Mongolians in Japan
Total population | |
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5,796 (2014) | |
Languages | |
Japanese, Mongolian |
Mongolians in Japan | |||||
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Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | 在日モンゴル人 | ||||
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There is a small community of Mongolians in Japan, representing a minor portion of emigration from Mongolia. As of December 2014[update], there were 5,796 registered Mongolian citizens residing in Japan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, up from 2,545 in 2003.[1][2]
Students
International students form a large proportion of the registered population of Mongolians in Japan.[3] The earliest Mongol exchange students, all three of them women, came to Japan in 1906, when Mongolia was still ruled by the Qing Dynasty.[4] Japan was also a popular destination for students from Mengjiang (in today's Inner Mongolia) in the late 1930s and early 1940s; among them were several who would go on to become famous scholars, such as Chinggeltei.[5][6] Japan and the Mongolian People's Republic officially agreed to send exchange students to each other in 1974; the first Mongolian student to arrive under the agreement came in 1976. As of May 2006[update], 1,006 Mongolian students were studying in Japanese institutions of higher education.[3]
Aside from Mongolian citizens, there were also estimated to be roughly 4,000 members of the Mongolian minority of China residing in Japan as of 2005[update]. 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 and Sugamo areas of Tokyo, 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.[7]
Sumo wrestlers
Starting in 1991, Mongolians began to become especially dominant in sumo; as of 2005[update], Mongolians composed roughly 5% of all ranked sumo wrestlers, making them more than 60% (37 out of 61) of non-Japanese rikishi in Japan.[8][9] 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.[10]
Notable people
- Asashōryū Akinori, originally Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, sumo wrestler[11]
- Hakuhō Shō, originally Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal, sumo wrestler[12]
- Kyokutenhō Masaru, originally Tsebeknyam Nyamjyab, sumo wrestler[13]
- Kyokutenzan Takeshi, originally Enkhbat Batmunkh, sumo wrestler[14][15]
- Harumafuji Kōhei, originally Davaanyamyn Byambadorj, sumo wrestler[16]
See also
References
- ^ "モンゴル国", [[:Template:Asiantitle]], Tokyo, Japan: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 13 July 2015, retrieved 19 August 2015
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: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ "統計表1", [[:Template:Asiantitle]] (PDF), Tokyo, Japan: Ministry of Justice, 2003-05-30, retrieved 2007-08-17
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: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ a b [[:Template:Asiantitle]], Mongolia: Embassy of Japan, retrieved 2007-08-17
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: URL–wikilink conflict (help) - ^ 横田 素子[YOKOTA Motoko] (2009), "1906年におけるモンゴル人学生の日本留学 [The first Mongolian students in Japan in 1906]" (PDF), East West South North (15): 155–172
- ^ 徐志民 [XU Zhimin], "抗战时期日本对蒙疆地区留日学生政策述 [Review of policies towards Mengjiang students studying in Japan during World War II]", Journal of Inner Mongolia University, 38 (5)
- ^ "草原名人:开创蒙古语言研究黄金时期的清格尔泰 [Famous man of the plains: Chinggeltei, who pioneered the golden age of Mongolian language research]", People's Daily, 2007-07-19, retrieved 2010-06-02
- ^ Le Bail, Hélène (September 2005), "The New Chinese Immigration to Japan: Between mobility and integration", China Perspectives (61)
- ^ Wallace, Bruce (2005-02-27), "Beating Japanese wrestlers at their own game", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 2007-09-05
- ^ Himmer, Alastair (2007-05-22), "Mongolians running amok in sumo", Reuters, retrieved 2009-10-18
- ^ "Mongolians Most Famous in Japan", UB Post, 2009-08-21, retrieved 2009-10-18
- ^ Frederick, Jim (2003-04-21), "Asian Heroes - Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj", Time Magazine, retrieved 2007-08-17
- ^ "Hakuho hits sumo summit", Taipei Times, 2007-05-31, retrieved 2009-11-01
- ^ "Bis in die Haarspitze", Der Spiegel (in German), 2007-06-02, retrieved 2007-09-05
- ^ "Taka, Musashimaru win, set up all-yokozuna finale", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1999-11-20, retrieved 2007-09-05
- ^ "Mongolian striving to become top sumo wrestler", Japan Weekly Monitor, 2002-01-25, retrieved 2007-09-05
- ^ "Rising Mongolian star wins first sumo tournament", Agence France-Presse, 2009-05-24, retrieved 2011-01-26
External links
- Mongolian Association in Japan
- Япон дахь Монгол Оюутны Холбоо (Union of Mongolian Students in Japan)