Transformation of the Image of Japan in Murzilka Magazine in the 20th century

Abstract

The image of Japan in the children’s magazine “Murzilka” has been changing depending on the relations between the USSR and Japan and the development of interliterary ties during the 20th century. During the period of the Japanese invasion to Manchuria and the Lake Khasan Battle, abstract “Japanese” are presented as aggressors, fascists, encroaching on the Soviet borders. The class nature of the Japanese-Chinese conflicts is emphasized. During the period of the Khrushchev Thaw Japan turns out to be a country with an interesting and unique culture. There are published poems and songs of Japanese poets, fairy tales, descriptions of folk holidays and everyday life, “paper theater” kamishibai there. In the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Japan mesmerizes “Murzilka”’s readers with the unity of material and spiritual culture, presented in ikebana, origami and tea ceremony. It is a country that exists beyond time, and the basis of Japanese life is formed by ancient traditions and exquisite holidays.