The image of Peter the Great in Meiji Japan

The article presents the results of an ongoing study, the purpose of which is to identify the features of the sociocultural adaptation of the image of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great in Japan. This article examines the Meiji period (1868-1912), when the example of Peter the Great’s reforms began to be applied in Japan. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: to select the most representative texts about Peter the Great in terms of the breadth of their distribution and to carry out a qualitative content analysis of these texts. The main sources of research were the works of the Japanese enlighteners of the second half of the XIX century on world history and geography, school textbooks, collections of biographies of prominent people, as well as the first individual biographies of Peter the Great in Japanese. It was revealed that in the works of the authors at the beginning of the Meiji period Peter the Great is represented as the greatest ruler in the history of Russia, who, thanks to his wisdom, insight, and desire for new knowledge, managed to completely rebuild Russia and make it a modern European state and the world’s largest empire. In general, the narrative about Peter the Great succeeds the texts of the authors of the first half of the XIX century, such as Watanabe Kazan and Sakuma Shozan, while there is an increased attention to the personal qualities of the Russian ruler, his “humanization” takes place, which becomes even more pronounced towards the end of the period. Peter the Great begins to serve as an example not only for state leaders, but also for the ordinary Japanese. At the same time, in the context of the intensified confrontation between Japan and Russia in East Asia in the late XIX century, the authors again focus on the origins and goals of the expansionist policy of the Russian emperor. Thus, the article for the first time reveals the features of the interpretation and adaptation of the image of Peter the Great in Japan during the second half of the XIX and the early XX centuries.