Last Name Help

[ThatOneArabGuy]

Konbanwa,
I am Lebanese and I have a question pertaining to the last name Itani. I'm unsure about Japan, but in Lebanon (as well as many other West-Asian countries) if a last name has a significant population, the family gets a council. Recently I obtained the "Itani family-history" from the Itani Council of Lebanon and a specific passage intrigued me. It says that at some time during the Ottoman Empire, some of the Itani family went to Japan and some even got married and established families. Now throughout my life I have met quite a few Japanese Itanis, and I was told that my Uncle in California became friends with a Japanese Itani and he ended up having his family history passed from his Dad, and it turns out that his Great Grandad was Arab. I have spoke to other Japanese Itanis, they didn't really know much on the topic.

Could anyone here possibly enlighten me?

In recent years the Itani councils of various countries have begun to connect, so far the Lebanese, Tunisian, Moroccan and Saudi Arabian have joined.

Last I checked one in Germany and Syria are being put into place. Why not bring in the Japanese? We may be distant relatives but we still are Itanis ^_^!!!
Arigato for your time.

 

[thomas]

Hi, welcome to the forum!

Thanks for sharing your story. I am not sure about the Lebanese Itanis in Japan, but Itani itself seems to be a not so uncommon surname in Japan, spelled either 伊谷 or 井谷.

Do you know why and and under what circumstances the Lebanese Itanis came to Japan? Also, where in Japan did/do they live?

 

[epigene]

Your post piqued my interest as a history buff and got me doing some checking.

Regarding Arab presence in Japan during the days of the Ottoman Empire, the only thing that I could think of was the shipwreck of the Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul in 1890, off the coast of Wakayama Prefecture. This is a famous incident in the relations between Japan and Turkey in establishing longlasting ties of goodwill between the two nations. According to what I've learned from the media, Turkish children are taught about the incident, and many Turkish feel a strong bond of friendship with the Japanese. This is the Wiki article on the incident: Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul - Wikipedia
This probably is the cause of the claim of Arab presence in Japan, but the article says that all survivors from the ship were repatriated to Turkey. So, I wonder if there had been Arabs who remained in Japan.

Regarding your family name, "Itani" is not an uncommon name in Japan as thomas said. However, the name "Itani" can be written in many kanji variations, of which 井谷 and 伊谷 are the most common. So, it is quite difficult to say which Itani families have Arab ancestors. There is a surprising coincidence, however. The largest concentration of 井谷 (the former) households can be found in Wakayama Prefecture.

This is as far as I know and can research on the Web. If you wish to explore further, I suggest you contact the Japan Arab Association here in Tokyo. They may have more information and contacts who are more knowledgeable.

Address:
Japan Arab Association
c/o Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.
1-1-1 Shibaura, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-8528, Japan

Phone: +81-3-3798-3515

Good luck!

Edit: I have written the snail mail address because the Association does not accept email inquiries and does not disclose its email add. I think you can write in Arabic or English to them.

 

[ThatOneArabGuy]

Arigato,

Well while Arabs and Turks do have ties, my family is primarily Arabian (not Turkish), besides the fact that one of my ancestors served as a Pasha to Suleiman Al-Canooni. I'm honestly unsure if they boarded the frigate, the Ottoman Era was quite vast... However I do know for a fact that in the late 1800's a Muslim Mission from the Arabic Gulf (A Saudi Arabian Itani family was part of it) went to East Asia, I also know for a fact that they went to Indonesia, Thailand and China, I find extremely likely they went to Japan. Thank you so much for the address, I will surely send them a letter, I appreciate your support. I am currently typing up a translated family history (translated from Turkish, French and Arabic into English), since we appear to share a passion for history, I'd be more than happy to send you a copy if you are interested. :

 

[ThatOneArabGuy]

Thanks Thomas,

Just a little background on my family's role, throughout history the Itanis have been merchants and (muslim) Missionaries, they traveled several times across Asia and Europe, so a cause of going to Japan would probably trade in the 1800's, the other scenario would probably be the Ottoman frigate, though I'm unsure if they boarded it (for I am Arabian not Turkish, even though the Ottomans ruled a good chunk of West Asia and North Africa). One Japanese Itani I met was from a city called Tanabe, the one my uncle met was from Hiroshima. Thanks for the help :

 

[thomas]

Thanks for the background info, that's certainly an interesting family history! :

Please keep us updated in case you hear back from the JAA.

 

[Toritoribe]

I do know for a fact that in the late 1800's a Muslim Mission from the Arabic Gulf (A Saudi Arabian Itani family was part of it) went to East Asia, I also know for a fact that they went to Indonesia, Thailand and China, I find extremely likely they went to Japan.

If you are looking for descendants of Itanis who might come to Japan in the 1800's, ALMOST ALL Itani families in Japan have nothing to do with them. The two major Itani families, 井谷 and 伊谷, can be seen in an official pedigrees of Daimyōs compiled by the Tokugawa government in the middle of 1600's, thus, they had been using the family name "Itani" before that. Thier ancestors are not Arabian people.

 

[epigene]

According to what Toritoribe pointed out, the Itanis of Wakayama and other parts of Japan are not likely to be the Itanis of the Arab world. As I have said earlier, I have never heard of Arabs here in Japan in the 19th century, other than the Ottoman frigate.

I'm looking forward to new developments! Let us know for sure!

Regarding your family history, I'm not much into genealogy but am interested.

 

[ThatOneArabGuy]

I find this a big help, it just seems that the Itanis my uncle has talked to are just an uncommon coincidence... Regardless, I will continue to research the topic for any smidge of info, this small coincidence group may end up being more than they seem.

Thanks for the help :