Acrobatic Start to Relations まさにアクロバティックに始まった日豪関係

知られざる日豪関係のルーツ What You Didn’t Know about Australia-Japan Relations

Meiji-era (1867-1912) Japanese Acrobats

日豪関係のルーツは、まさにアクロバティックに始まった。1867年に日本の曲芸団がオーストラリアを訪問した数年後(具体的な日付は不明。1871年という説もあれば、1874年という説もある)、Sakuragawa Rikinosukeという曲芸師がオーストラリア人女性と結婚して、豪州に移住した日本人として初めて記録された。

Japan-Australia relations started off by swinging into action – literally. First contact came in 1867 when a Japanese acrobatic troupe visited Down Under in 1867. A few years later (the exact date is unknown – some say 1871, others 1874), Rikinosuke Sakuragawa, an acrobat touring Melbourne with another troupe, married an Australian woman and they settled in Queensland, where their descendants remain today.

Sakuragawa夫妻がメルボルンで出会い、以降クィーンズランド州に移り、今でも卑属が住み続けている。同氏に続き日本人のオーストラリアへの移民が始まった。1901年に執行された白豪主義前の日本人のオーストラリアへの移民ピークが19世紀末の1893年から1898年の間だったので、僅かの約3500人に止まった。

Sakuragawa was the first recorded Japanese resident of Australia. He would herald pre-White Australia Policy Japanese migration that peaked from 1893 and 1898, when about 3,500 people settled.

ちなみに、Sakuragawa氏があの「不思議な国のアリス」作家であったルイス・キャロルのために演じた可能性がある。

Incidentally, Sakuragawa is also rumored to have performed for Lewis Carrol, author of “Alice in Wonderland.”

あなたがご存知の”知られざる日豪関係”についてのお話はありませんか? ご存知の話がありましたら、”考えRoo”の読者にシェアしていただけませんか? 是非、お知らせください。お待ちしています。
Do you know something about Australia-Japan relations that most people don’t? Want to share it with Kangaeroo’s readers? Please let us know.

Reference/参照
The Japanese-Speaking Community in Australia
(Anti-)Cosmopolitan Encounters
Japanese People Lewis Carroll Saw
The Japanese Community
Japan-Australia Relations

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