Eliana Pavlova: Profile of naturalized Imperial Japan subject

This blog normally deals with modern naturalization laws in Japan (1985⇒) created under the current democratic government of Japan and the modern postwar "peace" Constitution. There are, however, some people that naturalized to Japanese under the previous government, the "Empire of Great Japan" (大日本帝国 {dainipponteikoku}), under the previous Constitution (大日本帝国憲法 {dainipponteikoku kempō}), informally known as the Meiji Constitution (明治憲法 {Meiji kempō}).

Eliana PAVLOVA (エリアナ・パヴロワ {Eriana·PAVUROWA}; Елена Павлова {Yelena PAVLOVA}), born March 22, 1899, became a Imperial Japanese subject in 1937, taking the Japanese name 霧島エリ子 {KIRISHIMA Eriko}, about four years before the start of the Asia-Pacific War. A ballerina, she taught ballet first in 横浜 {Yokohama}, then later in what is now known as 鎌倉市 {Kamakura-shi} (Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture). She is regarded as the first person to establish the roots of ballet in Japan.

Some famous dancers who studied at her studio include:

• 東　勇作 {AZUMA Yūsaku}
• 橘　秋子 {TACHIBANA Akiko}
• 貝谷　八百子 {KAITANI Yaoko}
• 近藤　玲子 {KONDŌ Reiko}
• 大滝　愛子 {ŌTAKI Aiko}
• 島田　廣 {SHIMADA Hiroshi

She was born as a Russian in St. Petersburg during the era of the Russian Empire to a noble aristocrat family. She fled her home country due to the Russian Revolution, first living in Helsinki, Finland; then 哈尔滨 {Hāěrbīn} (Harbin, Heilongjiang Province) in northeast China — which is known for its Sino-Russian connections; then 上海 {Shanhai} (Shanghai); before finally arriving in Japan in 1920.

In 1921 (released July 15), she appeared in 小山内薫 {OSANAI Kaoru}'s 5-reel B&W silent film titled 『君よ知らずや』 {"Kimiyoshirazuya"}, which was released by 松竹キネマ研究所 {Shōchiku Kinema kenkyūjo} (Shochiku Kinematics Institute) and was screened at 本郷座 {Hongō-za} (Hongo Theatre in Hongō Ward, Tokyo).

In May 6, 1941, she died in 南京 {Nankin} (Nanjing, China) due to a disease at the age of 42 while visiting the Japanese Imperial Army as part of a morale boosting mission during its occupation of China. Her memory is currently enshrined in the 靖国神社 {Yasukuni-jinja} (Yasukuni Shrine) for her service to Imperial Japan.

靖国神社 {Yasukuni-jinja} (Yasukuni Shrine) is controversial to some because it's dedicated to those who lost their lives due to direct or indirect service to the Emperor of Japan during the Imperial Japan era — especially those who performed military service and/or combat. As the criteria for enshrinement is very broad, some people registered there — 1,068 Class B & C as well as 14 Class-A war criminals — out of almost 2½ million people whose spirits are enshrined there — are convicted of war crimes. Most, but not all, of these war criminals were judged (and some executed) by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) after the Empire of Japan's unconditional surrender.

After エリ子 {Eriko} née Eliana passed away, her younger sister, "Hope" (ナデジタ {Nadejita}; Надежда {Nadezhda}), continued to run her studio in Japan.

Her sister, however, was seriously injured during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (関東大震災 {Kantō daishinsai}). In particular, her legs — critical for a dancer — were injured, so she was not able to run the school by herself. Her former students, friends, and her mother, Natalia (ナタリア {Nataria}; Наталья {Natalʹya}), helped her run the school. She stopped being actively involved in the running of the school in 1962. The studio finally closed after the death of her sister in 1982.

There used to be a memorial hall / museum called 鎌倉パブロワ記念館 {Kamakura Paburowa Kinenkan} (Pavlova Memorial Kamakura), but it closed in 1996 and is now a private residence. In that same place her followers erected a monument in her honor. One of the inscriptions on the memorial says "homeland of Japanese ballet".

Regarding her naturalization, the idea of a non-Asian becoming a Japanese national (technically, a subject of the Emperor of Japan) not just before the 1985 law changes, but before the modern democratic era as a single woman in Japan, is amazing to me. In particular the fact that she fled her country due to a government change, she came from a privileged class, she did not speak English, and she brought her family members with her, is fascinating to me.

The Meiji Constitution duplicates Article 10 of the modern Japanese constitution in that what is a Japanese national is defined by law. The process of naturalization outside of jus matrimonii (nationality through marriage, which is not common nor automatic these days), which is usually considered to be a 20th century trend — prior to WW2 it was rare outside of the United States, during this time, is interesting.

An interesting thing about her name:

• She used the 'vu' 【ヴ】 character in her family name, which is considered to be a more modern phenomenon in response to the English speaking boom in Japan during the bubble, in the early 20th century. Her memorial society and museum, ironically, rendered her name with a 'b' consonant rather than a 'v'.
• There is no record of her marrying, either to a Japanese national or a Russian national. How she selected the Japanese family name 霧島 {Kirishima} (literally, "fog island") is unknown.
• Her given name is a hybrid morph of her foreign original name shortened in カタカナ {katakana} followed by the often-feminine suffix 『子』 {"ko"}. During the run up and throughout World War Ⅱ, much like how America attempted to rename Axis-power origin products and food in the U.S. (ex. bratwurst→"freedom sausage"), Imperial Japan too went on a phase were it used a lot of 当て字 {ateji} (foreign words transliterated to sinograms) as part of its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (大東亜共栄圏 {dai Tōa Kyōeiken}) ideology. Apparently little pressure was put on her to change to a completely "Yamato-style" name.