TY - JOUR TI - The Mystical Spirit of Japan – Stefan Łubieński and Transnational Artistic Networks in 1920s Japan AU - Čapková, Helena TI - The Mystical Spirit of Japan – Stefan Łubieński and Transnational Artistic Networks in 1920s Japan AB - Stefan Łubieński (1893–1976), composer, fine artist, diplomat, spiritual seeker, and thinker, was a Polish nobleman, follower of Anthroposophy and author of such books as Ways to Spiritual Light and Man between Microcosm and Macrocosm. With his first wife, Zina Łubieńska, he resided in Japan in the first half of the 1920s. Although Łubieński published his autobiography and the names of the two Poles were mentioned at that time, the time they spent in Japan has not yet been analysed by scholars. This article is an attempt to unravel the Łubieńskis’life in Japan and show how it is placed in the context of Japanese culture in the 1920s. Furthermore, it will document the ways the Łubieńskis operated within the transnational network of Theosophists that spread among artists, foreign and Japanese alike, as a way to meet and exchange ideas. One of the circles the Łubieńskis joined, together with Noémi and Antonín Raymond, was the Garakutashū(en. “Circle for the Study of Odd Things and Junk”), a casual setting for open discussion about passion for collecting objects, hobbies, and a shared interest in Japanese arts such as woodblock printing, calligraphy, and ink painting. The transnational method used in this article foregrounds the importance of thinking through a lens highlighting transnational networks and enables us to recognize the Łubieńskis as a part of the Theosophical Society (TS), Garakutashū, and other networks of modern Japan. VL - 2020 IS - Tom 53, Numer 1 PY - 2020 SN - 0137-2432 C1 - 2084-4077 SP - 15 EP - 31 DO - 10.4467/20844077SR.20.002.12505 UR - https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/studia-religiologica/artykul/the-mystical-spirit-of-japan-stefan-lubienski-and-transnational-artistic-networks-in-1920s-japan KW - Stefan Łubieński KW - Modern Japan KW - modernism KW - Japan and Poland KW - japonisme KW - Anthroposophy KW - Theosophical Society KW - modern spirituality; Stefan Łubieński KW - nowoczesna Japonia KW - Japonia i Polska KW - japonizm KW - antropozofia KW - Towarzystwo Teozoficzne KW - nowoczesna duchowość