Japanese Roots
I don't know how I missed it but I came across Jared Diamond's 1998 Discover article, Japanese Roots, today. Jared's findings are pretty much in line with my understanding of the role Korea played in Japan's history which is that several mass exodus of Koreans, each wave caused by demise of a Korean kingdom (Buyeo, Gaya, Baekje, Goguryeo, Balhae), migrated to Japan and eventually conquered it. I doubt it was much of a conquering though. Most likely it was just a long population expansion, drowning the natives (Jomons) by sheer numbers, followed by a long fight amongst themselves until everyone got tired enough to choose a king. And Japanese language is probably a cocktail of exiles' languages and dialects, not that of just one like Goguryeo as the author suggested.
This doesn't mean that I think Japanese are Koreans though. That kind of reasoning would make me an African. Their ancestors were Koreans but now they are Japanese. What puzzles me is why Japanese average height is noticeably shorter than that of Korean? Curse of the Ainu?
Comments
Could be the island syndrome. Don’t know if it has a real name. Animals on islands are generally much smaller than their mainland counterparts; resource/space issues. There was a tiny mammoth which survived well into recorded history up on a Russian island.
Also there has been a more constant genetic exchange for Korea than Japan with the manifold groups which fall under the heading “Chinese.” Diet counts too. Korea seems to have embraced dairy products more than Japan.
<blockquote>
SEOUL, Dec. 24, 2001 Kyodo
South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Han Seung Soo expressed appreciation Monday of a remark by Japanese Emperor Akihito that his roots may be traced to the Korean Peninsula, citing possible kinship between the ancient Japanese imperial family and the Paekche Kingdom, one of three kingdoms of early Korean history.
''It is a very good thing...the emperor reaffirmed the truth about South Korean-Japanese relations recognized by everyone,'' Yonhap News Agency quoted Han as telling South Korean reporters.</blockquote>Oh, and who you calling shorty?