Setsuzo Kotsuji

was a Japanese Orientalist and Hebraist, the son of a Shinto priest from a long line of priests. During the Holocaust he assisted Jewish refugees—first in Kobe and later in Japanese-occupied Shanghai—and spoke out against Nazi-inspired anti-Jewish propaganda. A Japanese-language biography about his aid to refugees was written by actor Jundai Yamada and published in 2013 by NHK Shuppan.

He converted to Judaism in 1959, having earlier converted from Shinto to Christianity in his youth. In his memoir From Tokyo to Jerusalem he described his religious journey and lifelong engagement with Hebrew and the Bible.

He first encountered Jews while working for the South Manchuria Railroad Company during World War II.

Early life and education Kotsuji was born in Kyoto to an aristocratic Shinto family; his father was a kannushi (Shinto priest). As a teenager he read a Japanese translation of the Bible, which led him to monotheism and study with Christian missionaries; he converted to Presbyterian Christianity and began studying Hebrew. He later pursued philological studies in the United States and completed a doctorate in Hebrew and Jewish studies at Kyoto University.

Conversion to Judaism and later life In October 1959, during a visit to Israel, Kotsuji underwent circumcision and converted to Judaism in Jerusalem, with the encouragement of Rabbi Dr. Zerach Warhaftig. Members of the Mir Yeshiva organized a welcome reception led by R. Chaim Shmuelevitz. He later lived for a period in Brooklyn, where the Jewish community assisted him as his health declined. His memoir From Tokyo to Jerusalem appeared in 1964.

Works The Origin and Evolution of the Semitic Alphabets. Tokyo: Kyo Bun Kwan, 1937.