Cultural diplomacy of Japan towards the PRC in the 1970s and 1980s: the case Inoue Yasushi and Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association activities

Malashevskaya Mariya Nikolaevna ORCID: 0000-0003-3087-8722 PhD in History Associate Professor; Department of the Theory of Social Development of Asian and African Countries; St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 11, office 4a m.malashevskaya@spbu.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

Japan and China have a rich centuries-old history of bilateral contacts: the impact of Chinese culture on Japanese society over two thousand years is difficult to overestimate. China has traditionally been a donor of high culture, legal norms, and principles of socio-economic structure for Japan: for centuries, Chinese fiction, scientific literature, and nonfiction have been included in the library of every educated Japanese. After the discovery of Japan in (1853-1854) and the Meiji era (1868-1912), the Chinese tradition was ostracized by a newly educated stratum of Westernized intellectuals because of its inconsistency with the new norm of progress and civilization. Nevertheless, travel to China, which became much more accessible compared to the era of the "closed country", allowed new Japanese voyageurs to come into contact with ancient culture, the Chinese language (hieroglyphics) acted as an intermediary between Japanese and Western cultures, Chinese scholarship continued to retain an important place in the education of the mass of the Japanese intelligentsia. Despite Japan's aggression against China in the first half of the twentieth century, interest in Chinese culture among Japanese intellectuals did not fade. During the Meiji era, Japanese Oriental and Chinese studies received an impetus for development, which grew up on the rich tradition of kangaku (Chinese studies). In the first third of the twentieth century, Japanese sinologists made a great contribution to the study of Chinese history, in particular, Shiratori Kurakichi, Uno Tetsuto, Kato Toranoske, Shionoya On, Mishima Chushu. Japanese travelers, as J. R. R. Tolkien has convincingly shown. Vogel, sought to visit the Qing Empire at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries to see the reserve of ancient history, familiar from fiction and historical writings: "in order to understand China, it was necessary to make a trip there" ^{[1, p. xv]}. Accordingly, the journey made the eyewitness accounts reliable in the eyes of the compatriots. At the same time, Japanese intellectual circles mediated knowledge about the West and Western ideas for Chinese thinkers and reformers through a common hieroglyphic writing tradition. In this regard, the names of Liang Qichao, Kang Yuwei, Chiang Kai-shek, and Sun Yat-sen stand out, who made a significant contribution to the transformation of China in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

Despite the tragic period of Japanese aggression against China in the 1930s and 1940s, cultural dialogue between peoples continued to play an important role in the intellectual practices of Japanese intellectuals. Inoue Yasushi (1907-1991), a journalist, novelist, essayist and poet, was deeply interested in Chinese history and poetry during his student years. After the end of the war in the mid-1950s, the writer became actively involved in establishing cultural ties with the People's Republic of China through his literary work and participation in civil cultural diplomacy. This happened against the background of the intensive development of informal contacts between China and Japan. For example, at a meeting of the Japan-China Trade Association in 1960, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai noted that bilateral contacts are based on three pillars: intergovernmental cooperation, friendly agreements between Japanese and Chinese enterprises, and personal contacts. 27.08.1960 // 日本外交主要文書・年表（１）. 1960 [Conversation with Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai on the three principles of trade with Japan. 27.08.1960 // Documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Collection of statements of the PRC regarding Japan: 6 vol.] // Database of the National Institute of Political Science "Japan and the World". URL: https://worldjpn.net/documents/texts/JPCH/19600827.S1J.html (date of access: 11/15/2024)). This type of communication dominated the bilateral dialogue in the 1960s against the background of a shortage of official communication channels.

Japanese-Chinese relations in the twentieth century have been studied quite deeply in domestic and foreign historiography in the works of Soviet and Russian scientists, however, they give priority to the study of bilateral economic, political, and ideological aspects ^[2-10], however, the problem of cultural contacts is poorly considered and Japan's cultural diplomacy in relation to the PRC against the background of the lack of official contacts, and then their normalization and restoration in the 1970s. Charles Lee noted the main vector of the dialogue between Japan and China in the 1970s, putting economic partnership in the first place, he wrote: "In the decade following the normalization of relations in 1972, Japan and China have reached a high level of bilateral cooperation <...> China eagerly welcomes Japanese capital and technology as part of the ambitious policy of the "four modernizations," and Japan is trying to satisfy China's legitimate diplomatic and economic aspirations through government loans, joint ventures, technology transfer, and resource development" ^{[5, p. 371]}. Inoue Masaya noted that the turn of the 1970s and 1980s was the period when China and Japan first formulated common goals for economic development ^{[9, p. 151]}. P.V. Kulneva notes that after 1972, the countries began to converge in different areas of cooperation and there was a qualitative transition of bilateral relations to a new level of development ^{[4, p. 20]}. Many researchers note the transition of economic and political dialogue to a new level, but cultural cooperation remains outside the scope of the bulk of the work. For Japan's post-war foreign policy, public and cultural diplomacy is becoming one of the priorities along with economic diplomacy and peacekeeping activities abroad ^{[11, p. 3]}. The Asian region was the most important recipient of both Japanese economic aid and cultural diplomacy activities designed to change Japan's post-war image in a more positive way.

The purpose of this article is to study the cultural diplomacy of Japan in China in the fifteenth anniversary following the normalization of Japanese-Chinese relations in 1972, by examining three channels of diplomacy: the main vector of cultural activities of official executive authorities of Japan, cultural diplomacy of public organizations and creative and cultural activities of the chairman of the Japanese Writers' Union Inoue Yasushi, who spoke in the role of a representative of that part of the intellectual elite of Japan, which was set up in favor of dialogue with the PRC. To achieve this goal, the biographical method, historical-problematic and historical-genetic methods, the study of the development of cultural contacts through the experience of one person (Inoue Yasushi) were applied. A special theme that marks Inoue's literary work (fiction and nonfiction) is the problem of interaction between the so–called "Western Region" (kit. Siyu, Japanese Sayiki, the historical and cultural region of Central and Inner Asia, Turkestan, unites the countries of the Great Silk Road) and China: short stories and novels of the 1950s and 1960s are devoted to this topic. In the texts of which the author comprehends the history of China in its interrelations with the peoples of the Western Region and constitutes one of the deideologized models of perception China as a historical and cultural phenomenon inextricably linked with the history of the surrounding nomadic peoples by an extensive system of routes, in particular the Great Silk Road. Inoue Yasushi's documentary prose opened up the world of the Chinese part of Turkestan to the Japanese reader, and in the 1980s to the viewer, where it became possible to enter in the 1970s against the background of improved bilateral contacts. The article traces the participation of Inoue Yasushi in the development of Japanese-Chinese cultural contacts at three stages of the historical development of post-war relations.

The first stage of the development of Japanese-Chinese cultural relations (mid-1950s – 1972): civil diplomacy and private contacts

The nature of Inoue Yasushi's activities reveals the historical features of Japanese-Chinese relations of the post-war era: since from 1952 to 1972 the Japanese government recognized the legitimate government of the Republic of China on Taiwan, the dialogue with the PRC (the so-called "Beijing government" in Japanese diplomatic documents) was conducted at the civilian level, in particular, through friendship societies, private individuals (businessmen and politicians who paid unofficial visits to China). In the 1950s, official diplomatic contacts were not established between Japan and China, and they were replaced by bilateral civil organizations such as friendship societies, the Association for the Promotion of International Trade (JAPIT), the Japan-China Friendship Center (founded in 1953, JCFC), and the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. March 23, 1956 Inoue Yasushi became one of the initiators of the creation of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association, which provided cultural diplomacy for Japan in the PRC in the following decades. The purpose of the organization was to establish Japanese-Chinese humanitarian ties in the fields of science, technology, cinema, literature, theater and sports (1957 [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1957] 2006. № 716 (6) // Website of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. URL: http://www.nicchubunka1956.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ P 006-009.pdf (accessed: 11/15/2024)). Already in 1957, delegations of athletes, archaeologists, theater and ballet artists exchanged visits to China and Japan: in particular, a trip was organized by Japanese scientists to the Dunhuang Buddhist cave complex (1957 [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1957] 2006. No. 716 (6). Decree. source). His active participation in the work of the association became an important milestone in Inoue Yasushi's practical work in establishing and expanding bilateral interpersonal cultural ties: in 1957, he made his first visit to China as part of a delegation of Japanese writers (1957 [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1957] 2006. No. 716 (6). Decree. source). For twenty years, the novelist regularly visited the country through the association, participated in joint cultural events and meetings with Chinese cultural figures, received friendly delegations from China to Japan, and headed delegations of Japanese writers during trips to China ^{[12, pp. 174-180]}. For his work in strengthening Japanese-Chinese creative cultural contacts, Inoue Yasushi has earned the trust of the Chinese cultural elite. His novels and autobiographical works of Western region – the region of the Great silk road - respected among the inhabitants of the country; the writing is rated as a "soft power" of Japan in China (莫 邦富. 中国でも尊敬される小説家 井上靖さん、山崎豊子さんの思い出. [Mo Banfu. Yamasaki Toyoko's memoirs about the respected writer Inoue Yasushi even in China] // The electronic magazine Diamond-online. URL: https://diamond.jp/articles/-/42505 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). However, this activity was exclusively of a public nature against the background of the absence of official cultural, technical and economic contacts.

In the 1960s Japanese diplomacy in Asia expanded cultural, technological dialogue and youth exchanges with the countries of South-East Asia, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, India, although a significant part of the official cultural events (festivals, exhibitions, theatre performances) was carried out for the European countries and certain countries in Latin America, USA and Asia (外交青書 ：昭和44年版わが外交の近況. 第13号 (1969). 第2部. 各説 第6章. 情報文化活動の大要 国際文化交流の現状 [The Blue Book of Diplomacy: The state of Affairs in our diplomacy for 44 years of the Sowing era. (Number 13). Part 2. The main problems of our diplomacy. Overview of cultural and information activities: information and cultural exchange] // Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. URL: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/bluebook/1969/s 43-13-2-6-4.htm#1 (accessed: 11/15/2024)). The absence of official cultural events in the PRC was covered by the active activities of the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges: from 1957 to 1972, this organization conducted regular monthly exchanges between delegations of Japanese and Chinese athletes, artists, writers (with the assistance of the association in 1960, Kenzaburo visited the PRC), scientists, and Chinese language teachers; in particular, NHK visited China through the Association: in October 1965, a group of documentary filmmakers arrived in China to film the film "Traditions of Chinese Civilization" (1965年 [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1965] 2006. № 716 (22) // Website of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. URL: http://www.nicchubunka1956.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ P022-023.pdf (accessed: 11/15/2024)). The international political situation and domestic political events had a powerful impact on Japanese-Chinese cultural ties, but the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges did not stop organizing visits by Japanese delegations and receptions of Chinese public figures in the 1960s, and the dialogue in the field of culture remained stable. The organization was a central instrument of Japanese cultural diplomacy in China.

Before the normalization of Japanese-Chinese interstate relations, personal contacts and the activities of public organizations were the main tools for the development of private contacts. Information about the changing China was disseminated through cultural figures who visited China on friendly visits, as well as through journalists: in 1964, the "Japan-China Agreement on Journalistic Activities" was signed, according to which eight Japanese information companies were given the opportunity to send their correspondents to China ^{[13, p. 67]}.

The second stage of the development of Japanese-Chinese cultural relations (1972-1979): the search for common ground and the expansion of opportunities for civil diplomacy

The abrupt change in US policy towards China in 1971-1972 did not lead to a rapid expansion of cultural events and exchanges on the part of official Tokyo, including through the Japanese Foundation established in 1972 ^{[14, p. 48]}. The dialogue between Tokyo and Beijing mainly focused on economic cooperation. Symbolic actions played an important role in strengthening interethnic friendship: in October 1972, the Chinese side presented two pandas to the Ueno Zoo as a sign of friendship ^{[4, p. 19]}. "Panda diplomacy" was used by the Chinese side as early as the 1940s and 1950s and served as an important signal of rapprochement and the establishment of long-term friendship (pandas were transmitted to Japan several times, including for research purposes) ^{[15, p. 26]}. Japanese diplomat Tamba Minoru, who served at the Japanese Embassy in China in 1972-1975, noted the tense nature of relations between Japanese diplomats and representatives of Chinese society. He arrived in Beijing after the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972 and noted that information about China was extremely scarce, and it was extremely important for Japanese diplomats serving there to share with colleagues their impressions and information gained from personal experience in China ^{[16, p. 106]}. This observation suggests that despite the efforts of public organizations to create conditions for exchanging information about each other in the 1950s and 1960s and holding friendly meetings, by the mid-1970s there was a lack of information about China in Japan. Nevertheless, the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges continued to organize trips of Japanese delegations to China: in 1975, another delegation of Japanese writers visited China, headed by Inoue Yasushi, and another famous novelist, Shiba Retaro (1923-1996), joined it. Inoue Yasushi, who established close relations with Chinese writers, visited China during the "Cultural Revolution", but did not have the opportunity to meet with some writers (Ba Jin, Xia Yan, Cao Yu), their meeting took place only in May 1975. [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1975] 2006. № 716 (38) // The website of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. URL: http://www.nicchubunka1956.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ P 038-039.pdf (accessed: 11/15/2024)). The mid-1970s marked a turning point in Japanese-Chinese cultural ties, although this area demonstrated a certain degree of autonomy from other areas of Japanese Asian diplomacy ^{[14, p. 49]}.

The third stage of the development of Japanese-Chinese cultural relations (1979 – 1989): from the exchange of delegations to joint cultural projects

In the late 1970s, favorable diplomatic conditions developed for Inoue Yasushi and other Japanese cultural figures to travel to China amid the intensification of bilateral relations after the normalization of state relations in 1972. This dialogue has expanded significantly in connection with the policy of the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who committed a visit to Japan in October 1978, after the signing on 12 August of the same year "Treaty of peace and friendship between Japan and the people's Republic of China" (外交青書：わが外交の近況 1978年版(第22号). 第3章. わが国の行つた外交努力. 第1節. 各国との関係の増進 [The Blue Book of Diplomacy for 1978: The state of Affairs in our Diplomacy for 1978 (Number 22). Chapter 3. Diplomatic efforts undertaken by our country. Section 1. Development of relations with individual countries]. URL: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/bluebook/1978/s53-1-3-1.htm (date of access: 11/15/2024)). Deng Xiaoping held meetings with representatives of the Japanese government, as well as with Matsushita Konosuke, founder of Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), who visited China a few months earlier (Fleet J.D. Van. Mr. Deng goes to Tokyo. 10/21/2021 // The China Project. URL: https://thechinaproject.com/2021/10/21/mr-deng-goes-to-tokyo / (date of address: 11/15/2024)), acting, like Inoue Yasushi, as a cultural ambassador. In February 1979 Deng Xiaoping made a second visit to Japan, indicating a high level of interest in developing bilateral ties, aiming to use Japan's economic and technological potential for the full-scale modernization of the Chinese economic system ^[17]. E. Vogel emphasizes a certain competition between Japan and China for modernization, noting that Deng Xiaoping's trips to Western Europe, the United States and Japan In 1977-1980, the years of importance for the modernization of the national economy were comparable to the Iwakura mission, which went abroad from Japan in 1871-1873 ^[17]. The 1980s were marked by the expansion and deepening of bilateral contacts in the socio-economic and cultural fields, although after 1982 the countries faced political friction over issues of historical memory. Nevertheless, according to Japanese experts, the 1980s were "the best decade in Japanese-Chinese relations" ^{[18, p. 119]}. Economic dialogue was at the center of bilateral relations, and ideological contradictions gave way to cultural unity ^{[19, p. 146]}.

Ogura Kazuo, a prominent specialist in Japanese cultural diplomacy, emphasized that in the process of the formation of the post-war "international community", identity, ideas and values took precedence, and therefore the mutual acquaintance of countries with each other's history, culture, and customs creates a favorable image of the country in the world in these conditions ^{[20, p. 248]}. Cultural diplomacy occupied a leading place in Japan's post-war activities abroad, particularly in the socialist countries of Asia. The official position of the Japanese government was aimed at promoting a peaceful policy aimed at harmonizing relations primarily with its Asian neighbors, emphasizing its special position as the only developed industrial Asian power. The Ministry of foreign Affairs of Japan in the early 1970s raised the development of good neighborly relations with China in the first place, because "trust, mutual understanding, reciprocity and equality between Japan and China as the two Asian countries will be the mainstay of lying at the Foundation of peace and stability not only at the level of bilateral relations, but also in the dialogue within Asia as a whole" (外交青書：わが外交の近況 昭和47年版 (第16号). 第2章. わが外交の基調. 第2節. 諸外国との関係の増進 [The Blue Book on Diplomacy for 1972: The state of affairs in our diplomacy for the 47th year of the Sowing era (Number 16). Chapter 2. The main problems of our diplomacy. Section 2. Development of relations with individual countries]. URL: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/bluebook/1972/s47-1-2-2.htm#k76 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). Cultural diplomacy contributed to the deepening of these initiatives: in addition to the activities of the Japanese Foundation, whose tasks included the promotion of Japanese traditional culture and language abroad, the participation of Japanese specialists in the preservation of cultural heritage within the framework of international projects was gaining more and more weight in international cultural contacts. Australian researcher Akagawa Natsuko noted that in the post-war years, along with the expansion of aid to Asian countries, Japan allocated significant funds to projects in Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia and other countries in order to preserve historical and cultural heritage; including the Japan-China agreement in 1982, assistance was allocated to to preserve and study the heritage of Dunhuang in China ^{[21, p. 128]}. Inoue Yasushi's activities were responsible for the development of cultural contacts between Japan and China in the 1950s and 1980s, the study of the cultural heritage of northwest China, and her help provided information about the diversity of Chinese culture among the Japanese public. Travels to China, made against the background of a rapid improvement in bilateral dialogue in the late 1970s, gave its author the right to transmit information about the Western Region as an eyewitness.

In 1977 – 1980s. Inoue Yasushi made five trips to Northwestern China: three times to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and twice to Gansu Province in the area of the Dunhuang Buddhist cave complex – "Caves of a Thousand Buddhas". In 1977, the writer traveled through the hitherto inaccessible Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region with the writer Shiba Retaro through the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges. In 1978, at the invitation of the Asahi newspaper, four meetings were held between the participants of the trip, Inoue Yasushi and Shiba Retaro. One of the talks was attended by orientalist Fujieda Akira and archaeologist Higuchi Takayasu, with whom the writers discussed the development of Western studies in Japan. In this conversation, the first trips of Japanese exploratory archaeologists under the auspices of the Nishi Honganji Temple and personally its abbot Otani Kozui to Xinjiang of the Qing Empire in the early twentieth century were discussed, when independent Japanese science of the Western Region began to emerge ^{[22, pp. 141-143]}. The Western region and the regions adjacent to the Great Silk Road were conceptualized in close connection with the history of China and its nomadic neighbors, but Japanese intellectuals especially stood out. According to Inoue Yasushi's definition, the Western Region was understood by him as a "protected area" - two combinations of hieroglyphs represent homonyms in Japanese and sound like "seiki". In a discussion with scientists and Shiba Retaro, but the latter's remark that separate trips to East Turkestan by Japanese travelers, archaeologists and writers are not enough, Inoue Yasushi noted: "Of course, it's not easy to get here. China is still not fully explored due to the fact that archaeological sites have not opened their doors to the general public" ^{[22, p. 165]}. In the following three years, the Japanese novelist made four more trips to the northwestern regions of China, taking part in exploratory and ethnographic trips to Niya, Gaochang, Dunhuang, Hotan and other archaeological sites preserved from the ancient kingdoms of the Great Silk Road. Two trips in 1979 and 1980 were made by him not through the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges, but as part of a joint Japanese-Chinese archaeological search team created on the initiative of the Japanese national broadcasting company NHK to film a documentary about the Great Silk Road.

Three trips organized by the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges in 1977-1979 for Inoue Yasushi and delegations of Japanese cultural figures served as the preparatory stage for the first joint Japanese-Chinese archaeological research project between NHK and China Central Television in 1980-1981 and several other similar projects that followed. The group's work was marked by Japanese-Chinese friendship, and the 12–episode film, shown in 1980-1981, became a symbol of the beginning of the rapprochement between Japan and China. The military of the People's Liberation Army of China took part in organizing the trips of Japanese and Chinese cinematographers, including ensuring the safety of the group in the harsh conditions of the Taklamakan desert. Inoue Yasushi, with a special loyal attitude towards China and an uncritical view of the history of the development of the Great Silk Road in close connection with the political and economic processes within China itself, contributed to the strengthening of friendly intellectual ties and the formation of a new image of China in Japan.

At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, there was an expansion of constructive relations between Japan and China in the field of student exchanges and cultural ties: in December 1979, a package of agreements was signed on the development of the Japan-China partnership, including an agreement on cooperation in the field of culture. Following the letter of the agreement, in 1980 – 1981 by exchanging delegations of art, science, sports; in 1981, the Chinese government sent to Japan 750 students, losing a number only USA, from Japan to China to study attended by more than 800 people (外交青書：わが外交の近況 昭和57年版 (第26号). 第1章. 各国の情勢及び我が国とこれら諸国との関係. 第1節. アジア地域 [The Blue Book on Diplomacy for 1982: The state of affairs in our diplomacy for the 57th year of the Sowing era (Number 26). Chapter 1. The state of affairs in individual countries and our country's relations with these countries. The main problems of our diplomacy. Section 1. Asia]. URL: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/bluebook/1982/s57-2010102.htm#2 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). In 1982 he created the "House of the Sino-Japanese friendship", dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the normalization of relations (外交青書：わが外交の近況 昭和59年版 (第28号). 第1章. 各国の情勢及び我が国とこれら諸国との関係. 第1節. アジア地域 [The Blue Book on Diplomacy for 1984: The state of affairs in our diplomacy for the 59th year of the Sowing era (Number 28). Chapter 1. The state of affairs in individual countries and our country's relations with these countries. The main problems of our diplomacy. Section 1. Asia]. URL: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/bluebook/1984/s59-2010102.htm#2 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). In the same year, the above-mentioned scientific project was launched to study the heritage of the near Dunhuang complex.

The Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association continued to play an important role in holding bilateral meetings between cultural, scientific and artistic figures of Japan and China: in 1982, during the celebration of the decade of normalization of Japanese-Chinese diplomatic relations, representatives of six societies of friendship and cooperation with China (the above-mentioned three organizations established in the 1950s, and the Japan-China Economic Association (JCEA, established in 1972), the Japan-China Friendship Union of Members of Parliament (JCFPU, established in 1973), The Japan-China Society (The Japan-China Society, Inc., founded in 1975)) and members of the government (Prime Minister Suzuki Zenko) Inoue Yasushi, as Chairman of the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges and head of the Union of Six Cooperation Organizations with China, delivered a friendly welcoming speech (1982年 [Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchange. 1982] 2006. № 716 (52) // Website of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. URL: http://www.nicchubunka1956.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ P052-053.pdf (accessed: 11/15/2024)). The high intensity of cultural ties at the government level in the early 1980s was accompanied by the hard work of the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges, which, as in previous years, organized exchanges of delegations of scientists, cultural figures and entrepreneurs, held exhibitions and theatrical and musical performances, and assisted the work of documentary filmmakers. It was an important non-governmental tool for cooperation and trips to China for representatives of the Asahi newspaper and Nihon Keizai, the TBS channel; writer Shiba Retaro traveled to China in 1981 with the assistance of this organization and wrote another episode of his multi-part travel project "Along the great (ancient) Roads", dedicating it to China: In 1981 , [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1981] 2006. № 716 (50) // Website of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. URL: http://www.nicchubunka1956.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ P050-051.pdf (accessed: 11/15/2024)). At this stage of the development of Japanese-Chinese cultural ties, the association's activities were dominated by events and projects that touched upon the ancient history of China, the historical and cultural community of Japan and China, the history of Buddhism in China and the development of Dunhuang, the history of the Western Region and the Great Silk Road that connected the West and East. The archaeological excavations in the Chinese part of Turkestan in the 1980s and 1990s, in which Japanese scientists actively participated, were comparable to the discovery of the treasures of Troy for the history of East Asia.

We have mentioned that in 1980 – 1981, NHK showed a documentary of the 12 part series on the silk road called NHK特集"シルクロード－絲綢之路"(silk road), Yasushi Inoue took part in the filming and made together with the writers, and are all shibas and tin Sunshine (writer Taiwan origin) the inspirer of the project (NHK特集"シルクロード－絲綢之路（しちゅうのみち）－"から、NHKスペシャル"新シルクロード"へ [From NHK special issues: "Silk Road – Sichou Zhi Lu" to NHK special project "New Silk Road"]. URL: https://www2.nhk.or.jp/archives/search/special/detail/?d=special002 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). Then, in the 1980s, the "Silk Road boom" began in Japan: NHK continued its work in the field of documentary filmmaking and several more projects were carried out: the 2nd part of the project "The Silk Road: the Road to Rome" (1983-1984, 6 episodes); "The Silk Road" ("The Maritime Silk Road", 1988 – 1989, 6 episodes) and two photo projects during the same period ^[23] (NHK特集: 海のののルルロローー [Special Issue of NHK: The Maritime Silk Road]. URL: https://www2.nhk.or.jp/archives/tv60bin/detail/index.cgi?das_id=D0009010344_00000 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). The films introduced a wide audience to the history and culture of the Asian peoples involved in communication along the Great Silk Road. Only the first film of the project, translated into several languages, including English and Korean, was dedicated to the special Chinese part of the route. The journey begins from the capital of the Tang Empire, Chang'an (modern China). Xi'an), which the group visited and described its current state. Then the film talks about the Hexi corridor in Gansu province, the most important northern transport artery of the Silk Road, tells about Dunhuang, Khara Khoto, Hotan, Turfan, the ruins of Nii and Gaochang, the northern and southern routes in the foothills of the Tien Shan, and the way from Kashgar to the Pamirs. The film takes viewers to the Soviet-Chinese border, which it will cross in the next documentary film project. In 1982, Inoue Yasushi, a participant in the filming, published the Silk Road Anthology, in which he gave an emotional assessment of five trips to the Chinese part of the Western Region. In 1983, two volumes of diaries of his travels in this region of China were published. The documentary works of the novelist and the first NHK film about the Silk Road combine a close "look into the past", which highlights the non-linearity of the development of Chinese culture and its multi-confessional multiethnic character. An illustration of this perspective in assessing the historical and cultural development of China can serve as an entry from the Silk Road Anthology by Inoue Yasushi.:

Kashgar

The city from where both Tan Shan and Pamir are visible.

A city tucked away in the southwest of the Taklamakan Desert.

The city where the "fragrant concubine" Xiangfei was born and raised.

The city where the largest mosque in East Turkestan is located.

The city with the largest bazaar, where Uighurs jostle and make noise.

A sultry city where the spicy flowers of the narrow-leaved loch bloom in May.

The ancient kingdom of Shule is hidden here.

A city where one fine hot day, as it should have happened, I lost consciousness for an unknown reason ^{[24, p. 233]}

The passage reflects the cultural and natural uniqueness of the region, its multi-religious character, and its involvement with the political history of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).: The place is full of historical events of the majestic centuries-old past, which led to the writer's loss of consciousness during a visit to the city.

The "Silk Road Boom" is associated with two film adaptations of Inoue Yasushi's works in the 1980s and the holding of an exhibition dedicated to the Silk Road in Nara in 1988. In 1980, the Japanese television company Asahi released the series "Blue Wolf: The Life of Genghis Khan", based on the novel by the writer. "The Blue Wolf" about the formation of the great Mongol conqueror. In 1988, a joint Japanese-Chinese film Dunhuang (or Silk Road) was released, the script of which was based on the novel Dunhuang by Inoue Yasushi. The agreement on the filming of the film was concluded through the mediation of the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges in July 1985 in Beijing. [Japanese-Chinese cultural exchange. 1985] 2006. № 716 (58) // Website of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association. URL: http://www.nicchubunka1956.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ P058-059.pdf (accessed: 11/15/2024)). The film tells about the confrontation between the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and the Tangut state of Western Xia, the clashes between which led to the oblivion of the Buddhist cave complex in the Dunhuang area, and the collection of manuscripts and paintings was walled up in the chamber of the 17th cave of the complex. The text repository was opened only at the beginning of the twentieth century, which began the worldwide recognition and study of Chinese Buddhist heritage sites. Japanese documentary film projects, which symbolized the creative beginning and orientation towards culture in Japanese-Chinese relations, marked a new stage in the study of this issue. Sinologist Baba Kimihiko considers NHK's Silk Road projects to be the most significant and successful in cultural relations between Japan and China in the 1980s ^{[25, p. 24]}.

The convergence of interest in the scientific exploration of archaeological sites of Eastern Turkestan was supported by close ties to the highest level: in 1984 in China with a visit to the Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, who praised the bilateral relationship as close and friendly relations, which forms the agenda of the XXI century, in order to increase bilateral cooperation created the "Japanese-Chinese Committee of friendship in the twenty-first century" (外交青書：わが外交の近況 昭和59年版 (第28号). 第1章. 各国の情勢及び我が国とこれら諸国との関係. 第1節. アジア地域 [The Blue Book on Diplomacy for 1984: The state of affairs in our diplomacy for the 59th year of the Sowing era (Number 28). Chapter 1. The state of affairs in individual countries and our country's relations with these countries. The main problems of our diplomacy. Section 1. Asia]. URL: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/bluebook/1984/s59-2010102.htm#2 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). The progressive deepening of economic cooperation in the mid-1980s contributed to the strengthening of intercultural relations. Official cultural relations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan mainly consisted in the exchange of delegations, the expansion of student and youth exchange; the "House of Japanese-Chinese Friendship" acted as a platform for the development of exchanges. In parallel with the high intensity of the work of official diplomacy, civil organizations worked with the aim of developing friendly relations between peoples. The Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges and its permanent member, and in the 1980s, Chairman Inoue Yasushi, successfully held joint cultural events and promoted such landmark events as the NHK and CCT projects and the filming of the Japanese-Chinese film Dunhuang.

In this regard, the figure of Inoue Yasushi has become a symbol of deepening mutual understanding between Japan and China. It is symbolic that the last work for which the novelist collected materials in China in the 1980s was the novel Confucius, published in 1989. In an interview with NHK shortly before his death, Inoue Yasushi said that this novel talks about faith in humankind on the threshold of the new Millennium the ideas and actions of the Chinese thinker may be useful for the international community (あの人に会いたい. 井上靖: 人間を信じる [Want to meet with him. Inoue Yasushi: "I believe in people." Interview with the writer] // NHK Archives. URL: https://www2.nhk.or.jp/archives/jinbutsu/detail.cgi?das_id=D0009250072_00000 (date of access: 11/15/2024)). His constructive attitude towards dialogue with China contributed to the creation of a deep system of contacts between the two countries in the 1970s and 1980s. This approach outlined the Japanese-Chinese rapprochement, despite the contradictions that intensified in the 1980s, related to the historical past and the problem of school textbooks, economic and ideological differences.

Conclusion

The three stages of the development of Japanese cultural diplomacy in China highlighted in this article are characterized by a set of specific mechanisms. From the mid-1950s until the normalization of diplomatic dialogue in 1972, Tokyo did not hold official cultural events in China and youth exchanges. Tokyo conducted cultural exchange with Beijing through civil diplomacy, which was an initiative from below, on the part of cultural figures supported by government members. The activities of the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges, together with six Japanese public organizations aimed at developing economic and humanitarian ties between the peoples of Japan and China, corresponded to this model. Cultural activities were based on face-to-face public cultural diplomacy, in which the exchange of delegations of scientists, sports and cultural figures prevailed. The role of prominent initiators of international cultural communication, such as Inoue Yasushi, was both practical and symbolic, making a significant contribution to cultural transfer between China and Japan. It was not the communist character of the PRC's ideology that came to the fore, but the antiquity of Chinese culture.

The normalization of Japanese-Chinese diplomatic relations in 1972 ushered in the second stage of post-war cultural ties between the two countries, which lasted until 1979, i.e. until the signing of the Japanese-Chinese Cultural Cooperation Agreement, concluded against the background of Deng Xiaoping's new policy towards Japan. The period 1972-1979, despite the rapid development of diplomatic contacts, followed a well–trodden track in the field of culture: public organizations continued to play the first fiddle in building cultural ties. The trend towards a real rapprochement at the level of government and society was observed only towards the end of this stage. Inoue Yasushi's travels to northwestern China, which was closed to the general international community, became an important cultural event that reformatted the image of the PRC, turning a glance at the rich history and traditions of the multinational country, which acted as a historical reserve, the cradle of East Asian culture, formed under the powerful influence of continuous communication between East and West along the route of the Great Silk Road.

The decade 1979 – 1989 was marked by a rapid humanitarian rapprochement. In the field of culture, events initiated by the Government have found a balance, expanding educational youth exchanges, facilitating the organization of cultural events, the exchange of delegations, and the implementation of festival and exhibition activities. In 1982, the decade of normalization of Japanese-Chinese diplomatic relations was widely celebrated. The period is characterized by the launch of joint projects, an important role in which was played by the filming of a series of documentaries about the history, peoples, culture and nature of the Great Silk Road, created on the initiative of NHK and prominent writers Inoue Yasushi and Shiba Retaro. The Eurasian theme is touched upon in the Japanese-Chinese film project related to the creation of the historical film "Dunhuang", the beginning of which was facilitated by the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges. Inoue Yasushi's creative work and social activities are inextricably linked to the deepening of cultural dialogue between Japan and China in the post-war period. His personal interest in the history of this country and the special area of the Western Region associated with the Great Silk Road allowed him to occupy an advantageous position and be recognized in both China and Japan. His election to the post of chairman of the Association of Japanese-Chinese Cultural Exchanges in the early 1980s symbolized the deepening of friendly dialogue in the field of culture. The novelist's fiction and documentary works about the Western Region, which used the optics of "looking into the past," allowed the Japanese audience to re-realize the greatness of Chinese culture and create a favorable image of China in Japan. The novelist's latest novel, dedicated to the world-famous thinker Confucius, called on the Japanese reader to take a fresh look at the foundations of Japanese literature on the threshold of the new millennium. All three channels of cultural diplomacy: personal diplomacy, civil diplomacy of public organizations, and cultural diplomacy at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – served the common goal of building strong friendly multi-level ties, laying the foundations for close cooperation between Japan and China in the 21st century, despite the persistence of territorial and historical contradictions.