(From McLeod's "Epitome of the Ancient History of Japan," Tokyo, 1879.)

One of the most curious offshoots of the theory is that which identifies the Shindai, or holy class, of Japan as the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes. This is advocated by N. McLeod in his "Epitome of the Ancient History of Japan" (3d ed., Tokyo, 1879). He calls attention to a point of agreement between the two, namely, the fact that the first known king of Japan was Osee, 730 B.C., and the last king of Israel was Hosea, who died 722 B.C. In addition to this, McLeod points out that the Shinto temple is divided into a holy and a most holy place. The priests wear a linen dress, bonnet, and breeches, like the Jewish priests of old, and the ancient Temple instruments are used in the Shinto temple. The Japanese worship their ancestors, as the old Israelites did; and in addition to this McLeod points out the Jewish appearance of some Japanese, and supplements his "Epitome" with a volume of illustrations depicting among other things the supposed rafts on which the Israelites crossed, via Saghalien, to Japan, and their supposed order of march. Still further removed is the suggestion of some writers that the Australians are the Lost Tribes because they practise circumcision ("Allg. Zeit. de. Jud." 1842, No. 6).

Quite recently the Masai of British East Africa have been identified owing to similarity of custom (M. Merker, "Die Masai," Berlin, 1904).