This article presents new sources on the history of the study of Sakhalin, which are stored in state archives and private collections of Japan and are listed in Nihon hokuhen kankei kyūki mokuroku 日本北辺関係旧記目録 (An Annotated Catalog of Japanese Manuscripts Sources). The author describes materials from 1763 to the first half of the 19^th century and analyzes the role of Sakhalin in the history of Russian-Japanese relations.

The sources are divided into four periods. The first period (before 1785) represent records of general content that described what was heard or seen on Sakhalin.

The second period (1781 1791) is devoted to a description of geographical features, the state of the fishing industry and the history of the development of Sakhalin. In the 1780s, the bakufu government turned its attention to Sakhalin and ordered the first government expeditions.

The third period (1792 1801) deserves special attention. The sources contain not only descriptions of the lands of Ezo and records of the elders of Ainu settlements, but also reports of the shogun's vassals who were patrolling Sakhalin. Particular attention is paid to the description of various parts of Sakhalin, natural and climatic conditions. There are also lists of place names and maps of the island. Newly revealed geodetic documents contain valuable information about the guard posts and their location.

The fourth period (1802 1820s) shows a tendency towards strengthening the presence of the bakufu in the northern borders of the country due to fears of the expansion of Russian influence. Japanese government made an unprecedented decision to include the northern lands of Ezo, which included the southern part of Sakhalin, into the so-called interior regions of the country, taking these territories under its control. However, in the 1820s, when Russia was forced to stop trying to establish trade relations with Japan, the bakufu government's policy changed again, and it returned control of the Northern Ezo Lands back to the Matsumae clan.

The article explores the organization, functioning, and internal practices of an 8^th century Japanese scriptorium, the administrative records of which have been preserved as part of the Shōsōin documents (正倉院文書, Shōsōin monjo). The author views the activities of the scriptorium as not only a technical process, but as a social and religious practice reflecting power relations, economic mechanisms, and sacral meanings. The central focus of the analysis is the scriptorium’s project of transcribing the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra and two versions of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra in 754 a project commonly referred to in historiography as the “Three Sūtras Transcription Project (三部経写経事業, sanbukyō shakyō jigyō). This undertaking was not only a religious initiative, but also a state-sponsored enterprise carried out within the framework of an emerging centralized bureaucratic system. Two key administrative documents from this project are examined as primary sources: a memorandum submitted by the Bureau for the Construction of Tōdaiji Temple (造東寺司解), petitioning for the allocation of materials for transcription, and a record from Hokkeji Temple (法華寺安置経勘受文) confirming the receipt, inspection, and enshrinement of the completed sutras. The translation and close analysis of these documents make it possible to reconstruct the overall operations of the scriptorium in the mid-8^th century, revealing specific details of its workers’ daily labor, the mechanisms for resource distribution, the logic of administrative procedures, and the system of remuneration. The study suggests that the scriptorium functioned as a bureaucratic unit combining both secular and religious practices. Thus, the investigation of its activities and internal administrative processes sheds light on the broader sociopolitical and cultural functions of such institutions as centers for the reproduction of sacred texts, the cultivation of literary culture, and the articulation of statehood in Naraperiod Japan.

The article reveals the distinctive features of Japanese aesthetic culture and the conceptual foundations of its main aesthetic categories (mono no aware, yugen, wabisabi, ma). It is shown that, in contrast to European rational aesthetic culture, which is characterized by the search for “logic” and “the number of beauty,” Japanese aesthetics is irrationally intellectual. Such irrationality is illustrated by the example of the category yugen (“intimate, secret”), which describes hidden beauty that cannot be described by number or shape. Another feature of traditional Japanese culture is the universal aestheticization of life, ability to transform everyday life into art. In this regard, it is argued that Japanese intelligence is aesthetic, and aesthetics reflects the wisdom of the true nature of things. Further, the idea of the ancient Greek kalokagathia, which unites the beautiful and morally perfect, is compared with the moral aspects of the Japanese theory of beauty. It is shown that the Japanese practice of asceticism, simplicity and naturalness, for example, in the theory of wabi (“modest simplicity”), is an important precondition for comprehending the beauty of the world, aestheticizing everyday life, and designing architecture. The work reveals that admiring the “sad charm of things” brings Russian and Japanese aesthetic feelings closer together. Particular attention is paid to the study of how the theory of beauty and the general worldview of the Japanese are reflected in their unique architectural concepts, in particular, in the idea of ma “meaningful emptiness.” In conclusion, it is argued that aesthetics in Japan is not just one of the directions of its culture, but its modus vivendi a way of life that determines the essence and wisdom of its entire traditional culture. It is assumed that the popularization of the Japanese aesthetic worldview can play an important role in global culture, contributing to the formation of “ecological thinking” and a contemplative, rather than consuming, attitude towards nature.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been one of Japan's key foreign policy tools for over 70 years. Southeast Asian countries are among the primary recipients of Japanese ODA, with the Philippines being one of its major beneficiaries. Assistance is provided in the form of loans for infrastructure projects and social development initiatives, grants, and technical support aimed at personnel training and strengthening bureaucratic mechanisms. This article attempts to assess the effectiveness of Tokyo's ODA to Manila based on a set of identified criteria covering the political, economic, and social aspects. Most of the declared infrastructure projects have been implemented, and construction continues under long-term plans. ODA has facilitated diplomatic mediation in resolving the conflict in the Mindanao region. In the 21st century, a positive perception of Japan has formed among the Filipino population, as reflected in both Japanese surveys and Philippine media, granting Tokyo reputational dividends. The securitization of a portion of aid has led to enhanced military-technical cooperation, aligning with the national interests of both partners. Manila is now positioned not only as a developing country in need of assistance, but also as a strategic partner capable of contributing to security in East Asia. Positive dynamics are also evident in the support for Tokyo's resolutions in the UN General Assembly, which holds significance given Japan's fundamental goal of securing a permanent seat on the Security Council. Similarly, Manila regularly votes in favor of adopting resolutions on the DPRK issue initiated by Tokyo, which is one of Japan's strategic interests. The increasing investment attractiveness of the Philippines is partly attributed to decades of ODA, which strengthens future markets for Japanese business. It can be concluded that Japan's experience in providing aid to the Philippines has been relatively successful due to Tokyo's strategic efforts and well-established high-level bilateral cooperation.

The Chikusai Monogatari (1623) has a distinctly humorous and parodist character. This description also applies to the medical fragments, which are thought to be primarily intended to entertain the reader. In support of this, textual similarity between the medical novellas of the Chikusai Monogatari and the stories in Seisuishō (1623) by Anrakuan Sakuden (1554 1642) is often pointed out. However, Tomiyama Dōya (1584 1634), the author of the Chikusai Monogatari, was a physician himself, having studied medicine with Manase Gensaku (1549 1632), one of the most prominent physicians of the early 17^th century. Therefore, noting solely the entertaining nature of the medical short stories in the Chikusai Monogatari, researchers seem to deny Tomiyama an opportunity to say something about medicine contemporary to him. The late 17^th century was marked by the establishment of new Japanese medicine, led by Manase Dōsan (1507 1594). Dōsan’s new approach found that neither any experienced physicians nor up-to-date medical treatises existed in late 16^th-century Japan. Borrowing knowledge from the Chinese treatises that flooded the Japanese book market in the 1590s, the Japanese were mastering new material, which, as can be seen from the text of the Chikusai Monogatari, continued into the 1620s, even if not always successfully. Chikusai encounters a variety of illnesses, from fever to syphilis, and often successfully fulfils his medical duties by curing the patient. His success was accompanied by good fortune, and it was this good fortune that elevated Japanese doctors in the early 17^th century: at a time when old medicine was recognized as ineffective, while new medicine had not yet gained a firm doctrinal footing, it was good fortune that allowed doctors to continue practicing their profession. The analysis of the medical short stories of the Chikusai Monogatari allows us to trace the history of new Japanese medicine; to rethink Chikusai’s medicine work by presenting it as inept by necessity due to the limited development of medical knowledge in Japan; and to understand who was assumed to be the original readership of the Chikusai Monogatari. 

The article examines the history of the development of professional legal education in Japan at the initial stage of the Meiji modernization (1868 1885). After the fall of the Tokugawa regime, Japan embarked on the path of Westernization, trying to strengthen its international position and ensure equal status in relations with the leading Western states. Wishing to revise the unequal Ansei Treaties, the Meiji government set two goals: the first goal was to adopt modern laws in Japan that corresponded to Western models; the second goal was to reform the principles of administration of justice and the system of jurisdictional state bodies that had been established during the time of the shogunate. At the same time, the application of the “new” laws required professional legal personnel, which Japan did not have at that time. In the first years after the Meiji Revolution, the Japanese government attempted to solve the problem of the lack of lawyers in the country by sending the most talented young Japanese abroad to receive legal education at European universities. However, this practice was very slow in solving the problem of the country's shortage of lawyers. Then the Meiji government decided to establish the first specialized law school in Tokyo and invite teachers from Europe to teach the basics of Western jurisprudence to the first generations of Japanese students. French law was chosen as a model for teaching. Initially, the law school operated within the framework of the Institute of Legal Studies (Meyhōryō), established at the Ministry of Justice of Japan. However, in May 1875, an administrative reform was carried out, during which the Meyhōryō school was closed, and a new law school called the “Law School of the Ministry of Justice (Shihōshō Hōgakkō) became its “successor.” The initial stage of the development of legal education in Meiji Japan is inextricably linked with the activities of these educational institutions. In this article, the author examines the history of the establishment and development of Meyhōryō and Shihōshō Hōgakkō, examines the issue of staffing the educational process and the social background of the first students, provides data on the number of students, and notes the main vectors of development of the professional careers of graduates.

In his monumental work Ishinhō (984), translated here as “The True Method of Treatment,” court physician Tamba Yasuyori (912 995) reorganized the received corpus of Chinese medical knowledge and proposed a new classification of illnesses and therapies, thereby laying key foundations for Japanese medicine. This article examines the distinctive features of Heian-period (794 1185) medical practice, with particular attention to the diversity of diagnosed diseases, their etiology, and the principal actors involved in treatment. Methodologically, the study draws primarily on 11^th 12^th-century court diaries Midōkanpakuki (Fujiwara no Michinaga), Shōyūki (Fujiwara no Sanesuke), and Gyokuyō (Kujō no Kanezane). Unlike the Ishinhō, these sources document the day-to-day application of therapies in considerable detail and illuminate the inseparable integration of medicine and ritual: pharmacological prescriptions, incantations, and exorcistic rites routinely complemented one another in the management of illness. The diaries attest to an extensive nosology, but the most prevalent and feared condition was “wind disease,” a disorder marked by heterogeneous etiologies and a wide range of symptoms. Treatment typically involved three categories of specialists court physicians, onmyōji (yin-yang diviners), and genja (Buddhist ritual adepts) each performing distinct functions within a shared therapeutic enterprise. Although their domains at times overlapped and produced competition, and even open rivalry, such tensions generally did not undermine therapeutic efficacy; rather, their combined interventions made treatment notably adaptable. Explanations of causation ranged from pathogenic qi, intensified by noxious winds in accordance with Chinese medical theory, to the agency of kami and other supernatural beings capable of inflicting serious harm. Chief among the presumed culprits were vengeful spirits (mononoke). No universal cure existed: different categories of malevolent entities called for distinct therapeutic modalities herbal decoctions, liturgical recitations, or elaborate exorcisms deployed in combination as circumstances required.

The article examines the contents of the book Russian-Japanese Rivalry at Sea. A Duel of Fleets and Intelligence Services. 1875 1922 by A.G. Zorikhin (Moscow: Tsentrpoligraf, 2025. 351 p. Series “Contemporary Research on Russian History.” ISBN 978-5-227-11029-9). The review outlines the main topics addressed by the author of the book: Russian-Japanese naval rivalry in 1875 1905, i.e., in the period preceding the Russo-Japanese War and during the conflict itself, the continuation of this rivalry on the eve and during the First World War, the work of Japanese naval reconnaissance during the Civil War in Russia and the Japanese Siberian intervention in 1918 1922. The reviewer notes the high academic level of the research, the introduction into scientific circulation of a significant number of new sources from Japanese archives, the depth and quality of the author’s analysis, and the validity of the conclusions. According to the reviewer’s conclusion, the book makes a significant contribution to several areas of research at once: history of Russian-Japanese naval rivalry, history of intelligence services, military history of the Far East, history of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 1905, the First World War, the Russian Civil War, and the Japanese Siberian intervention.

In October 2025, the cabinet of Sanae Takaichi came to power in Japan. On October 4, she was elected President of the Liberal Democratic Party and became the first female prime minister in the history of Japan. On October 30, 2025, MGIMO University hosted a seminar on the political events of the past month: the internal party struggle during the election of the party president, the collapse of the ruling coalition due to the departure of the Komeito Party, as well as the formation of a new “minority coalition” with the participation of the Japan Innovation Party. The seminar participants analyzed these events in detail, considered the domestic political problems facing the Takaichi cabinet and gave their own vision of the prospects for the development of the situation, both in the socio-economic sphere and in the field of foreign policy. This publication contains a transcript of this seminar.