During the Tang dynasty of China, in the capital city of Changan was the Nestorian church known as Taishin temple. Whereas Koryu-temple, the guardian temple of Hata-clan, was also known as Uzumasa temple. Since Uzumasa can also be depicted with a　大, one could see its linkage with the Taishin temple in China. From here, the theory that the now Buddhist temple may have been the Nestorian Christian church was born. Scholars like Kinjou Oota and Seizan Matsuura had referred to this theory from early times.

The one person who strived to make this theory known to the public was Yoshiro Saeki of Tokyo Literature and Science University. He was such an authority on Nestorian Christianity that he became known as Prof. Nestorian. And such person as himself claimed that Hata-clan were Jewish Nestorians. This provoked an argument in the academic world back then. Namio Egawa known for his Horse-Rider theory was Saeki's pupil.

As a forerunner of the theory of Japanese-Jews Sharing Ancestry, the hypothesis on Hata-clan being Jewish Nestorian is quite well known. This, however, is not true. To clarify many of those who misinterpreted it, I shall declare that Hata-clan were not Jewish Nestorians. Some Hatas may have become acquainted with Nestorians in later days, but they were not Nestorians from the first place. Let me repeat: Hata-clan were not Nestorians.

Even Saeki admitted this in his later days. He admitted so because Nestorian Christianity started to spread to the East during 4~5 AD and Hata-clan were resided in Korean peninsula by then. Some had already arrived in Japan. If they were already, Nestorians at that time, it would contradict with time.

The Christianity Hata-clan believed in was not a heresy such as Nestorian. It was neither the Athanasius known today as Catholic, nor the Arius that spread in Europe. These sects were religions the churches willfully fabricated and interpreted. The Christianity of Hata-clan, however, dates back even more. It was the Primitive Christianity. The descendants of the Primitive Church of Jerusalem consisted of direct disciples of Jesus Christ. It is generally known that the organization of the twelve apostles became Catholic, but such was not true. And such is the most vulnerable point of the Vatican.

The oldest Primitive Christianity consisted of Jewish people. Their organization suddenly disappeared from history after the first Jewish Revolt. They moved from Jerusalem to a town called Pera situated on the east bank of Jordan River but their whereabouts afterwards are not known.

And here runs the Silk Road. Without a doubt, they moved to the East. Historical facts show that many Jewish refugees arrived in China during 1-2 AD. Among them were the Jewish Primitive Christians who later became the Hata-clan. This is how I see it. Saeki also concluded that Hata-clan were Jewish Primitive Christians.

When I talk about the Hata-clan being Jewish Christians, I often received criticisms that seem to originate from the preconception that Hata-clan may have been Nestorians. And example of such criticism is that they may have been Nestorians but not necessarily Jews. It is true that like modern Christianity, anyone, regardless of one's race, could become Nestorians. If we regard the introduction of Nestorians on the same basis as the introduction of Christianity by Xavier, they are not necessarily Jews.

To explain this, we must reason against reason by insisting that Nestorian doctrine resembles that of Jewish, or that many Nestorians were Jews, all without much evidence. Marvin Okayed who is Jewish himself supports the idea of Hata-clan being Jewish Nestorians and had spread his opinion. His opinion, however, is based on the view that Hata-clan were the Jews who were the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes. It is inherently unreasonable to think that those ten tribes who abandoned their Jewish faith could all of a sudden become Nestorians.

There is one sect of Christianity that requires being Jews: It is the Primitive Church of Jerusalem. They, being the direct apostles of Jesus Christ, were entrusted with mission that was completely different from how they were viewed on the outside. That is why the Primitive Church of Jerusalem came all the way to the Far East, to Japan by traveling through the Silk Road.

Translated by Rie Ishida