The manuscript Tales of the Northern Barbarians (Hokuidan, 「北夷談」) by Matsuda Denjūrō (松田伝十郎, 1769–1843) is a valuable source on the history of Russian-Japanese relations, the development of the northern territories inhabited by the Ainu conducted by the Japanese, relations between the Ainu and the Japanese, their barter trade. The written source consists of seven notebooks. The manuscript was created in the first years of the Bunsei era (文政, 1818–1831). It describes the events from 1799 to 1822 in chronological order, i.e., events that occurred during the 24 years of Matsuda’s service in the lands of the Ainu. The manuscript is written in cursive (Japanese: “grass writing”, sōsho 草書). The second half of the first book examines the bear festival and the inau, cult objects of the Ainu, which were described in detail by the author in [Klimov A.V. 2024].
This article is the continuation of the description of the events of the first notebook, in which Matsuda describes: wintering in Akkeshi, the life and clothing of the Ainu, the peculiarities of hunting sea lions, the attitude towards the moon fish, wintering in Aputa, the fight against the smallpox epidemic that arose, and his return to Edo. The text is accompanied by numerous sketches. The illustrations in the manuscript are of great value, providing additional information that is missing from the text itself.
Matsuda’s descriptions refer to November 1799 – January 1801. The Hokuidan manuscript has not yet been translated into any of the European languages other than Russian. The author of this article provides translations of fragments of the written source in the chapters of published collective monographs [Klimov A.V. 2020; Klimov A.V. 2021; Klimov A.V. 2022].
The translation was carried out from the published text of the Japanese manuscript in the ten-volume series of written monuments entitled Collection of Historical Materials About the Life of the Common People of Japan (Nihon shomin seikatsu shiryō shū sei 日本庶民生活史料集成), in the fourth volume [Matsuda 1969]. In addition to this series, the Tales were published in Old Japanese in the fifth volume of a six-volume series of written monuments called Library: Northern Gate (Hokumon sō sho 北門叢書), published in 1972.

The article is devoted to the problems of Russian-Japanese relations on the Chinese Eastern Railway at the initial stage of its history. Workers from Japan were not invited to build the road, but the Japanese were already among the first settlers in the city of Harbin, founded in 1898 by the Chinese Eastern Railway Society. After a short break caused by the Russo-Japanese War, bilateral relations were quickly restored. In 1906, as the Russian troops withdrew from Manchuria, the Japanese began to return to the Chinese Eastern Railway. Since 1907, Japanese officials, entrepreneurs, cultural and sports figures from Japan began to take an active part in the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural life of the city of Harbin. It was here that the first “Russian-Japanese Society” was created. The Japanese in Harbin were mainly employed in such areas as trade, medicine, entertainment, and domestic service.
An important component of bilateral cooperation was cooperation in the railway sector. Due to the tradition and the inaccessibility of sources, the history of the Japanese population of Harbin is poorly studied in Russian historiography. The purpose of the research is to restore the historical picture and identify the problems of the Japanese presence in Harbin and the Russian- Japanese interaction on the Chinese Eastern Railway in the period between the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. The study was carried out on the basis of materials from the periodicals of Harbin, with the involvement
The information and analytical materials published in the newspapers Harbinskii Vestnik (Harbin Bulletin), Harbin, Novaya Zhizn’ (New Life), and Man’chzhurskii Kur’er (Manchurian Courier), especially advertising, allow one to get an idea of the composition of the Japanese community, the occupations of the Japanese and some problems of Russian-Japanese relations in 1906–1914. The study of development of the Chinese Eastern Railway by the Japanese, their coexistence and cooperation with the Russians in Harbin will expand knowledge of the history of the Chinese Eastern Railway and achieve a more complete and objective picture of the history of Russian-Japanese relations in the 20th century.

The period from the end of the Russo-Japanese War to the 1917 October Revolution was a time of political, economic, and cultural rapprochement between Russia and Japan. Moreover, this rapprochement was observed after the events of 1917 for several more years, since, during the Russian Civil War, Japan supported the anti-Bolshevik forces in the Far East.
The two countries entered the First World War as de facto allies; this alliance culminated in the Treaty of 1916. Its reflection in symbolic actions was also an element of this cooperation. In the years before the First World War, and, actually, during the war, hundreds of Japanese servicemen were given Russian awards. The article analyzes the composition of military personnel, what awards and for what merits were presented to the members of the Imperial House who did military service, diplomats, generals, as well as fleet admirals and naval officers, engineers, and divers.
After October 1917, Japan supported members of the White Movement and Admiral A. V. Kolchak for several more years. In addition, even more active support was provided to Ataman G. M. Semenov. For example, Japanese garrisons were stationed in Transbaikalia starting from the autumn of 1918, when he came to power there. Paradoxically, many Japanese officers and enlisted men were presented with Russian awards during the years of the Civil War, which fact is also confirmed in archival documents.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Soviet-Japanese relations were going through difficult times. The Mongolian issue and border incidents continually worsened bilateral contacts. In a state of hostility and open confrontation, the authorities of both countries detained and rummaged fishing vessels, artificially whipped up spy mania, increased pressure on left-wing elements (Japan) and arrested those who were associated with the enemy side through scientific or other work (the USSR). Limiting himself to two events from Soviet-Japanese history of this time, the author analyzes how Soviet-Japanese relations and the atmosphere of mutual perception changed in the period between the end of the Khalkhin Gol River conflict (1939) and the signing of the Neutrality Pact (1941).
Using reports from employees of the USSR Plenipotentiary Mission in Tokyo as an example, the author examines how Japan’s attempt to begin building “new relations” with the USSR affected the position of Soviet diplomats and influenced the degree and quality of interaction between them and the Japanese.

The article analyzes the Japanese official narrative about the Northern Territories, which is widespread in Japanese society as a key factor in the formation of the bad image of Russia in Japan. Of particular importance from the point of view of the emotional effect on public consciousness is the thesis that the Southern Kurils are the “ancestral territory of Japan,” that the USSR committed aggressive and unfair actions against Japan during World War II, and modern Russia did not correct them, and that the Japanese natives of the Southern Kurils experience enormous moral suffering, not having the opportunity to freely visit the graves of their ancestors. The article examines the organizational structure of state, public, and socio-political organizations designed to ensure public policy to popularize this narrative and shows the features of its reflection in school textbooks, museums, and memorial complexes. The author focuses on the Movement for the Return of the Northern Territories and the events held within its framework, including the annual “Northern Territories Day,” held on February 7.
It is concluded that, despite all the efforts of the government, Japanese public opinion in reality turns out to be relatively poorly informed about the problem of the Northern Territories. At the same time, as generations change, the interest in this problem is gradually decreasing, especially among young people. There is a process of realizing the futility of maintaining a hard line in the government’s approach to solving it. The humanitarian aspect of the problem, related to visits to graves by former islanders and members of their families, causes the greatest public outcry, but even this aspect, as the results of public opinion polls show, has a limited effect.

This research examines the failure of Japanese whale diplomacy following the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, with a focus on Japan’s attempts to change the conservationist view of whales to the one focused on consumption of whale meat. This article explains how Japanese whale diplomacy attempts to convince the international public that whaling is part of cultural preservation. The method used is a qualitative approach with analysis of official government documents and research related to Japanese diplomacy and whaling. The constructivism approach was used to analyze how international identities, norms, and discourses shape Japan’s diplomatic policies.
The findings show that, despite Japan’s efforts to prove that whaling is safe and sustainable, it has failed to change international norms on whale conservation. The dominant international discourse continues to regard whaling as unethical and environmentally damaging. Significant resistance from other countries that support conservation was a major obstacle.
This research reveals that the failure of Japanese diplomacy was not only due to international resistance, but also Japan’s inability to align their scientific and cultural arguments with a global narrative that prioritizes environmental ethics. The contribution of this research lies in understanding the dynamics of norms and identities in international relations and the importance of ethical narratives in environmental diplomacy.