This paper deals with the booklet series The Pamphlets about New Russia in eight volumes (1924–1927), written by Nobori Shomu (1878–1958), a Japanese specialist of Russian literature. Although the earlier studies noted that he was an important specialist of Russian and Soviet culture, his essays on this subject, including this series, have been largely neglected.

　The author considers that these booklets are the first comprehensive study of Russian and Soviet culture in Japan because Nobori treated literature, the fine arts, the theatrical arts, music, and movies in equal detail. Compared with other Japanese publications and journals about Russian studies of those days, these booklets, which had many photographs, were sold at a low price. This shows that Nobori aimed to intelligibly introduce the whole picture as well as the new trends in Russian and Soviet culture to Japanese people. It is worth noting that the fourth volume of this series, An Overview of New Russian Arts (1925), went into its fifth printing just three months after its publication. It concerned the new Japanese art movements in the 1920s, which were led by the playwright and novelist Murayama Tomoyoshi (1901–1977), the painter Yamamoto Kanae (1882–1946), and other artists. The results indicate that Nobori published this series to contribute to the development of contemporary Japanese culture; by introducing Russian and Soviet culture to Japan and evaluating them as the model of cultural success.

　The aim of this paper is to clarify that Sato Haruo's short story “The House of a Spanish Dog" (1917) is inspired by Li Bai's poem “Seeking in Vain the Taoist Priest on Daitian Mountain".

　This piece of fantasy with a dreamlike tone is an early masterpiece of Sato, in which a man wanders into the mountains with his dog and finds a mysterious house. It is widely regarded as inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's “Landor's Cottage", itself a parody of Washington Irving's “Rip Van Winkle".

　However, when considering that the protagonist visits a house while its owner is absent, and imagines that the owner of the house is a hermit or a wizard, it is necessary to examine the influence of the traditional motif of “absent hermits" in Chinese poetry. This motif was especially popular in the Tang period, for it was believed to describe effectively their unworldly lifestyle. “The House of a Spanish Dog" actually shares many common motifs with traditional poetry; the imagery of spring water, for example, is one of the particular motifs that show Sato's close relationship to the ancient poets.

　Therefore, focusing on the adaption of the topos of “Peach Blossom Spring" from the quatrain of Li Bai, this paper tries to demonstrate how the “fantastic" atmosphere of “The House of a Spanish Dog" is generated not only from Poe's short story but also from Li Bai's poetry.

　Sans Famille (1878), written by Hector Malot, is a popular work for children in French literature. It was translated into Japanese by Yuho Kikuchi. This translation was titled Ie Naki Ko, and was serialized in the daily newspsper the Osaka Mainichi Shinbun and then published in book form in 1911–1912. Kikuchi, known as an “expert of adaptation," however, attempted to keep the translation faithful to the French original. This fact is proof of his high regard for the original work. This article explores the question, “what values were found in the original and how did Kikuchi pay attention to them in his translation?" Considering that Kikuchi was originally a writer of home novels (katei shōsetsu) that catered to female readers, the focus of this article is on the representation of female characters in Ie Naki Ko.

　In the 1900s, Kikuchi's representative works of home novels contained information on women's morals within a family; he reiterated in his articles that a woman should create a warm family atmosphere and be a good wife and wise mother. After the Russo–Japan War, individualism started spreading in Japanese society, and Kikuchi feared its influence on Japanese women's morals. It would appear that Kikuchi considered Sans Famille a home novel and appreciated the fact that the female characters sacrificed their own comfort and cared for their children, husbands and parents. Respecting the expressions in the original work, in the translation, Kikuchi attempted to emphasize the female characters' virtue of devotion to the family.

　Toyokichi Iyenaga traveled to Persia, Turkey, and India after being commissioned by the Governor-General of Taiwan to investigate opium from May 1899 to March 1900. This paper examines the account of his journey, Nishi Ajia Ryokō-ki or ‘Travels through West Asia' (1900) as well as his secret reports on opium, which were presented to the Governor-General of Taiwan.

　In this paper, I will first explore the link between Iyenaga's accounts and Persia and the Persian Question (1892), a famous travel book written by George N. Curzon, a British traveler and politician. Iyenaga cites Curzon in his account and it is clear that Iyenaga's first impression of Persepolis was specifically influenced by Curzon's accounts.

　I will then focus on Iyenaga's portrayal of the landscape. When looking at Persian mountains and rivers, Iyenaga keeps Japanese landscapes in mind and makes several comparisons between Persian and Japanese scenery, often preferring the Japanese scenery over its Persian counterpart.

　Finally, I shed light on the nature of Iyenaga's opium reports which contain his opinions on colonialism. His opium survey aims to find ways to increase government revenue through the opium business. His accounts show that he had a high opinion of English colonial policy in India and furthermore that he proposed applying the same policy to Taiwan under Japanese rule.

　While on the one hand Iyenaga internalized an English traveler's gaze, on the other, he kept his country in mind during his travels. These two approaches are closely connected to his perception of colonialism. By examining Iyenaga's travels, this paper sheds light on a little recognized figure who nevertheless gives significant insights to early Japanese engagement with the outside world.

　KAWAI Kanjirō (河井寬次郎, 1890―1966), a well-known modern Japanese ceramic artist, wrote essays about his hometown and childhood and published them from 1946 until his death in 1966. Kawai learned western ceramic engineering techniques in Tokyo and then began a career as a ceramic artist in Kyoto under the influence of Chinese ceramics. These two authoritative methods, western technology and Chinese ceramics, are oppositely positioned with his hometown of Shimane prefecture, a rural area of Japan.

　In many of his essays, such as Rokujūnen Mae no Ima (六十年前の今, Now, Sixty Years Ago, 1962―1966), the growth of ‘children' represents the modernization of Japan. His literary expression was clearly influenced by two factors. First, interest in Darwin's biological studies and the way in which these views on animal behavior were being applied to human society. Second, auspicious motifs found in ceramics are sometimes included metaphorically in his writings; these scenes then create a dual meaning in the writings.

　Kawai's stories are not only real-life experiences of his childhood, but they transcend time and space as an idea of a ‘common expression of living matter'. In other words, this expression of ‘hometown' can be interpreted as a literary expression against the background of his thoughts on creative activities. The aim of this paper is to re-examine the meaning of these essays as a part of his artistic activities.