Japanese people in Spain

Japanese people in Spain consist largely of expatriate managers in Japanese corporations, as well as international students.^[3] There are also some people of Japanese ancestry in Spain, including descendants of 17th-century migrants to Spain, as well as migrants from among Nikkei populations in Latin America.^[4] According to Spain's National Statistical Institute, 4,898 Japanese citizens resided in the country as of 2009^[update]; Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave a higher figure of 8,080 as of 2015^[update].^[1][5]

Japanese people in Spain

Total population
8,080 (October 2015)^[1]
Regions with significant populations
Madrid, Catalonia,^[2] Las Palmas
Languages
Spanish, Japanese
Related ethnic groups
Japanese diaspora

Japanese Embassy in Madrid

History

 

Hasekura Tsunenaga in prayer, following his conversion to Christianity in Madrid in 1615.

The first Japanese people to settle in Spain were the members of an embassy led by Hasekura Tsunenaga. Instead of returning to Japan in 1617, six samurai remained in Coria del Río, near Seville. The surname Japón (Spanish for "Japan") is conserved among approximately 700 inhabitants of Coria del Río, identifying them as descendants of the members of Hasekura Tsunenaga's delegation.^[6]

The first Japanese business established in Spain was SANYO España.S.A. in 1969. Since then Catalonia became the main point of Japanese business operations in Spain.^[7]

Between the 1970s and 1980s, Nikkeis—people of Japanese ancestry from various countries of Latin America—settled in Spain, fleeing financial crises or political oppression in their home countries.^{[citation needed]} Since the 1970s, many Japanese have also come to Spain as businesspeople and students.^[8] In 1966, there were only about 280 Japanese nationals in Spain, but this number grew to 2,824 by 1993.^[9]

Demographics

As of 2001 5,167 Japanese citizens resided in Spain, with 1,189 of them in Barcelona and 87 of them in the remainder of Catalonia. Most residing in Catalonia are employees of Japanese companies.^[10]

There are an estimated 2,000 people of Japanese descent in the Madrid area, most of them working for Japanese firms.

The peak number of the Japanese population in Las Palmas registered with the Japanese consulate there was 365 people in 1977.^[11]

Institutions

The Barcelona Suiyokai is an association of Japanese companies that operates in Barcelona.^[12] It operates a Japanese new year festival.^[13] In 2004 57 companies were a part of the association.^[12]

In Barcelona there is also a Go club, a Haiku club, an association of Japanese language teachers, an association of the alumni of the Japanese complementary school, a golf club, and a Hispano-Japanese association.^[12]

In addition to the Japanese consulate, in Las Palmas there was the Casa de Japan (日本船員保険福祉会館, Nihon Sen'in Hoken Fukushi Kaikan)^[14] and a Japanese association.^[11] The Casa opened in 1967 in Monte Lentiscal and its annex opened in October 1973. The main building closed in June 1981 and the annex closed in December 1985.^[15]

Health care

From 1971 to 1981 there were Japanese nurses sent to the Queen Victoria and Santa Catalina hospitals in Las Palmas to assist Japanese sailors.^[15]

Education

 

Colegio Japonés de Madrid

Spain has two Japanese international schools: the Japanese School in Barcelona and the Colegio Japonés de Madrid. The two cities, Barcelona and Madrid, also have weekend Japanese education programmes.^[16]

The Colegio Japonés de Las Palmas previously existed.^[17] Located in Tafira Baja, it opened in October 1973, making it the first Japanese school in Spain and the third-oldest in Europe.^[15] It closed in March 2001.^[18]

There is a Japanese library in Eixample, Barcelona that opened in 1992. Most of the patrons are Japanese, though locals may also use the facilities. The library is located inside a flat.^[12]

Notable people

• Kiyoshi Uematsu, Spanish judoka
• Kenji Uematsu, Spanish judoka
• Yuu Shirota, actor and singer (Originally from Tokyo, Japan)
• David Silva, professional footballer^[19]
• Pedro Shimose, poet, professor and essayist; his working and living in Madrid.^[20]
• Rayito, musician and producer

See also

• Japan–Spain relations

References

Notes

1. MOFA 2015
2. Valls Campà 1998, p. 161
3. Beltrán Antolín & Sáiz López 2002, p. 45
4. Beltrán Antolín 2006, p. 114
5. INE 2009
6. "Spain's Japon clan has reunion to trace its 17th century roots", Japan Times, 2003-12-11, retrieved 2013-11-27
7. Fukuda, Makiko. "El Col·legi Japonès de Barcelona: un estudi pilot sobre les ideologies lingüístiques d'una comunitat expatriada a Catalunya" (). Treballs de sociolingüística catalana > 2005: 18 (2004). See profile at Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert (RACO). p. 213. "En el casd'Espanya, des que va ser instal·lada al Principat la primera empresa japonesa, SANYO España.S.A., l'any 1969, la inversió estrangera directa de les empreses japoneses s'ha concentrat a Catalunya."
8. Beltrán Antolín & Sáiz López 2002, p. 46
9. Valls Campà 1998, p. 158
10. Fukuda, Makiko. "El Col·legi Japonès de Barcelona: un estudi pilot sobre les ideologies lingüístiques d'una comunitat expatriada a Catalunya" (). Treballs de sociolingüística catalana > 2005: 18 (2004). See profile at Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert (RACO). p. 214. "Segons el Ministeri d'Afers Exteriors del Japó (2001)⁴, els japonesos residents a l'estranger[...]A tot el territori d'Espanya, resideixen 5.167 japonesos. 1.276 d'ells estan instal.lats a Catalunya, bona part dels quals esta concentrat a Barcelona (1.189)⁵. La majoria són els directius de les empreses japoneses instal·lades a Catalunya."
11. Ávila Tàpies and Josefina Domínguez Mujica, p. 527. "El despliegue de estas actividades económicas fue dando lugar a una colonia de residentes japoneses concentrada en la ciudad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, que era atendida por el consulado de Japón, el colegio japonés, la casa de Japón, la asociación de japoneses en Las Palmas e, incluso, por enfermeras niponas enviadas ex profeso. Según el registro consular⁴, esta colonia llegó a alcanzar un máximo de 365 residentes en 1977, aunque el número de transeúntes no registrados superaría ampliamente esta cifra."
12. Fukuda, "Supervivència de la colònia japonesa a Catalunya: l’organització interna i la seva implicació en l’ecosistema lingüístic català." "Els treballadors destinats a Catalunya solen pertànyer a la Barcelona Suiyokai, que és l’associació d’empresaris japonesos a Catalunya. L’any 2004 en formaven part cinquanta-set empreses." and "Un altre punt de trobada de la colònia japonesa a Catalunya és una biblioteca que es troba en un pis de l’Eixample. Va ser creada l’any 1992 per uns voluntaris japonesos que vivien a Barcelona, amb la finalitat de fomentar l’intercanvi cultural entre Espanya i el Japó. La biblioteca està oberta també a la població local, però la majoria dels usuaris són japonesos, sobretot els estudiants, les famílies dels treballadors i els jubilats, tant de les zones pròximes a Barcelona com de la ciutat." and "També cal esmentar l’Associació de Professors de Llengua Japonesa de Barcelona." and "A més de les associacions esmentades, també hi ha l’Associació de Famílies Hispano-Japoneses, l’Associació d’Estudi de Gaudí, el Club d’Haiku, el Club de Golf, la Societat d’Antics Alumnes de l’Escola Complementària, etc."
13. "Japón celebra el fin de año en Barcelona" (). La Vanguardia. 8 January 2015. Retrieved on 22 January 2015.
14. カナリア自治州事情 (PDF). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. January 2011. pp. 16, 18. (PDF) from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
15. Ávila Tàpies and Josefina Domínguez Mujica, p. 528 (PDF 4/38). "El colegio japonés «rasuparumasu nihonjin gakko-» en Tafira Baja, abierto en el año 1973 (octubre) como el tercer colegio japonés más antiguo de Europa y el primero de España, se cerró definitivamente en el 2000 (marzo). Lo mismo sucedió con la casa de Japón en el Monte Lentiscal, que se inauguró en 1967 (abril) con el nombre oficial de «rasuparumasu nihon sen’in hoken fukushi kaikan», como una organización dependiente del consulado (club japonés de asistencia y bienestar de los marineros en Las Palmas). En 1973 (octubre) se ampliaron sus instalaciones con un «anexo», en los alrededores. El edificio principal se cerró en 1981 (junio), y el anexo en 1985 (diciembre). El envío de enfermeras niponas a los hospitales Queen Victoria y Santa Catalina, para la asistencia médica de los marineros japoneses, se produjo entre 1971 y 1981."
16. 欧州の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
17. 過去に指定・認定していた在外教育施設. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. from the original on January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
18. 関係機関へのリンク. The Japan School of Doha. from the original on 2015-02-16. Retrieved March 31, 2015. ラス・パルマス日本人学校（2001年3月閉校）
19. , La Provincia (in Spanish), 2008-06-30, archived from the original on 2010-05-26, retrieved 2010-04-19
20. "Poetas de Bolivia / Pedro Shimose", Bolivia Web (in Spanish), retrieved 2012-07-30

Sources

• Beltrán Antolín, Joaquín; Sáiz López, Amelia (June 2002), (PDF), Documentos CIDOB, vol. 3, archived from the original on 2008-08-29, retrieved 2009-03-16{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) ()
• Beltrán Antolín, Joaquín (November 2006). "El nodo español en las diásporas de Asia Oriental". Las diásporas de Asia Oriental en Europa Occidental. Documentos CIDOB. Vol. 13. ISSN 1696-9987. Retrieved 2009-03-16. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
• Valls Campà, L. (1998), La presencia humana de Japón en España (PDF), Papers: revista de sociologia, vol. 54, Autonomous University of Barcelona, pp. 157–167, retrieved 2009-03-16 ()
• , Avance del Padrón a 1 de enero de 2009. Datos provisionales, Spain: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2009, archived from the original on 2009-12-14, retrieved 2009-06-13
• (in Spanish) Ávila Tàpies, Rosalía (University of Kyoto) and Josefina Domínguez Mujica (Universidad de Las Palmas). "The Canary Islands in the Japanese Imaginary: The Analysis of Three Contemporary Narratives" (Spanish: Canarias en el imaginario japonés: el análisis de tres narrativas contemporáneas; , ). Anuario de Estudios Atlánticos ISSN 0570-4065, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2011), no. 57, pp. 525–56. Received 26 May 2010. Accepted 30 June 2010. English abstract available.
• スペイン王国基礎データ, 各国・地域情勢, Japan: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, October 2015, retrieved 2016-08-04
• Fukuda, Makiko (June 2010), "Supervivència de la colònia japonesa a Catalunya: l'organització interna i la seva implicació en l'ecosistema lingüístic català", Revista de Llengua i Dret (53): 213–241 () English abstract available

Further reading

• Abraham, Traci; Serradilla-Avery, Dan (2010), "The Japón Lineage in Spain: Voices from the Unsung Past in the Creation of Identity through Tourism Today", in Adachi, Nobuko (ed.), Japanese and Nikkei at Home and Abroad: Negotiating Identities in a Global World, Cambria Press, pp. 105–132, ISBN 978-1-60497-686-1
• Avila Tàpies, Rosalia (2008) Inmigración japonesa e interculturalidad en España: el caso de la 'Sociedad Tanpopo' (). Boletín de la Real Sociedad Geográfica , CXLIV, p. 144-171.
• Avila Tàpies, Rosalia (Konan University) (2008). "Building friendship networks and intercultural spaces: the case of Japanese women in Spain" (). Migracijske i Etničke Teme /Migration and Ethnic Themes (Profile page), 24-4, p. 341-352. Available at Academia.edu.
• Clavería, Laura (2010), "Artistas japoneses en España: Una aproximación al caso de Cataluña", () Interasia Papers, Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.
• Fukuda, Makiko. "Castilian or Catalan? Linguistic survival strategies of Japanese residents in Catalonia, Spain." (). In: Saxena, Anju and Åke Viberg (editors). "Multilingualism: Proceedings of the 23rd Scandinavian Conference of Linguistics." Uppsala University, 1–3 October 2008. Start p. 170.

External links

• (in Spanish) Asociación de empresas Japonesas Shacho Kai
• Shachokai Barcelona
• (in Spanish) Eikyô, influencias japonesas