2. Japonisme In Russia In The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

By the nineteenth century, Russia came to think of itself as a bridge connecting East and West. The way to the East, or to be more precise, the way of Russian cognition of the East led directly from the 'bridge of Russia' into the depth of Asia. This chapter concentrates on the 'Silver Age' of Russian culture, or the period between the 1880s and the end of the 1920s and looks particularly at the influx of artistic motifs from Japan. This period follows the initial years of encounter with Japan as described in Michiko Ikuta's chapter, but predates academic studies of Japan and Japanese culture. During this time images of Japan gradually entered and became ingrained in Russian art and literature. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Russians came to understand Japan on different levels and in different genres, forming a bright and expressive, albeit somewhat blurry, picture. Keywords: Japanese culture; Michiko Ikuta; Russian cognition; Silver Age