The Impact of The Arabian Nights on the Formation of the Islamic Middle East in Europe and Japan

阿拉丁、阿里巴巴、辛巴达等名字在日本儿童中非常受欢迎，而《一千零一夜》或《一千零一夜》的名字往往与色情色彩联系在一起。这种情况似乎是日本现代化的历史后果，日本接受了《天方夜谭》作为欧洲东方主义的文学产物。自1704年《一千零一夜》第一次出现以来，《一千零一夜》的第一个西方版本由法国东方学家安托万·加朗在法国出版，《一千零一夜》在欧洲形成伊斯兰中东的总体形象方面发挥了决定性的作用，并且仍然在发挥决定性的作用，这反过来又影响了日本人对中东的看法。在研究项目中，我们分析了《天方夜谭》在欧洲和日本的接受和转化，以及它对中东形象形成的影响，并将其与所谓东方主义的出现联系起来。最后，我们还从比较的角度讨论了《天方夜谭》如何在欧洲和日本引起东方主义的共鸣。作为研究项目的结果，我们于2004年9月9日至12月7日在国家民族学博物馆举办了《天方夜谭》专题展览。在筹备《天方夜谭》展览的过程中，我们收集了大量版本的《天方夜谭》和其他相关书籍，其中一些甚至在欧洲的图书馆中都非常罕见。国家民族学博物馆收藏的《天方夜谭》可能确实是世界上有关这一主题的最广泛的图书馆藏品之一，我们希望各国的学者将来都能从中受益。

The names, such as Aladdin, Ali Baba, Sindbad, are very popular characters among Japanese children, whereas the title of the Arabian Nights or the Thousand and One Nights is often associated with an erotic flavor. This situation seems to have been brought about as a historical consequence of modernization in Japan, in which Japan has accepted the Arabian Nights as a literary product of Orientalism in Europe. Since the first appearance of the Arabian Nights in 1704, when the first Western rendition of the Arabian Nights was published in France by the French Orientalist, Antoine Galland, the Arabian Nights had played, and is still playing, a decisive role in forming the general image of the Islamic Middle East in Europe, which in turn influenced the Japanese view of the Middle East.In the research project, we analyzed the reception and transformation of the Arabian Nights and its influence on the formation of the Middle Eastern images in Europe and Japan in connection with the emergence of the so-called Orientalism. We also finally discussed how the Arabian Nights has resonated Orientalism in Europe and Japan from a comparative perspective.In the consequence of the research project, we made a special exhibition of the Arabian Nights in the National Museum of Ethnology from 9, September to 7, December in 2004. In preparing for the Arabian Nights Exhibition, we were able to build a substantial collection of editions of the Arabian Nights and other related books, some of which are very rare even in the libraries of Europe. The Arabian Nights collection in the National Museum of Ethnology may indeed be one of the most extensive library collections on the subject throughout the world, and we hope that scholars from all nations will profit from it in the future.