Japan, the country of the rising sun, has long been a destination of high interest to many travellers. Many of them, when travelling to that country, left there some very precious and valuable memories of themselves. To be able to look at the history of Japan in the Meiji period from a broader perspective, it is necessary to compare different views and opinions on it. Only confrontation of the Letters from Japan by R. Kipling and memories of B. Grąbczewski – The Russian service gives a complete picture of a young, emerging country. Japan using foreign patterns, developed various aspects of its life, however not all of them were easy to notice. R. Kipling during his only one visit to Japan could not accurately assess the nature and prospects of development of Japan. To do so it would be necessary to have a closer look at the life and culture of this country, which in turn was done by B. Grąbczewski, who has repeatedly come there for holidays. He noted that all Japanese activities were aiming at the long-term goal – to create a strong empire,  which would be reckoned with by the Western countries. In order to achieve this, the country had to be rebuilt, modernized, open to contacts with foreign countries, it would have to soak up the “foreign” cul tural elements, but only with adapting them to the Japanese patriotism.