Image of Japan in Russia: old elements in a new arrangement

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2020-51-3/153-167

Abstract

This article compares the image of Japan in Russia in two periods of time: at the end of XIX – beginning of the XX c. and in modern days. It reviews the images existing in the European part of Russia. Chronological periods were chosen for comparison based on some shared traits: both economical and political relations between the two countries are relatively weak, so the mass-media potential for propaganda is only used at times when a certain political problem becomes relevant (Russan-Japanese war/ the peace treaty problem and the Kuril Islands dispute), while there also is a fashion for Japanese or pseudo-Japanese products (japonisme in art, incl. decorative arts and literature/ Japanese cuisine, cartoons etc.). The image of Japan at the beginning of the XX c. is described based on literature with the use of journalistic and scientific publications. In addition, the author used pulp fiction as a source, which has not been previously done in research by Russian scholars. Analysis of the modern image of Japan is based on the results of a questionnaire survey, conducted via Internet in June 2019, and supplemented by the non-formalized content analysis of the on-line mass media. Image of Japan as special case of an image of the Other has one permanent trait – it is exotic. This exoticism comes from the notion of Japanese traditionalism as well as from perceiving Japan as a futuristic land. Both of these aspects can have negative or positive connotations. The historical part of this research shows how these connotations shift depending on the historical context and views of a particular author. The 2019 survey demonstrated the predominance of positive characterizations in the modern image of Japan and also that mass-media have little effect on this image.

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