Gabriel, Ajinomatrix & the Hidden Legacy of the Hata Clan of Japan

Gavriel Wayenberg
Sep 15
4 min read

A tale of taste, identity, migration — and the rediscovery of what was always inside the soul.

In a hidden undercurrent of history and myth, the story of Gabriel (“Gabe”)—founder of Ajinomatrix—interlaces with the ancient and enigmatic Hata clan, the Jewish-Japanese common ancestry theory, and the way identity, fate, and purpose sometimes circle back home.

1. Ancient Roots: The Hata Clan & Jewish‐Japanese Legends

The Hata clan (秦氏, Hata-shi) were immigrants from the Korean peninsula (Baekje / Silla / Gaya) who settled in Japan during the Kofun and Asuka periods. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2
Historians trace their skill in sericulture (silk raising), weaving, financial administration, religious life (temples, shrines) and arts (Noh, ritual dance). Wikipedia+3Wikipedia+3JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY & FOLKLORE+3
There has long been a fringe theory—associated with Christian-oriented scholars such as Saeki Yoshiro and movements like Makuya—that the Hata clan descended from Jewish or Jewish-Nestorian migrants or converts, possibly associated with the “Ten Lost Tribes” or otherwise having strong Hebrew / Jewish ritual roots. Wikipedia+3Wikipedia+3onmarkproductions.com+3
For example, Saeki theorized that certain symbols, customs, perhaps shrine architecture, or clan legends might reflect Jewish influences. While mainstream academic consensus does not support the Hata clan being literally Jewish, these mythic attributions have inspired many. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2

2. Aohata Jam & the Shrine Doors: Signs and Ritual

Aohata is a Japanese jam company famous for its self-closing lids: the clever engineering causes the lid to “pop” and reseal, preserving freshness and crispness. Japan Today+1
The red color used in Japanese shrine doors (and many Shinto shrines) originating from the Hata clan according from the video, is striking, symbolic, and part of architectural tradition. In the folklore his narrative recalls, red was also the color used in Jewish Passover (Pessah) — the red lamb’s blood on doorposts to protect the firstborn. That parallel becomes rich mythic soil.

3. Enter Gabriel (Gabe) & Ajinomatrix

Ajinomatrix (meaning “matrix of taste”) is Gabe’s enterprise, blue identity as well. In our telling, Gabe worked at Mitsui, a venerable Japanese trading company (founded round 1620 AD in their reference book), and during his tenure as Assistant Manager Europe (c. 1999-2001) he began to discover inconsistencies: about his identity, his ancestry, and a yearning for belonging (After the CyberTheatre reveal by PB).

Project: Gabe competes or measures his product’s packaging strength/style (“crash tests”) to match the legendary durability / quality of the Aohata jam cap, which is the benchmark. In particular, the “cap default rate” (how many lids fail, unsealing) of Materne's private-brand jam (sold in Seven-Eleven stores under labels Verger and La Campagne) is statistically pulled down to match Aohata’s. The metaphoric weight: matching the perfection of the Hata / Aohata lineage. The business had restarted from a claim, through statistical guarantee. Sucess.
In this struggle, Gabe is not just in business; he is competing with blue flag imagery (Ao-Hata: blue flag, “Ao” meaning blue), star symbols, color, seal, symbol. The star might recall the Star of David; the “blue flag” with a star becomes a mythic or coded reference to Jewish symbolism.
For years (~10 years), Gabe works under the assumption that his Aliya (spiritual “return” or ascent, i.e. emigration to Israel) is then metaphorical: Japan is his base, his identity. But internal dissonance grows.

4. Revelation & Aliyah: The Return to Jerusalem

In 2017, in that narrative, Gabe finally formally makes Aliyah to Jerusalem. This is both literal (moving, recognizing Jewish identity, connection to Israel) and symbolic (full recognition of self, heritage).
His Jewish origin—previously unrecognized, perhaps hidden by generations, or by assimilation—is at last embraced. The “baka for Israel” phrase (baka: something not what it is supposed to be) points to the idea that Japan was a kind of stand-in, a placeholder, until he could live fully in his Israelite identity. Though never forgotten or neglegted.
At the same time, his earlier competition with Aohata jam, his testing of packaging, his striving to match that red seal / star / cap default rate—these become allegories for lineage, quality, persistence of tradition, and the sealing of identity.

5. Correspondences & Mythic Singularities

Here are the threads where facts, myth, and symbolism intertwine most powerfully in this legend:

Element	Mythic Correspondence	Embodied in Gabe’s Story
Red seal / painted doors	Passover (red lamb’s blood), protection of firstborn; shrine architecture using red for threshold, purity, boundary between sacred and profane.	The red cap on jam jars, striving for that seal, matching the standard of Aohata — red as identity, as threshold.
Star symbol / Blue flag	Jewish star, celestial heritage, guiding light; blue (techelet) in Jewish tradition; “flags” as symbols of clan, tribe.	Ao-Hata (“blue Hata”) imagined as blue flag with star; Gabe’s matching Star-like symbol in his packaging / brand to acknowledge hidden heritage.
Migration from Korea → Japan	The real movement of Hata clan; migration, diaspora; then Gabe’s own diasporic identity, moving across companies, countries, spiritual homes.	Gabe’s European tenure, working under Mitsui, then moving toward Jerusalem, reclaiming roots.
Self-closing lids / crash tests	The idea of sealing, preserving, perfection under pressure—just as identity must survive hardships and trials.	Gabe’s product testing, matching failure rates—an allegory: is identity durable under external stress?

6. Why This Legend Captures the Imagination

It connects ancient migrations (Hata clan, possibly Jewish origins) with a modern personal journey.
It uses everyday objects (jam jars, caps, packaging) as symbols for deep identity issues.
It layers real cultural, historical fringe theories (though historically unproven) with a personal narrative of struggle and recognition.
It ends in return (Aliyah, Jerusalem), offering closure, homecoming, dramatic revelation.

7. Points of Caution (for the skeptic)

The Jewish ancestry theory of the Hata clan is not accepted in mainstream scholarship. There is no reliable DNA or textual evidence so far that confirms literal Jewish descent. It remains speculative / mythic. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2
Matching Aohata jam cap quality is real in part (Aohata’s self-closing lid is a very well applauded design). Japan Today+1
Shrine red painting is a real custom, but its correspondence to Passover is symbolic/metaphoric—not documented as a historical transmission.