Japanese community of Shanghai

Last updated

Shanghai has a Japanese expatriate group, particularly in the Gubei area of Changning District, which houses the majority of Japanese expatriates in Shanghai. [1] Some Japanese follow the "Shanghai dream" where they spend several years in Shanghai to gain professional experience or knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, and either continue working in Shanghai or return to Japan later. [2]

Contents

History

The Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai opened in 1872. Japanese ships became a more constant presence in the Shanghai harbor in the 1870s and 1880s. In the 1880s Japanese companies began establishing operations in Shanghai. Prince Fushimi visited the Japanese community of Shanghai for one day in 1907. [3] In 1908 a Japanese Club opened. [3]

With mounting Japanese aggression towards China after the First World War, the Shanghainese organised protests against the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931 and the bombing of Shanghai by the Japanese in 1932. A Japanese sailor, Tomomitsu Taminato, was murdered in Shanghai in 1936 due to increasing anti-Japanese sentiment. The Japanese invaded and occupied Shanghai in 1937, remaining until their unconditional surrender to the United States and its allies in 1945. Prince Kan'in Haruhito was tasked with personally visiting the city to ensure that the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy observed its terms.

Over 33,000 Japanese resided in Shanghai by 2008, making up 22% of the foreigners there and making the Japanese the largest expatriate group in that city. [4]

Economy

Some long-term residents are employees of Japanese companies stationed in Shanghai. The companies pay for living expenses including tuition for children, housing, and "hardship" allowances related to living in a foreign country. Some long-term Japanese residents have consultancies, restaurants, and businesses in Shanghai. [2]

Takatoshi Iijima, the vice president of Sola Kamome Co., stated in 2010 that many Japanese companies in Shanghai hire Japanese already in the city instead of Japanese in Japan in order to reduce costs. [1]

As of 2009 some Japanese who had newly graduated from universities arrive in Shanghai to try to gain employment on the spot. [2]

Education

Shanghai Japanese School Hongqiao Campus ShanghaiJapaneseSchoolHongqiao.jpg
Shanghai Japanese School Hongqiao Campus

The Shanghai Japanese School, a Japanese international school serving primary, junior high, and senior high school levels, is located in Shanghai. It has two campuses, one in Hongqiao and one in Pudong. [5]

Japanese kindergartens in Shanghai include Shanghai Dongjin Japanese Kindergarten (上海东进日本人幼儿园), Shanghai Utsukushigaoka Montessori Kindergarten (上海美丘第一幼儿园) and the Oisca Shanghai Japanese Kindergarten (上海奥伊斯嘉日本语幼儿园). [6]

History of education

The first Japanese educational system school, the Tōyō gakkan, opened on Zhapu Road in 1883. Its primary focus was teaching Chinese and English to its students and its founders were associated with the Japan Popular Rights Movement. After several months it closed. It was not affiliated with the Higashi Honganji. The Ajia gakkan, which was created as what Joshua A. Fogel, author of Articulating the Sinosphere: Sino-Japanese Relations in Space and Time, described as a "kind of extension" of the Tōyō gakkan, opened in 1884 on Kunshan Road. It was established by young men who had involvement in the Popular Rights Movement and other pan-Asian groups. The Japan Residents Association acquired the management of the Japanese education in 1907. [7] Japanese schools had opened in Shanghai by 1920. In 1926, 2,700 pupils studied at these schools. Christopher Howe wrote that students at the Japanese High School for Girls received an education superior to that in Japanese schools in Japan. [3]

Recreation

As of 2010 there is an all-Japanese baijiu club in Shanghai. [1]

Notable residents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanghai</span> Most populous city in China

Shanghai is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of China. The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the third largest in the world, with 24.89 million inhabitants in 2021, while the urban area is the most populous in China, with 39.3 million residents. As of 2018, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 9.1 trillion RMB. Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pudong</span> District in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China

Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name Pudong was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city center. It now refers to the broader Pudong New Area, a state-level new area which extends all the way to the East China Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanghai American School</span> Independent, pre-k-12 school in Shanghai, China

Shanghai American School (SAS) is an independent international school located in Shanghai, China. Founded in 1912, SAS has two campuses and over 2,800 students enrolled in Pre-K through 12th grade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taihō (era)</span> Period of Japanese history (701–704 CE)

Taihō (大宝) was a Japanese era name after a late 7th century interruption in the sequence of nengō after Shuchō and before Keiun. This period spanned the years from March 701 through May 704. The reigning emperor was Monmu-tennō (文武天皇).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etonkids International Educational Group</span> Private day school in China

Etonkids International Educational Group is an early education and K-12 services provider in the People's Republic of China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese missions to Tang China</span> Series of Japanese expeditions to Tang China

The Japanese missions to Tang China were Japanese efforts to learn Chinese culture and civilization from Tang China, in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries. The nature of those contacts evolved gradually from political and ceremonial change into cultural exchanges, and the process accompanied growing commercial ties which developed over time.

Japanese missions to Ming China represent a lens for examining and evaluating the relationships between China and Japan in the 15th through the 17th centuries. The nature of these bilateral contacts encompassed political and ceremonial acknowledgment as well as cultural exchanges. The evolution of diplomatic ties accompanied the growing commercial ties which grew over time.

Kenchū Keimitsu (堅中圭密) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and diplomat in the Muromachi period. He was the chief envoy of a mission sent by the Ashikaga shogunate to the court of the Yongle Emperor in Nanjing. He would return to China at the head of four subsequent missions to the Chinese Imperial court in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakugen Shūryō</span> Japanese diplomat

Sakugen Shūryō was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, a poet and diplomat in the Muromachi period. He was the chief envoy of a 1547 mission sent by the Ashikaga shogunate to the court of the Jiajing Emperor in Beijing.

Ryōan Keigo was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and diplomat in the Muromachi period. He was the chief envoy of a 1511–1513 mission sent by the Ashikaga shogunate to the court of the Zhengde Emperor in Beijing.

Iki no Hakatoko was a Japanese diplomat, legal scholar and writer.

Japanese missions to Sui China represent a lens for examining and evaluating the relationship between the Sui dynasty and Japan in the 7th century. The nature of these bilateral contacts evolved gradually from political and ceremonial acknowledgment to cultural exchanges; and the process accompanied the growing commercial ties which developed over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Fogel</span> American historian

Joshua A. Fogel is an American-Canadian Sinologist, historian, and translator who specializes in the history of modern China, especially focusing on the cultural and political relations between China and Japan. He has held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair at York University in Toronto since 2005. Before that he taught at Harvard University (1981-1988) and the University of California, Santa Barbara (1989-2005). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanghai Japanese School</span> Japanese international school in Shanghai, China

The Shanghai Japanese School (SJS) is a Japanese international school serving primary and junior high school levels in Shanghai. It has two campuses, one in Hongqiao and one in Pudong. The school's teachers are Japanese citizens. The school also has a senior high school component.

The Edwin O. Reischauer Lectures is a series of lectures at Harvard University sponsored by the John King Fairbank Center established in 1986 to be given annually in memory of Edwin O. Reischauer. The lectures in Asian Studies are then published by Harvard University Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanghai Ferry</span> Overview of transport in Shanghai

The Shanghai Ferry is a system of ferry routes across the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The ferry service started on January 5, 1911 by the municipal authorities in Pudong. Before the 1970s, the ferry service was the only way to cross the Huangpu River. In the 1980s, the Shanghai Ferry became one of the busiest ferry services in the world. In the 1990s, as bridges and tunnels across the Huangpu river were built, the ferry service saw a sharp drop in ridership. The Shanghai Ferry currently consists of 18 ferry lines and is operated by the state-owned Shanghai Ferry Company.

RYB Education is a publicly listed company for preschool education in the People's Republic of China. As measured by annual total revenues in 2016, the company is the largest provider of early childhood education service in China. It owns three preschool-educational brands, namely RYB Parent-Child Garden, RYB Kindergarten, and Zhudou Parenting App-kit Club, and has strategic cooperation with some American preschool education institutes. The firm is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company was registered in the Cayman Islands, and its headquarter is in Beijing.

Education in Shanghai includes five years of primary education, four years of junior secondary education, and three years of senior secondary education, as well as higher education, including universities and colleges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Shanghai

The COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first confirmed in Shanghai on 20 January 2020. As of 14 October 2022, 65,641 confirmed cases cumulatively occurred in the city, of which 3,045 cases were imported from abroad. Of the 96 active hospitalized cases ending at midnight, 94 were in stable condition and 1 was in critical condition; 61,600 had cumulatively recovered and been discharged, and 595 died.

A School for children of foreign personnel (外籍人员子女学校) is a type of non-public K–12 school in Mainland China. This type of school can only admit the children of people with foreign nationality and legal Chinese long-term residence visas, and their children are also required to have foreign nationality.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Japanese making Shanghai their home" (Archive). CNN . 10 December 2010. Retrieved on February 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Kuchikomi, Jun. "Few Japanese benefit from living their 'Shanghai dream'" (Archive). Japan Today . 2 June 2009. Retrieved on 18 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Howe, p. 421.
  4. Calder, Kent and Min Ye. The Making of Northeast Asia (Studies in Asian Security). Stanford University Press, August 16, 2010. ISBN   0804775052, 9780804775052. p. 143.
  5. "Shanghai Japanese school." Pudong District Government Website. Retrieved on 18 February 2014.
  6. "Schools Approved by the Ministry of Education For Enrolling Children of Foreign Nationals" (Archive). Ministry of Education of China. Retrieved on August 17, 2015.
  7. Fogel, p. 91.

Sources