Famous Chinese who were naturalized in Japan
Sekihei
Sekihei is a critic who focuses on Japan-China issues and other China-related topics. He has been a Japanese citizen since 2007.
He was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, in 1962. Four years later, the Cultural Revolution broke out and his parents, who were professors, were expelled from Peking University. Since then, he was raised by his grandfather, a doctor of Chinese medicine.
After joining the art faculty of Peking University in 1980, he began to actively participate in the democratization movement to prevent the repressive policies of his childhood from being repeated but was severely disappointed by the Tiananmen Incident at that time.
While studying in Japan, he then began to appreciate Japanese culture as a unique development of ancient Chinese culture and gradually became a Japanophile.
In 2002, he made his debut as a critic with a book on anti-Japanese sentiment in China and became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2007.
GoSeigen
GoSeigen is a famous go player. After taking Japanese citizenship in 1936, he initially returned to Chinese citizenship but took Japanese citizenship again in 1979.
He was born in Fujian, China in 1914 and was introduced to the game of Go at an early age by his father.
He came to Japan in 1928 after earning a reputation as a Go prodigy in Beijing, where he was living at the time. The year after he joined the Kensaku Segoshi Honorary 9th Dan, he was promoted to Hitsuke 3rd Dan.
He then developed the Shinfuseki (“new opening strategy"), which emphasized speed and balance, and was named “Showa Kisei" for his innovative strategy.
In 2005, he was nominated for the Go Hall of Fame by the Nihon Ki-in, but declined because he was still in training.
He passed away in 2014 at the age of 100 but was officially nominated for the Nihon Ki-in Hall of Fame in 2015 at the request of his grieving family.
Gokindou
Gokindou was a merchant who was active from the Meiji to the Showa era and became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 1904.
He was born in 1855 in China’s Zhejiang Province and, as the eldest son of a farmer, helped on his family’s farm at an early age.
In 1885, he came to Japan and acquired a fortune as a merchant of various goods. In 1890, he established a successful match export business and made a name for himself as a businessman.
During the Sino-Japanese War, he risked his business in Kobe and became a heavyweight in the business community of the Kansai region.
From then until his death in 1926, he was active in various fields, such as the rise of industrial production, the establishment of private schools, and contributions to pioneering projects.