Poles in Japan

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Poles in Japan
Polish Cultural Institute in Tokyo.jpg
Total population
1,510 (2023)
Regions with significant populations
Tokyo, Kantō region, Kansai region

Poles in Japan form a small population of 1,510 (as of 2023), [1] yet the largest Polish diaspora in East Asia.

Contents

Most Poles in Japan are either from mixed Polish-Japanese marriages, educated professionals working in Japan, students, or Catholic clergy. [1]

History

The first non-clergymen Poles to arrive in Japan were the famous adventurer Maurycy Beniowski and his close companion Antoni Straszewski, who arrived in 1771 after a daring escape from Russian exile in Kamchatka. [2] It was also the first Polish ship to arrive in Japan, as they sailed under the Polish flag aboard a seized Russian galiot. [2] Beniowski's expedition was warmly received by the Japanese, an exchange of gifts took place, and sailing southward, Beniowski stopped at several Japanese islands. [2]

The most sizeable Polish community of early 20th-century Japan lived in the Karafuto Prefecture, which further grew since 1925, as many Poles fled Soviet Russian persecution in northern Sakhalin. [3] [4] [5] Poles in Karafuto engaged in unrestricted social, cultural and economic activities, and a Polish library was established in Toyohara. [6] In 1924, Karafuto was visited by Polish ambassador to Japan Stanisław Patek, and many local Poles were granted Polish citizenship and passports. [4] Some 300 Poles lived in Japan, according to estimates from 1929. [7] In 1930, two Catholic churches were built in Toyohara and Odomari, co-funded by Poles from Poland and Karafuto. [8] Only a handful of Poles lived in other parts of Japan. [9]

In 1920–1922, 769 Polish orphans rescued from Siberia, were admitted by the Japanese in Tokyo and Osaka, before their return to Poland.

Culture

There are Polish associations in Tokyo and Osaka, and a Polish school in Tokyo. [1]

Notable people

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Wyszyński, Robert; Leszczyński, Karol (2023). Atlas Polaków na świecie (in Polish). Warszawa: Instytut Pokolenia. p. 42. ISBN   978-83-968580-3-0.
  2. 1 2 3 Grochowski 1928, pp. 146–147.
  3. Grochowski 1928, p. 142.
  4. 1 2 Fiedorczuk, Siergiej (1997). "Polacy na Południowym Sachalinie". Studia Polonijne (in Polish). 18. Lublin: 88. ISSN   0137-5210.
  5. Winiarz, Adam (1994). "Książka polska w koloniach polskich na Dalekim Wschodzie (1897–1949)". Czasopismo Zakładu Narodowego im. Ossolińskich (in Polish). Vol. 5. Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. p. 66.
  6. Winiarz, p. 67
  7. Żukow-Karczewski, Marek (1989). "Polonia zagraniczna w czasach II Rzeczypospolitej". Życie Literackie (in Polish). No. 33 (1952). p. 10.
  8. Fiedorczuk, pp. 95–96
  9. Grochowski 1928, p. 149.

Bibliography