Early information about Peter I and shaping of his image in Japan

This article presents the results of the study on how early information about Peter I spread in Japan and how it influenced the shaping of his image in this country during the XVIII and the first half of XIX centuries. The image of Peter I could be used for popularization of the ideas of modernization of Japan according to the Western models, as well as for building a modern nation state with strong central power. The degree of influence of the European assessment of the activities of Peter I, which could be borrowed by the Japanese in their translations of the Dutch works, is also under estimation. It was found that by the end of the XVIII century, the image of Peter I as an outstanding ruler had formed in Japan, with his main achievement being the expansion of the country’s territory, after which European Russia suddenly shared a border with northern Japan. At the turn of the XIX century, with the return of the Japanese sailors who had visited Russia back home, information about the contents of Peter’s activities started accumulating. As a result, the example of Peter and his transformations in Russia started being used to covertly criticize the rigid views of central government officials on the international position of Japan and their resulting short-sighted foreign policy.