Albena Vidinova Simeonova Doctoral Program in International Studies Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

Transcription

1 ABSTRACT JAPAN THROUGH RUSSIAN EYES ( ) - INTELLECTUALS VIEWPOINTS - Albena Vidinova Simeonova Doctoral Program in International Studies Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan Professor Hatsue Shinohara, Chair My study is about changes and variations in prominent Russian scholars, writers, and journalists perceptions and images of Japan during the period I demonstrate that some concrete political events such as the Meiji reforms, the Sino-Japanese War of , the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, the worsened Russo-Japanese regional rivalry, and the Russo-Japanese War of , exerted a significant impact upon the formation of both positive and negative images of Japan in Russian intellectuals minds. Another assumption, around which my study is built, is that perceptions of the other are reflected through the prism of the self-perceptions. Therefore, I have examined both Russian intellectuals perceptions of the self and the other during that time. In its essence, my study presents an attempt to review International History through its cultural and political aspects, while combining it with History of Ideas, in order to manifest that there was a special connection between the big regional events, formal Russo-Japanese relations, and Russian perceptions, images, and attitudes to Japan at the informal level. While I do look at some historical events and Russo-Japanese relations at the formal level, my research focus falls upon analyzing the Russian social elite s images of Japan at the informal level to determine how they originated, what spoken and unspoken assumptions they contained, who shared them, or if and why they differed. Consequently, I examined the larger ideological context that produced them to determine what insights they could provide about Russian visions of Asia in general, and Japan in particular. The theoretical point of this exercise is to argue for a greater degree of sensitivity to cross-cultural encounters and the mutual perceptions born of them when interpreting international history and relations. The whole study comprises one introductory chapter, seven main chapters, and one concluding chapter. Each of the main chapters revolves around an important historical event. A considerable amount of various primary resources in Russian, and some secondary resources in English were analyzed to present a broader idea of that stratum of the Russian educated elite s attitudes towards Asia in general, and Japan in particular. To sum up my findings, I have detected, analyzed, and arranged in groups along a common denominator, a whole array of Russian images of Japan in the period I have also manifested how those images originated and further evolved. Very much provoked by the big regional events in which both Russia and Japan were involved, some negative images of Japan were substituted by new positive images and vice versa, while some negative stereotypes remained unchanged. In this respect, a great number of Western and Russian studies on Russia iii

2 and Japan argue that Russians and Japanese have entertained predominantly negative mutual images. Moreover, scholars argue that Russians witnessing the Russo-Japanese War of interpreted her through a negative racial discourse in their writings. In contrast, this study demonstrates that although Russian intellectuals images of Japan varied at times, their positive images of the country prevailed. Japan s reformation and her confirmation as a great power, due to her victories over China and Russia provoked respect and admiration among Russian reform-minded intellectuals. Few were those Russians, mainly some conservative intellectuals, who kept entertaining denigrating images of Japan regardless of her successes at the domestic and international levels. Furthermore, negative racial treatment of the Russo-Japanese War of was observed in very few conservative Russian intellectuals writings on the war. In fact, the majority of Russian intellectuals sensed Russia s backwardness compared to the West and even to Japan, and paid bigger attention to Russia s domestic and international position, arguing for the necessity of Russia s urgent reformation and modernization. Instead of mockery or hatred, so typical for wartime literary and semi-literary sketches on the enemy, Russian intellectuals who wrote on the war of , in their biggest part admitted either explicitly or implicitly that Japan had turned into an intellectual and military challenge to Russia, and showed deep respect to her. In addition, the study has also found interesting parallels and striking differences in Russian perceptions and images of Japan at the informal level within one sub-period of study as well as between the different sub- periods. Moreover, the images and stereotypes that are discussed in this study present fears, prejudices, and perceptions unique to Russia, besides the imagined division between the progressive West and tradition-bound East. Therefore, by providing information on Russian perceptions and images of Japan, I hope to make my modest contribution to the better understanding of the prevailing trend among the Russian social elite s visions and attitudes toward Japan in Last but not least, this research also could provide a base for a further discussion on Russian images of Japan in present days. Chair: iv

3 ACKNOWLEGEMENTS My deepest intellectual debt in this study is owed to Professor Hatsue Shinohara from the Graduate School of Asian Pacific Studies at the Waseda University in Tokyo who has served as my formal mentor. In addition to her valuable pieces of advice on the project and moral support, through her doctoral seminars she has stimulated my interest in International History and Relations with focus on Japan, and thereby contributed to broadening my intellectual horizon in these fields. Throughout my research work, Associate Professor Petr Podalko from the Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo has also consistently provided me with thoughtful advice, and encouragement, as well as priceless information on the Russo-Japanese War of derived from rare Russian language sources, for which I am highly obliged to him. I d like to express my gratitude to Professor Hideo Kobayashi and Professor Kurt Radtke from Waseda University, Tokyo as well as Professor Harou Tohmasu from the Tamagawa University, Tokyo who further contributed to my research via their precious suggestions and support. I have also learned a lot from all my lab mates from the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Waseda University. I would like to express my sincere thanks for their useful insights and friendly support during our project and seminar discussions. I am also very much obliged to The Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MONBUKAGAKUSHO) for covering my tuition fees and living expenses during my Doctoral study at the Waseda University in Tokyo which helped me to concentrate completely on my research project. Finally, I thank a lot to my family - my husband Valerii, my son Chavdar, my mother Elena, and my sister Liliana, without whose intellectual and emotional support, I could not have completed this study. And I wish my father Vidin could see me as a Doctor of Philosophy. v

4 DEDICATION To my family, who has always inspired me to progress in my studies vi

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS: ABSTRACT...iii AKNOWLEDGEMENTS....vi DEDICATION.. vii CHAPTER I I.1. I.2. I.3. I.4. Research Outline.. 1 Research Goals, Approaches, and Methods...1 Overview of the Study...4 Review of Related Literature A Cognitive Framework of Analysis- a Friend or a Foe II II.1. II.2. II.3. II.4. Russia s Advance in the Asian East - Perceptions of Asia and Japan...22 Russia s Turn towards the Pacific since Image of the Self and the Dichotomy East - West in Russian Minds...24 Russia s Mission in Asia- Easterners Ideas 28 Initial State of Information on Japan...36 II.4.1. General Outline of Russia s Encounters with Japan ( )..36 II.4.2. Visits to Pre-Meiji Japan Ivan A. Goncharov s Frigate Palada...42 III Perceptions of Meiji Japan...52 III.1. Direct Perceptions of Reformed Japan Esper E. Ukhtomskii (1891).52 III.2. Indirect Perceptions of Reformed Japan Publicists Viewpoints...64 III.2.1 Japan and the Sino-Japanese War of in the Liberal and Conservative Press...67 IV Rising Japan Adored or Feared IV.1. Individual First-hand Experiences in Japan ( Nikolai Garin-Mikhailovski (1898)...84 vii

6 - E.I.Bulgakova (1899) Grigorii Al. De- Vollan (1902).. 91 IV.2 Indirect Observations of Russo-Japanese Regional Rivalry ( ).. 98 IV.2.1.Russia and Japan s Gradual Advances Further in the Asian East IV Publicists about the Boxer Rebellion and the Manchurian Crisis ( ) V Predictions for an Approaching War ( ) V.1. The Press about the Worsened Russo-Japanese Relations in V.2. Fears and Hopes about an Approaching War between Russia and Japan VI Russo-Japanese War of Illusions and Myths VI.1. A Brief Historical Outline to the Events that Brought to the War of VI.2. A Short Victorious War - Hopes and Beliefs VI.3. The Idea of the Yellow Peril and the Myth of the Third Rome VII Open Opposition or Support for the Russo-Japanese War of VII.1. Liberals and Social Democrats about the War of VII.2. Pacifists versus Patriots - Lev Tolstoy s Ideas and Principal Conservative Press Responses..184 VII.3. Moderate Press Attitude to the Belligerent Countries and the War VIII Defeats, Revolution, and Peace Treaty VIII.1. Grand War Defeats and the Revolution of VIII.2. Intellectuals Concluding Sketches on the War of VIII.3. Reactions to the Peace Treaty of Portsmouth of IX Conclusion and Contribution of the Study IX.1.Tendencies in the Intellectuals Interpretations on Japan in the Period viii

7 IX.2. Factors Which Influenced Russian Perceptions and Images of Japan IX.3. Events That Provoked New Images of Japan in Intellectuals Minds IX.4. Characteristic Features of Intellectuals Direct Observations on Japan Common Views on Pre-reformed Japan Common Views on Meiji Japan before the War of Russian Visitors to Japan in the Period IX.5. Similarities and Differences in the Indirect Perceptions of Japan ( ) According to Civilization School of Thought According to Political School of Thought Liberal and Conservative Publicists about the Triple Intervention of Liberal, Populist, and Social Reformist Publicists in Conservative Publicists in IX.6. Predictions for a War Liberal, Conservative, and Populist Press of IX.7.Parallels and Contrasts in Beliefs and Responses to the War of Common Attitude among Russian Intellectuals Conservative Publicists in Liberal, Populist, Social Democratic, and Socialist Revolutionary Publicists in Pacifists in IX.8. Originality and Contribution of the Study BIBLIOGRAPHY. 254 ix

8 NOTES ON STYLE Transliterations from the Cyrillic alphabet observe the US Library of Congress system, but without diacritical marks and ligatures. The exceptions are proper names and terms widely known in English by other spelling (e.g. Nicholas II rather than Nikolai II). As for Japanese words, they are Romanized according to the Hepburn system. Publication data for printed materials borrow from Russian usage to abbreviate the more frequent places of publication (M for Moscow, SPB for St. Petersburg, L for Leningrad, and M-L for Moscow-Leningrad). Unless otherwise indicated, all dates are rendered according to the Gregorian calendar generally in use in the West. In the period investigated here, Russians adhered to the Julian calendar, which lagged the Gregorian by 13 days. Therefore, when quoting documents that are Russia-specific, notations of Old Style (O.S.) or Julian calendar appear in the text or in the notation. x