The missionary activity of St. Nicholas of Japan (Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin, 1836-1912) has been studied in comparative detail in modern Russian and foreign historiography. Meanwhile, his journalistic activities have been studied to a much lesser extent. Until now, modern works are permeated with myths, sometimes invented by the Saint's contemporaries. One of these myths is his "Letters from Japan", which allegedly" for a number of years "[Bogolyubov, 1998, p.71] were published on the pages of Moskovskiye Vedomosti. Let us note that "a number of years" is usually understood as the second half of the 1860s and 1870s.

Many modern studies indicate that in the "60s of the XIX century," Moskovskiye Vedomosti " published "Letters from Japan" written by him (Father Nikolai - A. G.), which introduced Russian readers to the real life of this still little-known country "[Rossiya..., 2000, p. 405]. Similar statements can be found in Soviet works: "His (Father Nikolai's) correspondence from Japan" was regularly published during the 60s of the last century in "Moskovskiye Vedomosti" ... " [Shteyngauz, 1986, p. 106]. A. A. Shcherbina mentions this more modestly: "For a number of years he [Nikolai Kasatkin - A. G.] published Letters from Japan in Moskovskiye Vedomosti..." [Shcherbina, 1977, p.156].

After reviewing the files of the newspaper Moskovskiye Vedomosti for 1865-1880, published in Moscow under the editorship of V. Korsh (1856-1862), M. Shchepkin (1862), under the joint editorship of M. Katkov and P. Kolesnikov. Leontiev (1864-1875), M. Katkov (until the end of the 1880s) 1, the author of this article did not find any "Letters from Japan" written by St. Nicholas of Japan. Of course, some of the files were missing a number of numbers 2, and upon a cursory examination (the notorious human factor!) publications of "Emails" may have been missed.

As a rule, news about the Land of the Rising Sun in the 1860s - 1870s in Moskovskiye Vedomosti was reprinted from the European press [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 12.05.1865; 16.03.1872] or St. Petersburg publications [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 25.04.1862; 31.03.1873].

In order to confirm that the" Letters from Japan "in the" Moscow Vedomosti " of the 1860s is a myth, we will cite a number of facts.

First, until 1867, the public in both capitals of the Russian Empire did not know that Nikolai Kasatkin was "struggling" in Japan as a missionary.

1 Information is taken from the file cabinet of the Russian State Library (Khimki). In 1863-1864, the editor's name was not mentioned in the newspaper's issues.

2 So, in the "poorest" file for 1868, about twenty numbers were missing, in the rest-no more than five numbers.

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"The fact that Nicholas was secretly engaged in preaching activities in Hakodate under the ban on Christianity was first learned in Russia from Consul Goshkevich, who returned from Japan in 1865 and retired in 1867. He notified the Missionary Society about this, which was reported on October 8, 1867 by the influential Russian newspaper Moskovskiye Vedomosti... " [Sablina, 2006, p. 44]3. It should be pointed out that the article in the Sunday issue (No. 219) of the newspaper by M. Katkov and P. Leontiev was published with reference to the St. Petersburg newspaper Severnaya Pochta. In this official organ of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, published daily under the editorship of D. Kamensky, an editorial article "An Orthodox Missionary in Japan" was published in No. 215 of October 4 (16), 1867 [Severnaya Poshta, 1867]. This article can be considered the first publication in the capital's daily press devoted to the activities of Nikolai Kasatkin in Japan. Thus, until 1867, Moskovskie Vedomosti could hardly have published "Letters from Japan"on its pages. In any case, if this were the case, it would probably be mentioned in the article under consideration.

Secondly, among the huge mass of already well-known and newly discovered publications cited by the "apostle of Japan" and his associates, there is still not a single reference in the literature to this or that "Letter from Japan" dating back to the 1860s.

Third, as is well known, "Nicholas went to St. Petersburg in 1869 with a proposal to establish an Orthodox mission in Japan" and returned "to Hakodate in 1871" (Ivanova, 1990, p.194). Thus, during the three - year period (1869-1871), Nikolai could not write "Letters from Japan", because he was in Russia. There is only one possible chance-to find "Letters" in the file of "Moskovskiye Vedomosti" for 1868. However, upon careful consideration of almost every issue (about twenty issues were missing from the file) of the newspaper for the specified year, the author did not find a single "Letter" belonging to the pen of Father Nicholas...

Until the mid-1870s, the pages of Moskovskiye Vedomosti did not contain any materials concerning the spread of Orthodoxy in Japan. The only exception here is a casual mention in the Extract from the most recent report of the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod for 1870 that "it is also proposed to establish a spiritual mission in Japan" [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 06.03.1872]. Since 1874, the "Moscow Vedomosti" began to publish "own" materials from Japan. We are talking about letters "From Yokohama", the author of which signed the pseudonym N [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 09.01.1874; 20.03.1874]. Apart from these, no materials from Russian authors from Japan are found on the pages of Moskovskiye Vedomosti.

In 1876, in one of the first issues of the newspaper, the editorial board shared with the reader important news that "Christianity is making significant progress in Japan" [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 04.01.1876]. And some time later, in May, "Moskovskie Vedomosti" placed on its pages a letter from the distant Land of the rising sun. However, this was not one of the "Letters from Japan" at all... We are talking about an open letter of St. Nicholas - " The Appeal of the Japanese Ecclesiastical Mission to the Russian Church "[Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 26.03.1876], dated March 15, 1876. The text of the proclamation is interesting in many ways. Paying tribute to all his benefactors in the Russian Empire, Father Nicholas shared with the reader information about the success of Orthodox preaching in Japan: "The Mission has not existed in place for even five years and still does not have the full composition of the four members designated for it, but it has: a priest and a deacon from the Japanese, 30 catechists and catechetical assistants working in the

3 This note was the only publication in Moskovskiye Vedomosti in the 1860s devoted to the activities of St. Nicholas.

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More than a thousand Christians in different places for preaching...". Further, in detail in five paragraphs, the "needs of the young Japanese branch of her before the Russian Church" were listed. Special attention is drawn to the request of the Saint for help in the construction of a temple in Edo (modern times). Tokyo): "... for Christians, you need to build a large temple, a separate building." It is known that a little later, on September 1 of the same year, Archimandrite Nicholas, in a letter to the council of the Missionary Society, called out: "Let us have the temple, the temple, the temple! - Our crying with all the strength of our soul and body, a screaming request "[cit. by: Sablina, 2006, p. 122]. Thus, by 1876, the preaching of Orthodoxy in Japan was so successful that the house church in the capital no longer met the needs of the Mission. The efforts of St. Nicholas in this direction were crowned with success, and "on April 21 (May 3), 1884, the foundation stone was laid" [Sablina, 2006, p. 125] of the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Tokyo, and in March 1891 it was consecrated [Sablina, 2006, p.127].

Another request of Nicholas of Japan had to do with the establishment of the Institute of deaconesses in the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission. According to the Saint, the faith of Christ "will only be firmly established in the country when it becomes the basis of family life; it can be brought into families mainly by a woman" [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 26.05.1876]. According to St. Nicholas, Japanese women needed an example of piety that only Russian Orthodox women could demonstrate.

Father Nicholas asked for help not to all Russian people in general, but as if separately to everyone: "hierarchs of the Russian Church", "brothers priests", "nobles of the Russian land", "Russian pious merchants", "persons of advanced years", "people of mature age", " young men and maidens", "good fathers and mentors", "loving mothers and older sisters", "rich", "not rich", "editors of current Russian literature" [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 26.05.1876].

Later, until the end of the 1870s, the pages of Moskovskiye Vedomosti published a lot of information about the activities of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Japan. At the same time, the material was placed mainly in the form of editorial articles and notes [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 09.02.1879; 16.05.1879], as well as reprints from other publications [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 03.05.1877; 16.11.1879]. As for the letters of St. Nicholas, in 1878 in one of the spring issues of the newspaper under the heading "News of the Orthodox mission in Japan" was published "Extract from the letter of the head of the Orthodox ecclesiastical mission in Japan, Archimandrite Nicholas, addressed to His Eminence Innocent Metropolitan of Moscow, dated March 12 (24), 1878" [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 20.05.1878]. In the letter, Father Nicholas, in particular, informs that this year "the consecration of four candidates for the priesthood chosen last year" will take place. A common thread running through the message is a description of the needs of a young Japanese church: there is not enough money to repair buildings, publish books, and buy an iconostasis for a school church in Tokyo.

From 1879 to 1886, Hieromonk Vladimir (V. G. Sokolovsky) lived in Japan and helped Archimandrite Nicholas (since 1880 - Bishop) [Diaries..., 2004, vol.1, p. 456]. In 1879-1880. he actively collaborated in Moskovskiye Vedomosti. At the same time, the newspaper's pages contain both materials signed with his name and anonymous ones, which can be attributed to his authorship by a number of indirect signs. For the first time, his name appears in the February issue, where it is reported that "the chairman of the Society for the Distribution of Useful Books, A. N. Strekalova, gave us a letter that she received on December 14 from a Russian missionary in Japan, master of the Kazan Theological Academy, Hieromonk Vladimir" [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 09.02.1879]. This was followed by excerpts from the letter, which pointed out, on the one hand, the success of the Mission and, on the other, its growing needs. In conclusion, the addresses of the Mission's employees in St. Petersburg (f. Bystrova and I. Suzdaleva) and

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Poltava (V. Basilevich). It should be noted that this letter was written during the stay of Hieromonk Vladimir in Russia.

The first work of V. G. Sokolovsky published in Moskovskiye Vedomosti - anonymous, but undoubtedly belonging to him - was correspondence "From Ieddo (Japan). April 16. (From a letter from a Japanese missionary) " [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 29.06.1879]. Although according to the chronology compiled on the basis of Naganawa Mitsuo's book "Nikorai-Do-no hitobito", Hieromonk Vladimir arrived in Japan only in May 1879 [Orthodoxy..., 1996, p. 181], there is reason to believe that this event occurred somewhat earlier. In his letter, the missionary, in particular, hastens to report "on his arrival in Tookyo and on the impressions I experienced during the month in Japan" [Moskovskie Vedomosti, 29.06.1879]. The following describes the journey "on jinriksha" from Yokohama to Tokyo, with the indication that in these cities "there is not a single horseman with a horse, everyone is driven by people." The missionary spoke with admiration of Japanese communications, of the order in the streets. By the way, debunking the European myth, he reports: "In vain rumors spread across Europe about three million people in Tookyo; recently a one-day census was conducted there, according to which there were 1,600,032 inhabitants, women turned out to be less than men by 118,027; 463 Europeans, among whom there are 46 women." Describing the new flock, the author focuses on the spread of Orthodoxy among Japanese soldiers, in prisons, and "among the upper classes." Speaking about the latter, he points out the reason for the slow penetration of the "faith of Christ" into the circles of the Japanese aristocracy: "...partly because we constantly hear about the narrowness and squalor of our services." The Emperor of Japan, according to the author, treats Orthodoxy very favorably.

In September 1879, another letter from Hieromonk Vladimir from Japan was published in Moskovskiye Vedomosti [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 05.09.1879]. The letter, dated July 13, is dedicated to the fifth annual Council of the Japanese Orthodox Church held that summer.4 The Council held ten meetings to discuss the most important issues related to the Mission's activities. Special attention was paid to two issues: the construction of a temple in Tokyo ("Tookyo will probably not have a temple for long, if Mother Russia does not help...") and the establishment of an episcopal see in Japan ("...the Council decided: to apply for a second time to the Russian Holy Synod for the grant of a bishop to the Japanese Church...").

In 1879-1880, Father Vladimir repeatedly sent his correspondence to the editorial office of Moskovskiye Vedomosti. Thus, it can be argued that one of the oldest Russian newspapers in his person had its own correspondent in Japan.

"Letters from Japan" by Father Nicholas is nothing more than a myth. It should be pointed out that it was invented by the Saint's contemporaries. However, there is no information about "Letters" in the lifetime records [see, for example, Prokoshev, 1896; Schrader, 1895]. The first references to them are found in obituaries and posthumous memoirs about the activities of an outstanding missionary. It should be noted that" Letters from Japan "are mentioned in the obituary published in No. 29 of Moskovskiye Vedomosti in February. The author, " MB.", says that ""Archbishop Nicholas for a number of years (from the half of the sixties) published in Moskovskiye Vedomosti" Letters from Japan "" [Moskovskiye Vedomosti, 05.02.1912]. The quoted fragment is repeated word for word in the essay published in the "Historical Bulletin" under the signature of I. G. [I. G., 1912, p. 1017]. It is possible that the obituary of "M. B." formed the basis for a number of other articles and materials about Nicholas of Japan. This allows us to suggest that the myth of "Letters from Japan" was created in the editorial office of " Moskov-

4 The first council was held in 1874 [Sablina, 2006, p. 95].

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It was later adopted by the great missionary's contemporaries, Soviet historiography, and a number of modern researchers.

list of literature

Bogolyubov A.M. Press of Russia on the Russian Spiritual Mission in Japan. (Meiji Period, 1867-1912) // From the history of religious, cultural and political relations between Russia and Japan in the XIX-XX centuries. Collection of articles. St. Petersburg, 1998.

Diaries of St. Nicholas of Japan: in 5 vols. Vol. 1. Comp. by K. Nakamura, St. Petersburg, 2004.

Iz istorii obshchestvennoi mysli v Yaponii XVII-XIX vv.: Sbornik statei [From the history of Public Thought in Japan in the XVII-XIX centuries: Collection of articles].

I. G. Iz deyatel'nosti "apostola" Jap'anii [From the activities of the "apostle" of Japan]. Istoricheskiy vestnik, SPb., 1912, No. 3.

Moskovskie Vedomosti (for the corresponding years).

Orthodoxy in the Far East. Issue 2: In Memory of St. Nicholas, the Apostle of Japan, 1836-1912 / Ed. by M. N. Bogolyubov, St. Petersburg, 1996.

Prokoshev P. Russkaya pravoslavnaya missiya v Jap'anii [Russian Orthodox Mission in Japan]. Strannik, St. Petersburg, 1896, No. 2; No. 3; No. 4.

Russia and the East: A Textbook / Edited by S. M. Ivanov and B. N. Melnichenko, St. Petersburg, 2000.

Sablina E. B. 150 years of Orthodoxy in Japan. History of the Japanese Orthodox Church and its founder, St. Nicholas, Moscow, St. Petersburg, 2006.
Severnaya Pochta. 4.10.1867.

Shrader D. I. Japan and the Japanese: Travel Essays of Modern Japan, St. Petersburg, 1895.
Shteyngauz A. I. Russian press and journalism on the revolution of 1868 and transformations in Japan // Strany Vostoka v politike Rossii v XIX - nachale XX v.: Sbornik statei [Countries of the East in the politics of Russia in the XIX-early XX century: Collection of Articles]. Irkutsk, 1986.

Shcherbina A. A. Nikolay Kasatkin-one of the first Russian Japanese scholars / / Peoples of Asia and Africa. 1977. N4.

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