Sikhism in Japan

Sikh royal, Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, visited Japan between 1903–1904, which left a deeply positive impression on him, leading him to write a memoir titled My Travel in China, Japan and Java in 1905.[2]

“From the standpoint of the traveller, Japan is perhaps one of the most interesting countries in the world; the country itself is full of delightful and varied scenery, while its people possess a charm of appearance and manner unlike anything of the kind to be met with elsewhere.”

— Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, My Travel in China, Japan and Java (1905)[3]

Sikhs were present in Japan in the early 1920's and first began moving to the western region of Japan after the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923.[1] The Sikhs who lived in Yokohama at the time had their property destroyed in the earthquake and moved to Kobe to start a new beginning.[1]

Japanese soldiers shooting Sikh prisoners who are sitting blindfolded in a rough semi-circle about 20 yards away.

Sikh soldiers encountered and fought against Imperial Japanese forces during the Second World War,[4] with some of the Sikh soldiers being taken as POWs and executed by the Japanese, often carried out as a "target practice" exercise.[5] Many Sikhs served in the Azad Hind army, working with the Japanese Empire to oust the British colonists from India.[6] Giani Pritam Singh and Amar Singh, two Sikhs, worked with Iwaichi Fujiwara to set-up the anti-colonial Indian Nationalist Army (Azad Hind).[6][7]

Sikhs students have been in Japan since at-least the late 1960's, when some students from Punjab (India) traveled to the country as study abroad.[8] Sarbjit Singh Chadha, the first non-Japanese enka singer, was among these students.[8] Many Sikh asylum seekers (some of which have birthed children on Japanese soil) have been refused residency in the country and are threatened with deportation.[9] It has been observed that Sikhs in Japan who work low-skilled, blue-collar jobs at small or medium-sized enterprises tend to be mona Sikhs (shorn hair) whilst Sikhs working in the IT industry tend to be keshdharis (uncut hair with turban).[10] This is explained as smaller companies not understanding or being aware of the Sikh custom of letting hair grow naturally whilst IT companies give its Sikh employees more freedom in this regard.[10] Many Sikhs in the country cut their hair short in-order to integrate more easily in the Japanese way-of-life.[10] Some Sikhs have experienced racism at-first from their native Japanese neighbours, being mistaken as "terrorists" due to their unique appearance from the rest of the society, with the police keeping surveillance on them.[1] However, with time the locals came to accept the Sikhs and even began to take part in their religious activities, volunteering at the temple, and donating to Sikh causes, such as food for langar.[1] Many of the local Japanese who are associated with the religion are friends, colleagues, researchers, or spouses of ethnic Punjabi Sikhs.[1] Many ethnic Japanese wives of Sikhs have become believers and practitioners of the religion themselves.[1] In 1985, a Sikh bombed a Narita airport, killing two baggage handlers.[11]

A Sikh gurdwara was built in Tokyo in 1999, on the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Khalsa Panth.[10] The Tokyo gurdwara is officially named the 'Tokyo Guru Nanak Darbar', serving the local Tokyoite Sikh congregation and those near the city, around 70 devotees in total as of 2016.[10][1] The Tokyo gurdwara is located in the basement of an office building.[10] It is only operational one day out of the month when religious services are held.[10] There is no committee or director of the Tokyo gurdwara.[10] Another gurdwara is located in Kobe and is in a residential area, it is officially known as the 'Guru Nanak Darbar Sahib'.[10][12] The Kobe gurdwara was established on former private dwellings of Indian migrants that were transformed fully into a gurdwara in 1966.[10][12]