Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Dresses as Samurai for War with Russia

Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky posed in a samurai costume for a photo shared by his Twitter account last week, telling Japan’s Shūkan Bunshun magazine on Tuesday the image of him dressed as a medieval Japanese warrior was meant to convey a protective energy toward Ukraine as it faced increased Russian military aggression.

“I wanted to convey the message, ‘We protect our precious family and country like a samurai.’ I posted this photo because I thought it was the most understandable way for Japanese people to understand my resolution,” Korsunsky told the magazine on February 22.

“Have a sword, but don’t point the blade at anyone. The important point is here. Ukrainians are a peace-loving people. Don’t forget to fight to ‘protect,'” the ambassador advised.

“We know what we are fighting for. How about Russia?” Korsunsky wrote in a caption accompanying the samurai photo in a post shared by his Twitter account on February 14.

Korsunsky was born in Kyiv in 1962 to a Russian mother, though the diplomat described himself as a “Japanophile” on Tuesday to Shūkan Bunshun as he recounted how he came to share the samurai photo. The diplomat said he originally asked to borrow the samurai armor from a Japanese friend upon his arrival in Tokyo in April 2020 to begin his service as Ukraine’s ambassador to Japan. Describing his personal journey to staging the samurai photo on February 14, Korsunsky recalled:

I borrowed it [the samurai armor] when I came to Japan from my old friend Tetsuro Shimaguchi, a ‘Samurai artist’. When I was in Ukraine, I had seen works that featured samurai, such as the movie ‘The Last Samurai,’ and I admired samurai and ronin [masterless samurai].

I will be coming to Japan as an ambassador in 2020, and I asked Mr. Shimaguchi to ‘feel the atmosphere of a samurai’ and asked him to prepare a costume [sic].

It was hard to wear and it took time. It was heavier than I imagined and it was difficult to move. It was a good experience.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Japan’s official Twitter account retweeted Korsunsky’s samurai photo on February 15.

When asked by the Shūkan Bunshun on February 22, “What can Japan do for Ukraine?” Korsunsky replied:

Japanese parliamentarians have urged us to adopt a parliamentary resolution calling for the government’s efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine. On February 15, [Japanese] Prime Minister Fumio Kishida [spoke] with Ukrainian President Oleksandr Zelensky and said, ‘I support Ukraine’s position.’ There was also a promise of support with a $100 million loan.

Korsunsky referred to a phone call between Kishida and Zelensky last week in which the Japanese leader said he “reiterated … consistent support for the integrity of sovereignty and territory (of Ukraine).”