The Armenologist about Japan (video)
The Armenologist about Japan
the material is taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssGXMPlDkrs
Artsvi Bakhchinyan (Armenia): a philologist, researcher in Armenian Diaspora, film and dance history. He was born in 1971 in Yerevan. In 1988-1993 studied in Yerevan State University at the department of the Armenian language and literature. In 1996–1997 he was an invited as a researcher of Uppsala University, Sweden. Since 2009 he works at the Institute of History of National Academy of Sciences at the section of Armenian Diaspora. For ten year he has been writing a study on Armenians in China and Japan and the historical and cultural relations between Armenians and Chinese and Japanese peoples. He has participated in a number of international conferences, festivals and meetings in different countries of the world (in 2010 – in Osaka, Japan).
ARMENIAN-JAPANESE CONTACTS AND LITERARY RELATIONS
Candidate of Philological Sciences
According to the information that we have, the earliest relations of Armenians with the Country of the Rising Sun have probably originated in the 17th century. The merchants from New Julfa, who had carried out commercial activities all over the world, had a wide-scale transactions in the Asian markets, frequently visited Tibet, Siam, Java, Philippines, China, as well as Japan. As from the middle of the 17th century up to the middle of the 19th century Japan had a status of a closed country and had greatly reduced its commercial relations, we don’t have any information about the contacts of that time. In 1805 Japan is mentioned for the first time in the Armenian printed sources as Cheabon or Jabon, in the geographical work of Stepanos Agontsi, where he thoroughly describes the nature of the country, its history, language and people (see “Geography from the Four Parts of the World”, the work of T. T. Stepanos Guver Agonts, 1805, Venice, page 289-351).
In the 19th century, the Indian-Armenians carried out trade navigational activities in Japan. In 1870, one of the rich firms of Kolkata “Abgar and Company” carried out navigational services to Japan. In the middle of 1890ies the firm connected the Japanese Kobe, Yokohama and Nagasaki towns with the Penang island of Singapore, Hong Kong and Kolkata. Armenian merchants mainly lived in the towns of Yokohama, Kobe and Osaka; in latter there functioned the office of “Edgar brothers”. From 1890ies there functioned in Kobe the trade institution “Aghabek and company”, in Yokohama – the firm “Agbar and company”. Since the same 1980ies, there lived in Yokohama a merchant P. M. Papazyan, who stayed in Japan until 1917. At the beginning of 1900ies, there functioned in Kobe the company “Martin brothers”, where a number of Armenians worked. One of its owners – Paul (Pogos) Martin purchased “King George” hotel in the town of Arima. He died in Arima in 1931. In 1920ies there functioned in Kobe the firm “Paul Aratun and Company”, the branch of “Paul Stephens” trade house of Singapore.
Other random contacts are also known from the 19th century, such as an Armenian agronomist from Costantinople Nshan Galfayan (1865-1932), who has worked for the silkworm press of Japan; a translator of Arabic, inhabitatnt of France Joseph Charl Viktor Marderew (Martirosyan 1868-1949), who has travelled in China, India and Japan as a ship doctor. In 1887-1889 the Armenian spiritual leader of Evdokia archimandrite Sahak Ayvatyan (1853-1924) also visted Japan. During the first half of the 20th century Armenians from different countries of the world were assigned to diplomatic works in Japan, such as the eminent diplomat-interpreter Hovhannes Khan-Masehyan (1864-1931), who was the ambassador of Iran in Japan in 1930-1931. Afterwards Ivan Tevosyan (1902-1958) was the ambassador of USSR in Japan. At the beginning of the 20th century there lived in Japan Armenian Diana Abgar, who was an English writer, publicist (1854, Rangoon – 1937, Yokohama). Her name from birth was Anahit, maiden surname – Aghabekyan. Anahit, who received English education in Kolkata, married a merchant from New Julfa – Michael Abgar Abgaryan and lived in China, after which they moved to Kobe. Here they dealt with import and export. After the sudden death of her husband, Diana Abgar moved to Yokohama, she continued their family business and brought up their three children. Diana Abgar has presented lectures, articles about the Armenian people; she has worked for the English periodical “Japan Gazette” in Japan. Among her English books published in Yokohama are “Armenian Massacre”, “Betrayed Armenia” (1910), “In His Name” (1911), “The Peace Problem”, “Peace and no Peace” (1912), “On the Cross of Europe’s Imperialism: Armenia Crucified” (1918). There were also published the storybook “From the Book of One Thousand Tales” (republished in 2004), the novel “The Lonely Crusader”, the work “Imperialism and Law”, and a number of poems. In 1919-1920, she was assigned as a diplomatic representative of the first Republic of Armenia in the Far East. Thus, she is the first woman in the world that has held a diplomatic position (in fact, before the Soviet diplomatic figure Alexandra Kolonta). The contemporaries evidenced that Mrs. Abgar was a very beautiful woman; when she entered a hall, all the ambassadors stood up. Having a high sense of duty towards her native people Diana Abgar in every possible way helped numerous emigrants, who were moving to the USA through Siberia and Japan. It’s worth mentioning that during that time, in 1920 the Armenians of Japan together with the Armenians of Russia, Far East, China and Armenia have collected five million Siberian rubles for Armenia. And in Siberia there was established a trading company with the capital of 15.000-20.000 dollars in order to establish contacts with Armenia for the purpose of delivering cheap goods from Japan (see newspaper “Battle”, Constantinople, 27.08.1920). We should add that the generations of Diana Abgar live in the USA and her tombstone is under the solicitude of Armenian-Japanese Friendship Company functioning in Tokyo.
LITERARY RELATIONS
The first articles and books concerning Japan started to be published in Armenian from the end of the 19th century. A man with the surname Topchyan and pseudonim E. T. published the article “Modern Japan” in the “Luys calendar magazine” (1905, page 622-632), where there was given general information from geography to literary-musical. Today the brochure of Heghine Meliq-Haykazyan “A tour in Japan: my memories and impressions” (Tbilisi, 1905) is also read with great interest. The author describes the cities she has passed (Nagasaki, Kyoto, Tokyo, Yokohama), the lifestyle, customs, traditions, religion and history of Japanese, the role of a Japanese woman – “Eastern French woman” in the society, her visit to temples, to teahouse to the concert of geishas; she also describes the performance she has seen. The author has also made interesting generalizations: “At the house of a Japanese both inside and outside there is a particular stamp of satisfaction, moderateness and art of simplicity”, “Japanese and rudeness are incompatible words”, “The simplicity and open-heartiness of the Japanese give a special charm to them”, “Concerning the discipline and decency, the Japanese crowd doesn’t have anyone alike them in the whole world”. By remembering that in Japan, they see guests off by putting some food with them, Melik-Haykazyan noticed with a smile: “As you can see, being a guest in Japan is very profitable”. She has also mentioned that under the influence of the Europeans the Japanese character has started to change, unfortunately not in the better direction. Heghine Melik-Haykazyan remembered a funny case when at the railway station a Japanese servant took her and her friends to his master’s house confusing them with the European guests he knew, as for him all the Europeans have the same face, meanwhile for the Europeans – the Japanese have the same face. Since the end of the 19th century, from intermediary languages there have been done the first Armenian translations of the Japanese literature. Misak Ter-Danielyan translated and in 1891 published in the Armenian press in Tiflis (“Taraz” and “Nordar”) two Japanese stories – “The Native Flag” and “Anahin and Kio-Hymen”.
In 1907 by the translation of the classic of the Armenian literature Avetik Isahakyan there was published the poem of the Japanese poet of the 12th century – Akihiro Toshinari “The World in Sorrow” :
Grievous, filled with evil snares,
Earth holds us in its keeping.
Then I fled the ways of life 一
Ahl 一 in vain I fled its strife.
In the forest unawares
I found the roebuck weeping. 〜
Afterwards, based on the translation of Isahakyan composer Haro Stapanyan has written a romance. In 1911 in Tiflis by the translation of eminent Armenian poet Hovhannes Toumanyan there were published the reproductions of Japanese fairy tales “The little fisherman” and “The bird with a cut tongue”.
Later on in 1930ies in the “Yaraj” daily of Paris, (19.08.1934 and 15.08.1937) Japanese haikus were published with the title “Haikai”, which were translated into Armenian from French. In 1937 one of the major representatives of the Armenian poetry Yeghishe Charents wrote “Japanese tankas” – a series including four works, thus introducing the genre of tanka into the Armenian literature. By the way, in the house-museum of Charents in Yerevan there are exhibited Japanese engravings, which the poet has bought in 1925 in Venice.
Japanese writer Toshiko Akamatsu visited the Soviet Armenia in 1954. In her article dedicated to Armenia, she has written the following: “The Armenian nation is beautiful; men have black eyebrows, bronze features and small arch shaped nose. Women in their turn have thick eyebrows, bronze features with fine lines and barely visible fuzz on their upper lips. Armenia is not only a land of sun, but it is also a country of songs and dances. The voice of Armenians reminds of a taketeko*”.
In 1960ies, the Japanese writer Hiroshi Kimura visited a number of Soviet republics, as well as Armenia. In 1963, he published his travelling notes with the title “Sincere impressions from the Soviet Union”, where a whole chapter is devoted to Armenia, he also attached a number of photos to his exposition (page 208-231). In his book, Hiroshi Kimura describes with warmth that after the war he had an Armenian friend, from whom he had heard about Armenia for the first time. During his visit to Armenia he was hosted at the house of the famous poet Nairi Zaryan, he visited the studio of the great master, 80 years’ old Martiros Saryan, talked to writer Aramyan. He remembered the sincere talks with the young poet Kalents and others. After visiting Echmiadzin, Zvartnots, Erebouni he wrote with an excitement: “From all the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union, Armenia has probably the oldest history. It is a well- known fact that despite the pressure, nowadays also, Armenians, as well as Jews, being one of the smallest nations of the Soviet Union, work at the spheres that require much knowledge. Let’s mention, for example, the prime-minister Mikoyan or the world’s famous composer Khachaturyan. The number of Armenian scientists at the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences is too much. And from the republics of USSR that I have been to during this visit, Armenia is the most interesting one”.
At the beginning of 1970ies, Saitsu Obinata was also hosted in Yerevan, under the roof of philologists Henrik and Heghine Backchinyans and being inspired of Armenia he wrote a poem.
As far as we could find out the first book published in Japanese about Armenia is “Through Caucasus”, written by Fridtjof Nansen, which was published in Tokyo in 1942. Concerning the Armenian fiction, it was translated into Japanese mainly from Russian. The first Armenian author is Nairi Zaryan, who by the offer of the paper “Hokkaido Shinbun” of the city of Sapporo of the island of Hokkaido wrote a poem with the title “The snow smiles in the mountains of white Sapporo”. The Japanese translation of the poem was published in the same periodical. According to one source “One drop of honey” written by Hovhannes Toumanyan was also translated into Japanese based on which there was shot a Japanese cartoon (see the paper “Kulis”, Istanbul 828 15.08.1981, page 23).
The above-mentioned Hiroshi Kimura translated into Japanese the legend “Aghtamar” written by Hovhannes Toumanyan. Magami Iositaro translated from Russian into Japanese the collection of stories “By mountainous paths” written by Vakhtang Ananyan (1957, Tokyo). In 1984 in Moscow, the publishing house “Raduga” published the Japanese collection of “Short Stories of the Soviet Writers”, composed by Vadim Panin, where he had also included the short story of a writer from Yerevan – Elda Grin (Abrahamyan) – “My garden”, and again translated into Japanese from Russian. The picture is also the same in the opposite arena: the Japanese literature was translated into Armenian from Russian.
Chronologically the first samples of the Japanese literature published in Armenian are “Account of the Future US-Japan War” by Kyosuke Fukunaga (Yerevan-Moscow, 1934) and “A Sunless Street” by Sunao Tokunaga (1937). Further publications were Japanese fairy tales. In 1938 in a separate booklet were republished the translations of the above-mentioned two fairy tales done by Hovhannes Toumanyan, as well as “Two Japanese Fairy Tales” translated by Stepan Zoryan. In 1959 there was published a collection of ”Japanese Fairy tales” translated by Sergey Umaryan. In 1960ies the following books were published: the historical novel by Teru Takakura “The Waters of Hakone” (translator- H. Turshyan, 1960), ”Six short stories”by Fumiko Hayashi (translator Rafael Aramyan, 1963), the collection of short stories written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa “In a Grove” (translator Norayr Adalyan 1964), Shusako Endo“The Sea and Poison” (translator V. Danielyan 1967), Seicho Matsumoto “Underground water” (translator Shoghik Safaryan, 1968) and the novels by Kobo Abe “Inter Ice Age 4”(translator H. Margaryan, 1969).
During the coming decades in Armenian translations were published the Japanese writers Shusako Endo “Wedlock” (translator Yelena Davtyan, 1972, republished in 1997), the novels ”Points and Lines” by Seicho Matsumoto (1973) and “Lead in the Flames” by Eisuke Nakazono (translator of the last two M. Safaryan, 1976), Yasunari Kawabata “Thousand Cranes”, “Snow Country” (translator M. Zareyan, 1978) and ”The Sound of the Mountain” (1981), the play by Kobo Abe “The Castle” (“Foreign Dramaturgy of the XX Century”, volume 1, 1983) and three novels by Kobe Abe (‘The Woman in the Dunes”, ‘The Face of Another”, “The Ruined Map” 1985), then “The Tengui’s Fan” (Japanese Folk Tales 1990), (Japanese poetry) “Haiku, tanga” by the translation of Aidin Morikyan, 1993. In 1982 in the book “The Poetry of the Ancient East” published in the series “The Student’s Library”, there were included works of 25 Japanese poets of the 7-12th centuries, which were translated by Henrik Edoyan. And in 2003 in the magazine “Nor Dar” there were published “Modern Japanese Tankas” by the translation of Tigran Israyelyan. Let’s mention that by the inspiration of the famous novel “The Woman in the Dunes” by Abe Kobo the Armenian painter living in the USA Martiros Adalyan created a series of pictures. In 1989 in Yerevan there was published a book of cognitive nature “Japanese National Psychological Remarks” by the authors V. Pronnikov and I. Ladanov. Nairi Zaryan (1900-1969) has a considerable contribution to the Armenian-Japanese relations. In 1961, he travelled in Japan and wrote thorough travelling notes “There Blossomed Sakura. Japanese Impressions”, where there are many interesting details concerning different sides of Japanese reality (history, literature, culture)**. Nairi Zaryan translated from Russian and published the collections of poetry “Haikus and tankas: Japanese Classical Poetry” (1965) and “Japanese bouquet” (1966) giving the Armenian reader a broad understanding of the classical Japanese poetry for the first time. Inspired by these translations a number of Armenian poets wrote poems in the style of the samples of Japanese classical poetry – haikus and tankas.
The novel “The Sons of the Sun: Return to the Roots” byYervand Parsumyan(Beirut 1994) is an interesting episode of Armenian-Japanese relations. The hero of the novel is the son of an Armenian father and Avnu mother – the Japanese Niniki Toron (Toroyan), which by chance is taken care of by an Armenian doctor. In the result of talks the doctor awakes the Armenian blood in him and his son Suren. It is characteristic that all the things have happened in the real life.
Heghine Hayrapetyan*** was the first in Armenia to do translations of fiction from Japanese. In 1998-2002, the Japanese Aykiko Hiki studied at the Faculty of the Armenian Philology of Yerevan State Universityat the Department of the Armenian Language and Literature.The title of her diploma paper**** was “The Historicity in the novel “The Ship in the Mountains”by Kostan Zaryan. Aykiko Hiki has done some translation from Japanese into Armenian and vice versa. Particularly she has presented to the Armenian reader the poems of Saisei Muro, Kotaro Takamura, Syuntaro Tanikawa, Aykiko Yosano and Machi Tawara (see “Garun”, 2003 no. 6). In 2001 at the international workshop “Translation as a Key to the Dialogue in Culture”, that was held in Yerevan, Aykiko Hiki presented a report in Armenian and was awarded the prize of the events’ committee of the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia. The Japanese lecturer Fujita Masako, who had taught at Yerevan Institute of Humanities in 1996-1999, in 2000 in Tokyo, published a 15 pages’ booklet in Japanese including the poems of the Armenian poets. Here there are included the poems of Nahapet Kuchak, Avetik Isahakyan, Vahan Teryan, Yeghishe Charants, Hovhannes Shiraz, Paruyr Sevak and Hamo Sahyan (in total 15 poems). The translations are done by Aykiko Hiki and the students of Fujita Masako (Lidya Hakobyan, Karine Harutyunyan, Armine Petrosyan, Irina Minasyan, Narine Ghazaryan, Naira Grigoryan, Elina Mkrtchyan, Kristina Minasyan, Gayane Sargsyan and Varditer Harutyunyan). The emergence of a number of Japanologist Armenians and Armenologist Japanese in recent years, gives us a hope that the Armenian literature will be properly presented to the Japanese booklovers. The youth already takes the first steps. Thus, in 2001 in Moscow the winner of Junior Contest of the Japanese Language Levon Malkhasyan was awarded a two week’s journey to Japan. And on his return he translated the series of poems of Kaneko Mishuju, which was presented to him. The poems were typed in “Grakan tert” (14.02.2003). Except this, the students of the Institute of Humanities have translated from Japanese and have prepared for publication 20 Japanese fairy tales.
Scientific- cultural Relations
Japanese Armenologists
In due course, the limited business relations existing between the two nations were also added with spiritual ties, which played a great role in the creative contacts and caused the study of lifestyles of the two nations: it gave an opportunity to create works of art, translations and studies, and to mutually enrich their cultures. Still in September 1902, a young Japanese, Mr. Inyuenor arrived at Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin and was interested in the history of the Armenian church (“Ararat”, Echmiadzin, 1902, September-October, page 861). The Japanese great scientist (biologist. microbiologist, anthropologist) and philologist Kumagusu Minakata (1867-1941) has lived in London for eight years and is the first Japanese that has mastered Armenian. Nowadays philologist Seichi Kitagawa has referred to the citations on Buddhism in the historical remarks of Kirakos Ganzakeci and Vardan Vardapetyan*****.
The lecturer of Yamanashi Gakuin University, specialist of Sanskrit and Indo-European languages, tutor Nobuo Sato has established a Center of Armenology in Tokyo, he has published the following books: “Grammar of the Armenian Language” (1986), “Armenia: Country of Human Births and Disasters” (1989), “Lernayin Kharabakh: USSR National Issues and Armenia” (1989), “Grabar” (1995) and has translated “RA Constitution” (1999).
The founding director of Japanese-Armenian Friendship Association (JAFA) functioning in Tokyo, Hideharu Nakajima has been regularly visiting Armenia since 1980 and is the author of publications and books about the Armenian nation. His book “Armenia: Flash of Hope” (1990) includes brief Armenian history from the beginning until the Genocide. From 1990, Mr. Nakajima publishes the periodicals “Ararat banber” (in total until the end of 2004 there have been published 37 numbers) and from 1991 “Araks” (total 47 numbers), he has organized and held 31 lectures about Armenia. In 1997, he published the scientific journal “Armenia” and carried out an Armenian loving activity. In 1993, at the conference of the Union there was a grand celebration of the presentation of the novel “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” by Franz Werfel, translated from German by the member of the Union Yukio Fakuda. In the website of JAFA you can acquire various information concerning Armenia.
In 1991, there was published the book of Yukio Fujino “The Tragedy of Armenia”, where there is given a general review of the history of Armenia. In the last part of the book “The Identity of Armenians” there are given the biographies of the writers Kostan Zaryan, William Saroyan and Michael Arlen.
In September of 1998, a group of Japanese researchers (historians, architects, physicists, seismologists) visited Armenia headed by the professor of Tokyo Technological University Shiro Sassano. Besides the special reports, professor Sassano presented the results of his study at the meeting of the Armenian-Japanese Union. He has also published an article in the “Asahi Graf” magazine. From that date on, professor Sassano visits Armenia nearly every year. He is particularly interested in the Armenian architecture and the seismic stability of ancient monuments.
The Japanese historian Takayuki Yosimura has studied in Yerevan for several years and masters the Armenian language. The subject of his study is the early period of the history of the Soviet Armenia. In September 2003, at the conference “Contemporary Conditions of Armenology and its Development Prospects” held in Yerevan, was presented a report on “The Armenian Revolutionary Federation in the Soviet Armenia 1920-1923”. In 2003, there was published the work of Katsumori Ichikawa “The Road Passed by Gypsies”, which consist of two parts: “A Visit to the Gypsies of Armenia” and “India: the Motherland of Gypsies”. In the first chapter, the Japanese author gives thorough information about the ethnic group of gypsies in Armenia.
In 2004 there was also published the book of the professor of law of Aichi Sangyo University Hiroyoshi Segawa “Armenian Genocide Forgotten”, due to which the author was selected as a true member of the Armenian branch of the International Academy of Humanities.
At the same time, Japan has become the subject of research for some Armenian scientists. For example, the associate member of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, a specialist of history, ethnography, archeology of the nations of the world, a major scientist Sergey Alexander Hautyunov (1932), who is the author of numerous researches concerning Japan. He is known in Russia, as well as Japan. Harutyunov was born in Tbilisi. He works in Moscow, but not forgetting about his motherland Armenia, he frequently visits Yerevan and gives lectures and the chair of history of Yerevan State University. He guides scientific works and cooperates with scientists.
Assistant professor of Moscow Architectural Institute, painter Roza Anisonyan, who is specialized in the Japanese art, particularly in ikebana and the architecture of parks. In January 1991, she gave lectures on the subjects “Japanese parks” and “Inner Parks” by presenting the Japanese art to the citizens of her native Yerevan. She has also presented her exhibition of ikebana.
Besides, in “Handes” magazine (2004, no. 3) of Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography was published the study of the assistant professor of the same institute Alla Danilova “Japanese Lyrical Conceptual Accents”. Let’s also add that in the exhibition hall of the Matenadaran in Yerevan, among the foreign manuscripts, there is also exhibited one Japanese manuscript the picture book of Hokusay written in 1812. There are also facts concerning various Armenian-Japanese contacts.
One of the founders of Japanese feminine opera is former Russian singer Olga Karasulova (Karasulyan 1886-1977), whose students were a number of Japanese opera singers. She has contributed to the establishment of Armenian-Japanese cultural relations******.
According to the data of 1933, there lived 35 Armenians in Tokyo, Kobe and Yokohama cities of Japan (see National Archives of Armenia, P fund 409, list 1, case 4732, page 4). According to the data of 1951, there lived in Japan 5-6 Armenian families. According to the data of 1962 there lived in Japan 10 Armenian families. They were mainly merchants. Today also, there is a small Armenian community in Japan, which consists of 50-60 people. The majority lives in Tokyo. Among them, there are also emigrants from Armenia. From the age of 10 Aram, Armen and Levon Sargsyan brothers from Yerevan learnt Japanese and Chinese. After the earthquake in 1988, they worked as interpreters with the Japanese and Chinese who had come to help Armenia. They have done translations and have composed an Armenian-Japanese and Japanese-Armenian small dictionary. Nowadays Sargsyan brothers live in Japan and China.
The wife of the president of the Japanese-Armenian Friendship Association Mr. Nakajima, Melanya Baghdasaryan-Nakajima, from Yerevan is a graduate of Yerevan State University. She teaches Armenian to the Japanese, who want to learn it.
Talking about the Japanese-Armenians it is worth mentioning an American-Armenian sportsman. The foundation of Eastern Martial Arts in America and also the shooting of the first documentaries on this subject is connected with his name Anthony Mirakyan. Being called up for the US army, he appeared in Japan. When the US air forces were located on the Japanese Okinawa Island, Mirakyan, who was serving in the army, became the apprentice of the famous master of goju-ryu karate Meitoku Yagi. He became the first student in the West who was taught by Meitoku Yagi and he was also the first one to get a black belt. His teacher Meitoku Yagi assigned him as the leader of Meibukan Federation beyond Japan. Thus, the son of the Fidayi father was destined to become the pioneer of Karate-do in the American reality.
The Japanese are interested not only in the ancient, but also modern Armenian culture – literature, music and cinematography. Thus, the exhibition of pictures and collages of the world-known director Paradjanov had a great success in 1996 in Tokyo. In 1995, famous director of the Armenian cinematography Artavazd Peleshyan participated in the festival of documentaries held in Yamagata. His works received a high appraisal, the evidence of which were the large articles published in “Kinema Jumayu”, “Yuriina” Japanese magazines.
*A tube for water made of a bamboo, which makes a gentle voice when empties
** Nairi Zaryan, Collection of novels in 6 volumes, volume 6, Yerevan 1964, page 381-614
***Japanese fairy tales and short stories: “Astghik” translation journal, 1991 4, page 176-180
****See his article on “Historical figures in Kostan Zaryan’s novel “The Ship in the Mountains”, “Haykazyan Hayagitakan Handes” publishing house IB. Peirut, page 233-246:
*****See Meiji Kitagawa, Armenian Medieval Literature on Buddhism, International Conference on the Medieval Armenian Literature, September 15-19, 1988, reports, Yerevan, 1986, page 92
******S.S. Mamulov, A wonderful nation from the country of wonders, Moscow, 1997, p. 316.
translated from Armenian into English by M.Vardannyan
