Teaching Russian in Japan (Ethno-Sketch)

Abstract

Teaching Russian in Japan dates back to the 1 8th century. From the very first contacts between Russia and Japan both languages were studied for practical purposes, but regular teaching for professional purposes appeared relatively late, at the end of the XIX century, when an interpreter's school was opened. Before that " . . . Japanese specialists in Dutch served for purposes of communication with Russians or those who learnt Russian by themselves" ' It is common knowledge that nowadays the decision to learn a certain language is also influenced mainly by its possible practical use. 'Pure' interest also exists. In the case of the Russian language the waves of interest can be seen very clearly : for example the older generation of Russian specialists in Japan were fascinated by the leftist movement (the same as everywhere else in the world) and idealized the Soviet Union ; now the younger generation as in other countries starts learning Russian because of the commercial potential. like in