The image of Japan in contemporary Russian literature: a case study on the series Adventures of Erast Fandorin written by Boris Akunin

The article aims to give an overview of the textual connections between Russian literature and Japanese literature in the series The Adventures of Erast Fandorin written by the contemporary Russian writer Boris Akunin. These novels are not only an extraordinary example of the genre of the crime novel, but they also attained to represent the concept of “hybridization”, the ability of crossing the boundaries that separate one text from another, one culture from another. The allure of Japan represents the peculiar feature of Akunin’s novels, it can be traced back to the beginning of the XVIII century, when the first encounters between Russian literature and Japanese literature took place, and then developed through the centuries. These two “worlds” mutually reflected each other in search of their respective similarities and differences, and this undoubtedly defines the measure of their mutual influence. Today those ancient interactions reflect on the novels of contemporary writers, such as Akunin. Indeed, the novels of this series don’t just tell a story about a mystery which takes place in an exotic and far away country, they are not simple crime novels. The author set up an encounter between two identities, the Russian one and the Japanese one, in which neither of them dominates the other, but they coexist in a continuous mutual exchange. They influence each other creating a polyphony of references in the novels. These references are various, some explicit, evident quotes, others are hidden, less evident, simple allusions outlined by Akunin through the events that affect the lives of his characters. As had been clarified, in these novels the references to the "Japanese world" establish the structure of the same novels and even Akunin's writing style. References to Japan therefore acquire a specific role: they are the connecting thread between Russia and Japan, between West and East. Furthermore, the intertextuality defines the relations between Russia and Japan, because the differences between the two countries constitute a fundamental element of the narrative, since the references to both cultures meet continuously through its main character. Each encounter between Erast Fandorin and characteristic elements of the "Japanese world" raises a comparison with his national identity, aimed to point out the respective differences in a didactic approach. These encounters take place both through the practice of intertextuality and through explicit references to the culture and history of Japan. To attain the results expected from this research, the employed methodological approach is the cultural-contextual analysis (Lotman), associated with historical-typological elements (Lotman), in a comparative perspective. Through the deconstruction of references to Japan it is possible to define their nature and origin, and to evaluate their relationship with the dominant themes of the works at issue. This article aims to define the role of the textual connections between Russian literature and Japanese literature in the framework of contemporary Russian literature.