Warriors of the "White Tsar": how did Russian soldiers surprise the Japanese
Although Japan is one of the closest eastern neighbors of Russia, for a long time the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun had virtually no idea how Russian people live. In Japanese society, stereotypes only about "northern barbarians" prevailed.
Only during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. the first "mass" acquaintance of the Japanese with the Russians took place. Officers and soldiers of the Russian army hit the Japanese with their unusual habits. Arrogant samurai gradually imbued with respect for this incomprehensible northern people.
For the Japanese, the Russians remained a paradoxical people. The difficult and inglorious war for Russia of 1904-1905, however, gave many examples of the desperate heroism of Russian soldiers and sailors. This is the defense of Port Arthur, and the story of the cruiser Varyag. Japanese commanders marveled at the courage of Russian soldiers.
At the same time, for a Japanese officer, captivity was always worse than death. It was believed that captivity could be preferred to ritual suicide only by a complete coward who would forever cover his name with shame. Therefore, Japanese officers for the most part made hara-kiri, and the Russians quite easily surrendered. And this, too, was very incomprehensible to the Japanese military - as it is, the same people, but demonstrate completely opposite patterns of behavior. Then they fight to the last and die like heroes, then surrender.
Respect from the Japanese could not but arouse the religiosity of Russian soldiers and officers. The Japanese military found with each killed leaflets with the words of prayers. Riots often took place in prisoner-of-war camps because Russian soldiers saw the behavior of the Japanese guards offensive to Orthodoxy. Loyalty to the emperor, the “white king,” as they called him in the Far East, could not but arouse respect of the Japanese.
By the way, prisoners of war hit the Japanese command with their unprecedented, from the point of view of the Japanese, appetite. The Russians really liked to eat a lot, moreover, high-calorie foods that the Japanese did not eat or almost did not eat. The military department was even forced to increase spending on the maintenance of prisoners of war. The food of one Russian prisoner of war was twice as expensive as the food of a Japanese ordinary soldier, since the latter was quietly content with rice.
The cleanliness of the Russians is another fact that provoked sympathy from the Japanese. The Russians tried to wash themselves as often as possible, even in the harsh conditions of prisoner of war camps they found the possibility of equipping bathhouses and laundries in dugouts.
War is war, and acquaintance with Russia and the Russian world went on as usual for Japan. It was at the beginning of the twentieth century in Japan that interest in Russian culture and literature rose sharply. Thousands of young Japanese read Russian classics with pleasure, revolutionary ideas unusual for the Far East came from Japan to Russia.
Despite the fact that our countries have historically been more at enmity with each other than friends, the Japanese attitude towards Russia is still somewhat different than even Asian cultures that are close in culture.
Only during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. the first "mass" acquaintance of the Japanese with the Russians took place. Officers and soldiers of the Russian army hit the Japanese with their unusual habits. Arrogant samurai gradually imbued with respect for this incomprehensible northern people.
For the Japanese, the Russians remained a paradoxical people. The difficult and inglorious war for Russia of 1904-1905, however, gave many examples of the desperate heroism of Russian soldiers and sailors. This is the defense of Port Arthur, and the story of the cruiser Varyag. Japanese commanders marveled at the courage of Russian soldiers.
At the same time, for a Japanese officer, captivity was always worse than death. It was believed that captivity could be preferred to ritual suicide only by a complete coward who would forever cover his name with shame. Therefore, Japanese officers for the most part made hara-kiri, and the Russians quite easily surrendered. And this, too, was very incomprehensible to the Japanese military - as it is, the same people, but demonstrate completely opposite patterns of behavior. Then they fight to the last and die like heroes, then surrender.
Respect from the Japanese could not but arouse the religiosity of Russian soldiers and officers. The Japanese military found with each killed leaflets with the words of prayers. Riots often took place in prisoner-of-war camps because Russian soldiers saw the behavior of the Japanese guards offensive to Orthodoxy. Loyalty to the emperor, the “white king,” as they called him in the Far East, could not but arouse respect of the Japanese.
By the way, prisoners of war hit the Japanese command with their unprecedented, from the point of view of the Japanese, appetite. The Russians really liked to eat a lot, moreover, high-calorie foods that the Japanese did not eat or almost did not eat. The military department was even forced to increase spending on the maintenance of prisoners of war. The food of one Russian prisoner of war was twice as expensive as the food of a Japanese ordinary soldier, since the latter was quietly content with rice.
The cleanliness of the Russians is another fact that provoked sympathy from the Japanese. The Russians tried to wash themselves as often as possible, even in the harsh conditions of prisoner of war camps they found the possibility of equipping bathhouses and laundries in dugouts.
War is war, and acquaintance with Russia and the Russian world went on as usual for Japan. It was at the beginning of the twentieth century in Japan that interest in Russian culture and literature rose sharply. Thousands of young Japanese read Russian classics with pleasure, revolutionary ideas unusual for the Far East came from Japan to Russia.
Despite the fact that our countries have historically been more at enmity with each other than friends, the Japanese attitude towards Russia is still somewhat different than even Asian cultures that are close in culture.
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