Oriental Keywords:, Japanese studies, translation, Russian literature, Nikolai Japanese A. S. AKIMOV Sakhalin State University (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the canonization of St. Nicholas of Japan (Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin; 1836-1912), the founder of the Orthodox Church in Japan. His missionary work and spiritual guidance are well-known and recognized not only in Russia, but also abroad. However, the works of Nikolai Yaponsky in the field of Oriental studies are poorly studied, not systematized, and practically not accessible to a wide range of readers. His scientific articles " Japan from the point of view of the Christian mission "(1869), " Seoguns and the Mikado. Historical essay on Japanese sources " (1869)," Japan and Russia " (1879), as well as numerous notes, reports and letters in Russian periodicals of the second half of the XIX - beginning of the XX century contributed to the formation of the first ideas of Russian people about modern Japan. The depth of Nikolai Yaponsky's judgments and thoroughness in studying Japanese history, ethnography, culture, religion, and language amaze even modern researchers. A significant part of this heritage is presented in the pages of the recently published "Diaries", which Nicholas I of Japan kept during the years 1870-1912. Scrupulously studying the national character of the Japanese, observing the economic development of the country, he repeatedly stated that the future cooperation between Japan and Russia is predetermined by many factors. "Everything that is being done in Japan," he wrote, " should interest Russia more than any other state as its immediate neighbor in the extreme East."1. In his work "Japan and Russia" (1879), 25 years before the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), he predicted the possibility of a military clash between Japan and any of the sea powers. But this at one time went unnoticed. After the tragic military events for Russia, Nicholas I of Japan continue ... Читать далее