Japanese Studies on the history of the Central-Eastern Europe with some remarks for contemporary history of Poland
The paper focuses on the viewpoints of Japanese historians upon the Polish modern history. The year 2018 is anniversary for Japan as 150 years of Meiji Revolution (Meiji Ishin), as well as for Poles this year is anniversary as 100 years of Independence. If it would stand on the comparative studies for the modernization of XIX-XX centuries, we can observe the similar motives in the Polish uprisings. During the process from the partitions of Poland to Versailles treaty, may be to Riga treaty, the former noble republic was separated to five national states, like Poland, Lithuania, Byelorussia, Ukraine and Israel. In this context Japanese unification was not exception of the modern history. Japanese thinkers like Yukichi Fukuzawa applied for Meiji state to introduce the western constitutionalism, either monarchical or republican system. His viewpoints remind us the political selections, discussed among polish emigrés thinkers. At the stage of imperialism national unification idea was advanced by Roman Dmowski as integral nationalism which influenced strongly upon the neighbor national leaders aiming at their own national integration. Against this chauvinistic integral nationalism, locality idea (idea krajowa) opposed decidedly. Their leaders Michał Römer in Lithuania- Byelorussia and Wacław Lipiński in Ukraine propagated to enlighten the peasantry, to foster their culture and to establish local autonomy. Their attitudes remind us propositions of Japanese thinkers Inezou Nitobe and Kunio Yanagida. After the second world war many Japanese historians accepted Marxist methodology, and the studies of Polish modern history in Japan was disfigured by Marxist one lineal historical research. But now this viewpoint was revised as result of the decline of soviet régime, and our younger generation took multi-lineal analysis of historical research, relying upon the French historical school „Annales”. In this direction above mentioned Yanagida’s methodology was welcomed. To consider the 150 years of anniversary of Meiji Ishin for Japan and 100 years of anniversary of independence of Poland, undoubtedly should require the comparative studies.
