From Samurai to Doraemon, Short History of Santa in Japan (part 1)
By Muza-chan on Dec 20, 2009 | In History | 26 feedbacks »
The earliest record of a Christmas celebration in Japan was in 1552, when a Jesuit missionary held a mass in Suo, Yamaguchi prefecture. However, it is believed that small Christmas celebrations took place earlier, starting probably in 1549, when Saint Francis Xavier arrived in Japan.
The tradition continued until 1635, when the Tokugawa Shogunate prohibited the Christian religion with the Sakoku Edict.
For approx. 230 years, the Christian religion was practiced secretly by kakure kirishitan (hidden Christians). With the Meiji restoration, the Christian religion became legal and, under the Western influence, the celebration of Christmas has been resumed.
At the same time with the Christmas celebrations, Santa Claus also appeared in Japan (サンタさん Santa-san, or サンタクロース Santa Kurōsu).
In 1875 in Tokyo, at the Harajo School from Ginza, a Santa Claus dressed as a… Samurai
appeared at the Christmas celebration and several years later, in 1898, a book for children about Santa was published, called Santakuro.
A century later, in the 1970s, the Colonel Sanders Santa appeared in Japan, part of a hugely successful marketing campaign, that created a new “tradition” in Japan, that of eating fast food fried chicken on Christmas Eve. In 2005, a survey indicated that 1 of 3 Japanese adults still follow this tradition. ![]()

photo credit: kenleewrites
So, it’s no wonder that in the anime culture a Doraemon Santa also appeared… Here’s a plush toy seen last summer, forgotten since the previous Christmas, in a shop on Nakamise Dori, Asakusa:

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