Nicholas McLeod (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1868–1889), in some accounts called Norman McLeod, was a native of the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

known for his theory that the Japanese people descended from the

Lost Tribes of Israel The Ten Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. They were the following: Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naph ...

Tudor Parfitt Tudor Parfitt (born 10 October 1944)
Encyclopedia.com is a British historian, wri ...

describes McLeod as

...a Scot who started his career in the
herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
industry before he ended up in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
as a missionary...

Beyond that is very little known for certain about him except that he published a book in 1878 in Nagasaki called ''Epitome of the ancient history of Japan'' (cover title: ''Japan and the Lost Tribes of Israel'') and another in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

under the title ''Illustrations to the Epitome of the ancient history of Japan, including illustrations to the guide book''."Rare Books - Important Acquisitions - Illustrations to the Epitome of the ancient history of Japan, including illustrations to the guide book", National Library of Scotland website, 2004 (?), http://www.nls.uk/collections/rarebooks/acquisitions/singlebook.cfm/idfind/416 The thesis of these extraordinary books was that the holy class of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

is descended from the

. He claimed that the first known king of Japan was called Osee and came to the throne in 730 B.C., identifying him with

Hoshea Hoshea (, ''Hōšēaʿ'', "salvation"; ''A'úsiʾ'' 'a-ú-si-ʾ'' ) was the nineteenth and last king of the northern Kingdom of Israel (or a puppet king) and son of Elah (not the Israelite king Elah). William F. Albright dated his reign to ...

, the last king of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, who died in 722 B.C. The books contain extensive comparisons of the religious rituals of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

as evidence of the links between ancient Israel and Japan. McLeod dedicated the book ''Epitome of the ancient history of Japan'' published in 1878 to "Rve. William Mackenzie (Late of North Leith Free Church, Scotland)".Epitome of the ancient history of Japan
N. McLeod According to Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, MacLeod had been a missionary who spent decades in Japan and Korea "searching for the true Israelites". The following passage is an example from the book in which McLeod draws correlations between his observations on Japan and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

The civilized race of the Aa. Inus, the Tokugawa and the Machi No Hito of the large towns, by dwelling in the tent or tabernacle shaped houses first erected by Jin Mu Tenno, have fulfilled Noah's prophecy regarding Japhet, "He shall dwell in the tents of Shem."(McLeod, 1878. p. 7)

References

Sources

Jozef Rogala, A Collector's Guide to Books on Japan in English, Routledge, {{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Nicholas 1868 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Scottish historians Pseudohistorians Ten Lost Tribes

See also

References

Sources