At the beginning of the 20th century industrialization was rapidly destroying traditional way of life. In order to study and preserve rich world cultural heritage, the oldest Russian museum, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, organized a consistent field research around the world.
Many prominent scholars contributed to the formation of the Museum‘s Asian ethnographic collections. Member of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society ethnographer, archaeologist, collector N.I. Vorobyov; linguist, translator of the famous poetic anthology "Manyoshu", connoisseur of Japanese theater A.E. Gluskina; orientalists and linguists A.M. and L.A. Meerwarth, etc., visited Japan.
The aim was to represent in the Museum the national culture in all its diversity and historical development. Each voyage was preceded by careful preparation and active correspondence with local scientists, antique dealers, craftsmen, and guides. The research program included recording information about the acquired items: local names, technology, spiritual and religious usage of the artifacts. N.I. Vorobyov argued that ethnographic objects collected without the information "lose half of their scientific value, and represent only an external form, without a soul".
The Russian researchers’ attention concentrated on a person, an expert of traditional culture. Communication with representatives of ethnic communities was based on a lively, sincere dialogue and mutual respect. As a result, unique collections of sericulture, tea growing, fishing, everyday life items, weapons, accessories for religious ceremonies, theatrical props and musical instruments, as well as a huge number of photographs were obtained. The total number of artefacts exceeds one and a half thousand units and all of them have found a worthy place at the Museum's expositions, contributing to the promotion and popularization of Japanese culture in Russia. The data gained during the field research, as well as the established personal contacts, then served as the basis for fruitful cooperation for decades.
