Sri Lankans in Japan

Total population46,949 (in December, 2023)^[1][2]Regions with significant populationsTokyo, Chiba, Funabashi, Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Sagamihara, Saitama, YokohamaLanguagesSinhala, Tamil, English, JapaneseReligionBuddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity

Sri Lankans in Japan consist of Sri Lankan migrants that come to Japan, as well as their descendants. In December 2023, there were 46,949 Sri Lankans living in Japan. They are the fourth largest nationality group from South Asia after Nepalis, Burmese and Indians.^[1][3]

History

Ancient

Japan has been a destination for South Asian travellers and merchants for hundreds of years. South Asia and Japan have maintained relations through direct contact and indirect contact via the Sinosphere and South East Asia.^[5][6]

There is evidence that Austronesian traders engaged in a trade and communications network in the eastern Indian Ocean (in particular the coasts of the south east of India and Sri Lanka), South East Asia (including Taiwan) and Japan as far back as 5000 BC.^[7][8]

Sri Lanka was a major source of Buddhism dissemination through the Pali Canon and the creation of Theravada Buddhism, one of the three sources of Buddhism along with Chinese Buddhism (Mahayana) and Vajrayana.^[9] Though often overlooked in western academia, Buddhism was transmitted through trade routes across South East Asia in addition to the Sinophere.^[10] As in Sri Lanka, there remains a great deal of confluence between Buddhism and Hinduism, which are integrated into Shintoism in Japan.^[11] One of the earliest South Asians in Japan was a monk from the intellectual city of Madurai, who ultimately played a key role in the development of Chinese Buddhism and its transmission to Japan.^[12]

Imperial Japan

Ceylonese supporters of the Indian independence movement formed the 'Lanka Regiment' of the so called Indian National Army which had been established by Nazi Germany, directly under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and based themselves in Japanese Malaya. A plan was made to transport them to Ceylon by submarine, to begin the independence struggle, but this was abortive. Ceylon, at the time the headquarters of the South East Asian division of the British Navy, was viewed as a desirable base for the Empire of Japan. Both the Japanese and the Indian National Army considered the Ceylonese to be "local Indians".^[13]

Modern

A number of the Indians from South East Asian were historically categorised as "Indians" but otherwise have a lineage to Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans were also often chosen to work in administrative roles in the East India Companies due to being colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and British at an earlier stage and having a higher literacy rate.^[14]

Cuisine

Indian food is very popular in Japan.^[15]

Historically many spices were imported into Japan as these spices could only be grown in certain climates found in Southern China (including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau), Southern India (including Sri Lanka) and South East Asia.^[16] The various spices and cultural infusion that were imported along the same trade routes from South Asia into South East Asia led to the formation of cuisines in South East Asia heavily influenced by South Asia as far back as at least 2000 years ago, of which many of them are eaten in Japan.^[17]

Curry

Indian curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, sometimes labelled as the most popular dish of Japan.^[18] Curry (カレー, karē) is a loanword from Tamil (கறி kaṟi) via Indian English, popularized by naval contact between the Japan and the British East India Company.^[19][20] There are also curries found in Japan that were developed in ancient times in South East Asia that were derived from South Asia.^[17]

It is now considered to be a national dish of Japan and dishes from various parts of India are often sold in convenience stores and restaurants.^[21] The majority of the Indian restaurants in Japan are a "fusion" of Nepali and Indian cuisine, who are by far the largest Indian ethnic group in Japan, but many restaurants are also run by Indians and Sri Lankans, the latter of whom number around 35,000 and make the third largest Indian ethnic group after Nepalis and Indians.^[22][23]

The majority of Japanese will eat Japanese curry purchased from supermarkets and convenience stores, or from one of the numerous Japanese chain restaurants that specialize in curry.^[24]

Tea

Furthermore, though tea is originally native to East Asia, tea is also often drunk in Japan as black tea or milk tea using tea leaves grown in South Asia (such as Darjeeling, Assam or Ceylon).^[25] Black tea is increasingly becoming more popular than green tea in Japan.^[26]

See also

• Sri Lankan diaspora

References