This article analyzes two theoretical works by the writer Natsume Sōseki ( 夏目漱石, 1867–1916): the essay "Merits and Flaws of -isms" ( イズムの功過,  Izumu-no Kōka , 1910), in which Natsume Sōseki called on adherents of naturalism, prevalent in Japan in the early 20^th century, not to view Japanese literature through the prisms of “isms” and to go beyond the boundaries set by them; and the writer’s lecture on literary theory titled “My Individualism” ( 私の個人主義,  Watakushi-no Kojinshugi, 1914). This lecture marked the culmination of the writer’s years-long theoretical inquiries, the most significant of which was his unsuccessful, as he later acknowledged, monograph “Theory of Literature” ( 文学論,  Bungakuron , 1907). However, Russian literary studies did not show any serious interest in Natsume Sōseki’s theoretical works, despite the fact that Natsume Sōseki’s thoughts on the appropriateness of using Western terminology to describe the works of Japanese artists are extremely intriguing. The writer insisted that literary theory should take into account the context of a particular culture rather than seek universal paths of development, resorting to typologies of literary development, etc. Natsume Sōseki became the first Japanese literary theorist  to  argue  that  ideological  and  artistic  trends  that  emerged  in  European  and American  cultures, bearing their imprint and conditioned by specific historical processes, cannot be transposed as a template onto Japanese soil simply because certain elements of Western artistic currents are evident in the works of Japanese writers. The present study raises the question of the value of studying Natsume Sōseki’s theoretical writings because they shed light on how he conceptualized, scientifically grasped the regularities, essence, and course of development of Japanese literature, being one of the most influential literary figures of the Meiji era (明治時代, 1868–1912).

The article is devoted to the Japanese drama  Kanjinchō, its text being introduced into Russian scientific circulation. The translation was made with the participation of students from the National Research University Higher School of Economics as part of the project “Translation of Kabuki Theater Plays.” Kanjinchō is one of the most famous dramas in Japanese theatrical tradition. The story focuses on the valiant warrior Minamoto-no Yoshitsune (1159–1189), who is one of the most beloved characters in Japan. Yoshitsune defeated the Taira clan in the decisive Dannoura sea battle (April 25, 1185). The Genpei war ended, but his brother Yoritomo ordered to kill him. Saving their lives, the hero and his companions disguise themselves as  yamabushi monks in order to pass unnoticed through the lands of Japan, blocked by special military inspection checkpoints. “Kanjinch ō ” tells the story of how the samurai crossed one of the gates, named Ataka, in the Japanese mountains. The monk Benkei, Yoshitsune’s faithful companion, used his wits to outwit the gatekeeper, named Togashi-no Saemon. The play contains famous theatrical scenes: an impromptu reading of a charity signature sheet  kanjinchō, the yamabushi-mondō  dialogue, Yoshitsune’s strike, the  Ennen-no mai  dance, the  tobiroppo  flying step. The play originally belonged to Noh theatrical tradition, but Kabuki also adapted it on stage. However, the Noh influence remained strong, which is also discussed in the paper. The religious aspect in the play is presented extensively, reflected both in the actors’ lines and material objects props, accessories, and costumes. This is a feature of Kabuki as a form of performing art, demonstrating deep elaboration of Buddhist symbolism. The article also presents an analysis of the main characters, their stage embodiments, analysis of the symbolism and costumes, a description of   the stage details, and a description of the Buddhist aspect of the play.

Based on the analysis of statistical and information sources, scientific publications, and the authors’ personal experience, the article analyzes the peculiarities of Japanese minimarkets that rank among amazing Japanese inventions, creations, and practices and have become an integral part of the Japanese way of life and a trademark of the country. In the academic literature, there have been no comprehensive works revealing this phenomenon so far, and their regional peculiarities, especially the geography of stores operated by different chains, are almost completely neglected. The purpose of this article is to highlight the key scientific discourse, to characterize the unique character and universality, which, in fact, constitutes the phenomenon of konbini, as well as to identify their regional features. The study clearly shows that these stores, which came to Japan from the United States in 1973, have been completely transformed and are constantly evolving, changing the store concept and presenting a globally unique phenomenon. It describes the characteristics of the leading chains of these stores in their endeavor to gain even greater popularity among consumers and the innovations that have emerged in recent years, including those caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In revealing the phenomenon of konbini, the authors, on the one hand, note their transformation into an important element of social infrastructure, that meets the needs of modern society and is especially necessary in the context of rapidly progressing aging of the population, and, on the other hand, their certain negative impact, especially on the younger generation. The paper features an analysis of the regional characteristics of these stores and the copyrighted cartographic material illustrating them. It is revealed that, within prefectures, the location of konbini correlates with the number of inhabitants (the number of stores is proportional to the population of municipalities), and each of the 20 konbini chains operating in Japan is located in its own specific area. The authors conclude that konbini are in the interest of the development of the country’s regions as a whole, and their role in Japanese society cannot be overemphasized. The Japanese experience can be relevant to other countries, including Russian chain stores.

The article is devoted to the relations between Japan and the European Economic Community (EEC) in the period of the 1970s–1980s. It explains how these relations shifted from fixation on trade issues to signing the Hague Declaration of 1991   – the first bilateral political agreement; why institutionalization of the relations between these two economic powers and, at the same time, US partners did not happen earlier. The author chose not to use traditional descriptive research method based on chronological ordering in favor of a logical method based on discovery of objective and subjective factors influencing EU-Japan relations. The Introduction includes research relevance, peculiarities of the relations between Japan and the European Economic Community as a supranational organization, and the chronological framework explanation. The main part of the article is divided into four parts. The first one focuses on the basic characteristics of the period, the reasons for trade frictions, their most notable examples being singled out. The second part is devoted to the classification of the methods which the European side used to settle disputes. Their measures are classified in two categories: the measures aimed at the limitation of the Japanese import and at the stimulation of the EEC export. The third part traces the reasons why both sides expressed little interest in establishing political partnership, as well as traces the first steps aimed at its promotion. The final part focuses on the Hague declaration and the reasons which made its signing possible. The Conclusion contains the main results of the research. The author proposes that the objective factors for slow development of the political dialogue were the absence of common political agenda, which can be explained by geographical remoteness of the actors; orientation of both actors at the US in the security sphere, which eliminated the need to establish new partnerships. Among the subjective factors are the European elites’ fixation on trade frictions, which harmed the expansion of the negotiations agenda, and the Japanese elites’ uncertainty about the EEC’s identity as a fully legitimate European actor. This uncertainty was gradually eliminated with successful expansion of the bloc and its political integration. The signing of the Hague declaration became a reality when both sides saw the necessity of creating a political institutional framework for the settlement of trade frictions on a regular and constructive basis.

The  Manuscript  by  Matsuda  Denjūrō  松田伝十郎  (1769–1843)  "Tales  of  the  Northern Barbarians" (" Hokuidan ,”  北夷談) is a valuable source on the history of Russian-Japanese relations, the development by the Japanese of the northern territories inhabited by the Ainu, relations and barter between them and the Japanese. The written source consists of seven notebooks. We used the manuscript that is kept in the National Archives of Japan ( Kokuritsu K ōbunshokan,  国立公文書館), established in 1971. The material is posted on the official website of the archive. The time of its creation falls on the first years of the Bunsei  文政 era, which lasted from 1818 to 1831. It describes the events from 1799 to 1822 in chronological order, i.e., the events that occurred during the 24 years of Matsuda's service in the lands of the Ainu. The manuscript is written in cursive (Japanese: "grass writing," sōsho 草書). The second half of the first book of the "Stories" deals with the bear festival and the world of  inau . The text is accompanied by numerous sketches. Matsuda was probably one of the first who briefly described the festival and various inau , cult objects of the Ainu. For comparison with the statements of the Japanese official, the opinions of authoritative Russian researchers on these topics are used. The illustrations in the manuscript are of great value. They provide additional information that is missing from the text itself. Matsuda’s descriptions refer to November   – December 1799. The “Hokuidan ” manuscript has not yet been translated into any of the European languages, with the exception of Russian. The author of this article provides translations of fragments of the written source in the chapters of published collective monographs [Klimov 2020, pp. 214–254; Klimov 2021, pp. 277–334; Klimov 2022, pp. 151–170]. The translation was carried out from the published text of the Japanese manuscript in the ten-volume series of written monuments titled Collection of Historical Materials About the Life of the Common People of Japan (Nihon shomin seikatsu shiryō shūsei  日本庶民生活史料集成) in the fourth volume [Matsuda 1969, pp. 77–175]. In addition to this series, the "Stories" were published in Old Japanese in the fifth volume of a six-volume series of written monuments called Library: Northern Gate (Hokumon sōsho 北門叢書), published in 1972.

The insular position has serious influence on history and mentality. However, this provision “works” only in conjunction with other factors. Japan and England are island nations, but the history of England is characterized by the maximum number of foreign contacts, while that of Japan, until the middle of the 19th century, by the minimum one. The passive approach to space in Tokugawa period is explained by the following factors: high productivity of rice cultivation, lack of livestock farming, the conviction that Japan has the best climate, and the “closed country” policy. During the Meiji period, under the influence of the West (primarily Great Britain), the attitude towards space changed radically. The sea was conceptualized as a “conducting,” rather than “isolating” environment. The choice of Great Britain as a role model was determined, first of all, by its experience in the conquest of maritime space and the creation of a powerful colonial empire. The transition to a new model of “expanding space” was also justified by references to ancient times, when the Japanese had an “active” character, but the “closed country” policy “spoiled” the Japanese. As a result of military victories over China (1894–1895) and Russia (1904–1905), Japan began to be called “England of the East.” Great Britain ceased to be a role model after its withdrawal from the Japanese-British Alliance Treaty in 1922, and public discourse was directed towards justifying the uniqueness of the Japanese. The established characterization of the Japanese as adherents of tradition is dubious. The appeal to antiquity was indeed of great importance for the Japanese and, in this sense, they can be considered “traditionalists.” But, after the Meiji Revolution, they demonstrated amazing ability to embrace the “new” and destroy the “old,” but often boasted that they were “merely” recollecting their past. The concept of “traditionality” is too broad. Upon closer examination it does not provide much for understanding historical and cultural processes which require careful division into components that have an exact chronological and situational reference.

The article undertakes a comparative analysis of strategies and forms of implementation of the defense diplomacy of Japan, China, and Russia in Southeast Asia. All the three above-mentioned countries seriously accelerated their defense ties with the states of the region in the 2010s both at the bilateral track and within the multilateral frameworks. The article focuses on Japan, China, and Russia due to the specifics of their relations with the region. All three countries have historical limitations in developing defense diplomacy in Southeast Asia. However, as this article argues, throughout the past decade, all the three have been actively emphasizing defense diplomacy as one of the pillars of their advancement in the region. There is a number of publications, in Russia and abroad, which study either bilateral forms of defense diplomacy or the activities of such ASEAN-centered regional institutions as the ASEAN Regional Forum, ADMM+, the ASEAN Expanded Maritime Forum, or externally generated frameworks like the Shangri-La Dialogue. However, up to nowadays, none of these publications undertook a comparative analysis of defense diplomacy strategies and tactics of Japan, China, and Russia. This article aims to bridge this analytical gap. Methodologically the article undertakes the comparative analysis of defense diplomacy of the three countries in question. The main parameters for comparison were the doctrinal frameworks of defense diplomacy (analysis of national security documents), case studies of the Southeast Asian states most important for the advancement of Japan, China, and Russia’s defense diplomacy and the instruments of defense diplomacy development at the bilateral (intergovernmental frameworks, military-technical cooperation, joint exercises, port calls, etc.) and multilateral levels (within ASEAN-centered institutions).

Okinawa Prefecture takes a special place among Japan’s regions. Until the 19th century, its territory was occupied by the Kingdom of Ryukyu, which was dependent on and influenced by both Japan and China. In 1879, it was incorporated into the Japanese Empire and for a long time was a de-facto colony. In 1945, the island of Okinawa became the arena of fierce ground fighting, which claimed the lives of almost 200,000 people. The article studies the most widespread narrative about the history of the prefecture and, particularly, the tragedy of World War II. It shows that, in the pre-war period, the status of Okinawans in the Japanese Empire was ambiguous. On the one hand, from the point of view of Japanese authorities and Japanese society as a whole, they were separate from the residents of the rest of the country, which was solidified both by the economic backwardness of the region and the fact that, in terms of the administrative and political system, its status was different from that of other prefectures even several decades after the annexation. On the other hand, it is shown that Okinawans were not necessarily considered a separate people and were often perceived as a “branch” of the Japanese. In this sense, their status was radically different from that of the people of Taiwan and Korea. Such an ambiguous status of Okinawans in the public discourse of Japan before 1945 influenced the way in which, in the post-war period, they were perceiving the experience of World War II. Memorials and other commemorative objects promote the narrative according to which Okinawans were only and exclusively victims of the war, with key culprits of their suffering often being not even Americans or the abstract “calamity of war,” but rather the Japanese military. This narrative continues to define the identity of Okinawans to this day, influencing their attitude to central authorities, the Japan-U.S. military-political alliance, and the problem of U.S. bases in Okinawa.

On September 27, 2023, a seminar “Japan’s Economic Strategy in the Asia-Pacific Region” was held at MGIMO University. During the discussion, various issues related to the problems of Japan’s participation in the processes of international economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, infrastructure development projects, as well as the relationship between economic and political aspects of Japan’s regional strategy were analyzed. Special attention was paid to the Japanese concept of the Indo-Pacific region, the Japanese initiative “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure,” as well as the economic measures of the Japanese government aimed at containing China in the Asia-Pacific region. The publication offers a transcript of this seminar.