Presented by Ayano Fukui
(Author’s Note 01: This article was inspired by the online articles about the stories of Anastasia and Imperial Russia in Japan written by Mr. Junichi Hayashi.
Note 02: This article might contain inappropriate expressions for the images of the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Also, readers who are not interested in fictional novels/stories of the Romanovs might be wary of this article. I, the author of this wrote it in terms of cultural translation through the researches into fictional images of Anastasia in Japan. Please understand that my opinions in this article may be considered unusual and wrong. Japan has favored the legendary Anastasia as being true. Thank you.)
Many Fictional Images of the Grand Duchess Anastasia
When I think of the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaievna in Russia, I am unable to define her by any one certain image, only because there have been too many images of her, especially in fiction. The image of her that I have had would be, her fearless and humorous self. However, I might be wrong. I might be greatly influenced by the image of her as a Hollywood princess. I wonder which one is the one that has precisely described the image of her in those fictional stories based on the legend of Anastasia.
The mysterious story of the Grand Duchess Anastasia has been circulated around the world and this story has a long history.. Indeed, this story is famous around the world. However, few people may know that it has been favored in Japan or the fact that Japan has produced many unique and fictional stories based on the legendary Anastasia. In this article, I will focus on the cultural encounter of this legend with Japan.
The readers of this article might ask the question, “How was Anastasia encountered in Japan?” I would say yes, Japan has favored the translation of this story. Two unique features from our country, hon’an and the image of “heroes” in Japan may offer the answer to help solve this question and provide the key to the Japanese image of the legendary Anastasia.
What is Hon’ an?
In Japanese, hon’an means the adaptation in fictional stories and plays. In the Meiji Era (1868-1911) translating stories that were originally produced outside Japan was fashionable and the stories were adapted into the new ones containing the essences of Japanese culture. Japanese people in the Meiji and also the Taisho Era (1912-1926) liked to hear and read the stories that captured the mood and styles of European countries. The background of the adaptation in Japan might be because of Japan’s yearning for things abroad. Generally in the Edo Era (1603-1867), Japanese literature connected the mood of Japanese own culture and Asian cultures. After the Edo Era, Japanese literature welcomed the new essences that were seen in European literature. Japanese writers tried to change their writing style and adapted those European styles and this was the beginning of hon’an literature. The notable literary ones of hon’an would be, Dazai Osamu’s (1909-1948) Run, Melos which was the adaptation from a Greek mythology and included the translated and adapted versions of The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Miserables as done by Kuroiwa Ruiko (1862-1920).*1 Thus, the Japanese tradition of hon’an literature might have evoked writers to translate the legendary Anastasia into fictional novels and stories.
What is the Image of Heroes in Japan?
Yoko Yamazaki (1947- ), the Japanese writer of a fictional novel based on the legend of Anastasia says:
“The reason why the rumors that Anastasia had survived the assassination were circulated around the world might be because there was no evidence that could prove the fact that the assassination had happened, and because there is a ‘wish of the resurrection’ in our minds. If someone of a special status or who has achieved something great dies in a tragic situation, people wish that she or he survived the tragedy. The illusions creates a romantic image and turn it into legends.*2”
Yamazaki wrote about the comparison of the legend of Anastasia with the historical legends of heroes in Japan. I will follow her comparison from here. As Yamazaki wrote:
“In Japan, people tend to favor the legends of heroes who achieved something great and died in a tragic situation.”
She listed the legends in her essay and I will follow two legends that have been favored in Japan; the legends of Minamotono Yoshitsune (1159-1189?) and Kawashima Yoshiko (1907-1948?).*3
The most famous legendary hero in Japan would be the one of Minamotono Yoshitsune, the Japanese warrior in the Kamakura Era (1185-1333). His step brother was the one who established the government system in that Era. There is a rumor in Japan that Yoshitsune survived the assassination conducted by his step brother and then moved to Mongolia. He might have lived his life under the name, Chinghis Khan (1162-1227) and Yoshitsune was the King of Imperial Mongolia. However, this rumor is historically incorrect. Somehow Japanese people created the imaginative story of Minamotono Yoshitsune and this legend has been adapted into plays, films, and fictional novels.*4 Japanese people have the image of heroes as the immortal ones and they “favor the legends of them” (Morimura 13). Another example about legendary heroes would be Kawashima Yoshiko, the last princess in China who worked as a disguised spy in Japan. Although it was reported that she was killed, there was a rumor that she had survived. The story of the princess has been also adapted into fictional stories. These immortal popular legends in Japan may apply to the case of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, since it has the essences for Japanese people to favor; she died in a tragic situation and she had the special status of a Grand Duchess.
The Japanese Adaptation of the Legend of Anastasia
Focusing on the Japanese adaptation of the legend of Anastasia, I have noticed that Japanese adaptation has one scary feature. Especially, the short story, entitled “Shigo no Koi [Love after Death]” written by Yumeno Kyusaku (1889-1936) published in 1928 was scary. Yumeno defines the story of Anna Anderson as scary. He wrote in this short story:
“The fate of “love after death” which haunted me has reached to an extreme of nobility, seriousness and mystery.”*5
To be Sure, the scary essences have not been seen in the Hollywood films; Anastasia (1956) and Anastasia (1997). These two films have shown the image of Anastasia as a gorgeous princess, and could be defined as a Cinderella story. In contrast, the Japanese fictional stories based on the legend of Anastasia have a scary and tragic mood in them.
The image of scary in the legend of Anastasia could be seen, since the legend has a mysterious side. The fact that the name of Anastasia means the resurrection and this legend has unsolved questions; whether or not she had survived and whether or not her body is still missing—these mysterious aspects might give a scary impression to Japanese people. A Japanese film Ring (1998) that was translated into the Hollywood film, The Ring (2002) may be the answer to the question: “What is scary?” In Ring, the little girl named Sadako in Japanese version of the film, (In Hollywood version of the film, her name is Samara) gives a scary impression to the audience.
In Japanese fictional works based on the story of Anastasia, the image of her is also, supernatural. Japan has more than ten fictional stories based on the story of her, and most of them have a supernatural image of her. Yoko Ogawa (1962- ) has written two fictional stories based on the legendary Anastasia and in one of Ogawa’s stories, Anastasia is obsessed with embroidering her initial, “A” on handkerchiefs, socks, capes, bags, and almost all the clothing and her image in the story is scary. *6
Why is the scary image of Anastasia seen in Japan? It could be because it was not easy to translate the image of the Grand Duchess Anastasia into Japanese stories. Japanese writers struggled and created one plot that somehow Anastasia had survived and been rescued by a Japanese soldier and she fell in love with him. This plot could be seen in Soji Shimada’s (1948- ) novel, Russia Yurei Gunkan Jiken [Russian Phantom Warship Case] and also in other fictional stories of the Romanovs. However, Shimada’s version might be the most moving one and somehow the author of this novel does not define Anastasia as a supernatural but as noble. In his novel, he writes:
“Japan reported that the body of Anastasia was also excavated in order to convince people that Anastasia did not survive, although this information was not true. Japan likes to resolve such kinds of legendary questions.” *7
The very reason why Japanese writers have had the image of Anastasia as a scary and supernatural one may be, based on Japanese religious beliefs for the dead. Japanese people define the dead as “the cursed ones or the ones with kegare [kegare means sin]” (Man, the article on the subconscious). This would be the reason why Anastasia should not “rise again from the assassination” since she has been secretly considered as a scary and supernatural one in Japan for religious reasons. However as I have mentioned earlier, Japanese people have been interested in this legend and writers created more than ten fictional stories based on the legendary Anastasia.
The Legend of Anastasia in Cultural Translation
I have followed the images of the Grand Duchess Anastasia that has been circulated around the world. In Hollywood films, she is gorgeous. In Japan, she is considered as a scary and supernatural. The legend of Anastasia has been translated from history and it may be a key to the social interests in cultural translation as well as in historical legends.
Endnotes and References
*1. Kuzumi, Kazuo. Dazai Osamu to Gaikoku Bungaku. Osaka: Izumi Shoin. 2004. pp. 25
*2. Yamazaki, Yoko. Densetsu ni Natta Onna Tachi. Tokyo: Kodansha. 1994. pp. 267
*3. The names of Japanese people who had already passed away are sometimes written in the order of Surname-First Name. Therefore, as for Minamotono Yoshitsune, Minamotono is his surname and Yoshitsune; his first name. Likewise, Kawashima Yoshiko, Dazai Osamu, and Kuroiwa Ruiko, all of them are in the order of Surname-First Name.
*4. Morimura, Munefuyu. The Legend of Yoshitsune and the Japanese People. Tokyo: Heibonsha. 2005. pp. 208-211 (Available in Japanese)
*5. http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000096/card2380.html Yumeno, Kyusaku. “Shigo no Koi.” 1928. This story does not have the copyright anymore. I referred to the online text book of this story, at Aozora Bunko. (Available in Japanese)
*6. Ogawa, Yoko. “Sosei.” Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten. Kadokawa Bunko. 2004. [2000] pp. 184-199 *7. Shimada, Soji. Russia Yurei Gunkan Jiken. Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten. Kadokawa Bunko. 2004 [2001]. pp. 157
[Electronic Sources]
http://www.relnet.co.jp/relnet/brief/r18-44.htm Man, Songe. “Ring to Kegare Ishiki: Nihon no Senzai Bunka to shite no Kegare [The Film, Ring and the Subconscious of Sin: Kegare in Japan].” In Relnet. Online. (Available in Japanese)
http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/120th/henshu/gekidou/gekidou_040701.html “Hibi Gekidou: Kuroiwa Ruiko [The Kaleidoscope of Twentieth Century: Kuroiwa Ruiko].” The Tokyo Shimbun. Online. (Available in Japanese)
The Review of 2002’s Japanese Television Program about the Legend of Anastasia