January 17 will see the opening of the exhibition “Russia - Japan: Crossroads of History and Culture” at the Russian National Library.

      The exhibition will present the main stages in the development of mutual relations of the two countries for more than a century - from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. It will demonstrate the influence of Japanese pictorial traditions on Russian mainstream art of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

      Among the exhibits there are rare Russian 19^th century editions, telling about Japan, and the first Russian-Japanese dictionaries, as well as notes by Russian travelers - fleet captains Vasily Golovnin and Peter Ricard - who visited Japan in the 19^th century.

      Many Russian publications included in the exposition testify to the high interest in Japanese culture and way of life, religion and art, ethics, poetry, fairy tales and the theater. The exhibition will run till February, 28.