The Role of Okakura Tenshin in the Development of Dialogue between the Cultures of India and Japan
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Abstract
The article is devoted to the Indian pages of the biography of the Japanese art scholar Okakura Tenshin (1863–1913). It is an attempt to systematically examine all the main connections of his life and work with Indian culture in order to better understand his place in the dialogue between the cultures of India and Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. Okakura viewed Japanese art in a broad cultural context, in historical connections with China and other countries. Hence his interest in India as the cradle of Buddhism, a teaching that united most of Asia, without which it is impossible to imagine Japanese culture. The structure of the article consists of three circles, in the center of each of which there is a great cultural figure (Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore) or a group of such figures (artists of the Bengal school). Each of these circles has its own dominant – religion, literature or art. Okakura Tenshin visited India only twice (in 1902 and 1912), and both times for short periods, and Indian art was not the main topic of his research, but he made a significant contribution to the development of cultural ties between India and Japan. Although India was a colony at the time, these were direct connections, not mediated by the metropolis. Okakura established friendly relations with leading representatives of the Indian intellectual elite – Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Priyambada Devi, Nandalal Bose, etc. On the other hand, Tenshin drew into his orbit a number of Japanese cultural figures, both representatives of the Buddhist clergy (Hori Shitoku, Oda Tokuno) and artists (Yokoyama Taikan, Hishida Shunso, Arai Kanpo, etc.). Among the three dominants we have highlighted, the decisive role belongs to the religious and philosophical teachings of Swami Vivekananda, which prompted Okakura to go to India. However, art received the strongest development. As for literature, it was little involved in this dialogue of cultures, probably because Indian intellectuals and artists did not know Japanese, and the Japanese did not speak Bengali or Hindi.
How to Cite
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Japanese-Indian relations, Indian culture, Japanese culture, Okakura Tenshin, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore
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