said that Chiune Sugihara’s soul originated in the Japanese divine realm—specifically, in the spirit realm of the “Tengu of Justice” at Mount Ontake. As in the case of Shohei Ohtani, who is from Iwate Prefecture, this is an extremely rare occurrence; however, it appears that nature spirits—rather than human souls—sometimes reincarnate in human form with the specific purpose of supporting and protecting Japan’s national interests.
Tengu /
By helping the Jews, he effectively made a “preemptive investment” to ensure that the Japanese people would receive support in the future should they face a crisis. Similarly, Ohtani’s achievements have also fostered goodwill toward Japan and the Japanese people around the world.
However, it appears his actions were not entirely unilateral.
At the time, it was two months before the signing of the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy, and Japan was in the midst of detailed negotiations with Germany.
This was an extremely delicate time, and if it had become known that Chiune Sugihara was taking steps to help Jews, it would have become a major problem for both Japan and Germany. Therefore, while the Japanese government ignored Sugihara’s requests for permission to issue visas, the fact that Jewish refugees were ultimately allowed to disembark suggests that the Japanese government did cooperate.
Indeed, the fact that such a large number of Jewish refugees were ultimately able to escape via Japan would have been absolutely impossible without the consideration of the government at the time.
According to the original plan, if the Japanese government were to be questioned by Germany about this matter, it was apparently supposed to assert that “this was an action taken on his own initiative, and the government was unaware of it.”
The government dismissed him without hesitation during a major reorganization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but had it not done so, the matter would likely have escalated into a diplomatic issue.