Welcome to the Jewish Community of Japan
Over 200 guests attended the opening reception for our new building, which was held on Thursday, September 10, 2009. Following the arrival of a procession carrying our sifrei Torah from our temporary facilities to our new synagogue, we held our first ma'ariv service. Services were followed by congratulatory speeches by His Excellency The Honorable Ambassador of Israel Mr. Nissim Ben Shitrit, as well as by Secretary-General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Professor Mikhail Chlenov, by Mr. Fumihiko Maki (principal of the architectural firm), and Mr. Daniel Turk, President of our community. For a selection of photos and videos of the event, please click on the buttons at the bottom of this page.
Forty years ago, the Jewish Community of Japan was described by one of its lay leaders as "...a microcosm of the cosmopolitan world living at peace..." In that spirit, welcome to all who enter our gates! In the words of our rabbis, let us all "Judge every person in a favorable light." (Avot 1.6)
Jews have been living in Japan since at least the 1860s, perhaps much, much longer. The first settler we know of in modern times arrived in Yokohama in 1861, and synagogues were later established in Nagasaki (1889), Kobe (1937), and finally Tokyo (1953).
The site on which our facility now stands was acquired in late 1952, and was opened on May 3, 1953, with a black tie party attended by Prince and Princess Mikasa. That same property is still the address for our community home, our synagogue, our school, our kitchen, our mikveh, our social space, our library, and our office--in short, all the assets that physically anchor our Jewish life here. We hope you will come and use them with us, temporarily if you are just visiting, as members if you are staying longer.
Our Rabbi
Rabbi Antonio Di Gesu was born in Italy, graduated from Universita’ La Sapienza in Rome, and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary ("JTS") in New York. He served until June 2009 as the rabbi at a Conservative community in Long Island, New York, where he revitalized the services with new melodies from all over the Diaspora, and introduced the teaching of Hebrew for adults, as well as many creative and successful congregational programs.
Rabbi Antonio is conversant in many languages, modern and classical. He has translated half a dozen books from Hebrew to Italian, and is currently working on the translation of Midrash Vayikra Rabba.
Hours of Operation
Monday: closed
Tuesday-Friday: 9:30-17:30
Friday evening and Saturday: see service times (office closed)
Sunday: 9:30-13:00 on days when Sunday School is taking place - see Sunday School calendar
For directions to the JCC, please click here for the "Find Us" page.
