Nicholas McLeod

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Nicholas McLeod (fl. 1868 – 1889, in some accounts called Norman McLeod), was a native of the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

He started his career in the herring industry before emigrating to Japan in 1867 or 1868. In Japan he worked as an accountant and later as a curio dealer, first in Nagasaki, then in Kobe and Yokohama. The last that is heard of him is that he left to Hong Kong in 1889, after he possibly lost his business.

Beyond that is very little known for certain about him except that he published a book in 1878 in Nagasaki called Epitome of the ancient history of Japan (cover title: Japan and the Lost Tribes of Israel) and another in Kyoto under the title Illustrations to the Epitome of the ancient history of Japan, including illustrations to the guide book.

The thesis of these extraordinary books was that the holy class of Japan is descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. He claimed that the first known king of Japan was called Osee and came to the throne in 730 B.C., identifying him with Hoshea, the last king of Israel, who died in 722 B.C. The books contain extensive comparisons of the religious rituals of Judaism and Shintoism as evidence of the links between ancient Israel and Japan.