Marina-Rafaela Buch

• The novel Madame Chrysanthème (1887) and the essays collected in Japoneries d’automne (1889) written by French travel author Pierre Loti offer a paradoxical view of Japan during the Meiji period. In both travel writings, the author is torn between aesthetic japonism – which spread all over Europe at the end of the 19th century – and exotic expectations, i.e. the picturesque fascination of the Other. The latter, however, remains unsatisfied throughout his stay. In both writings, Pierre Loti provides an insight into Japan that entirely reflectsThe novel Madame Chrysanthème (1887) and the essays collected in Japoneries d’automne (1889) written by French travel author Pierre Loti offer a paradoxical view of Japan during the Meiji period. In both travel writings, the author is torn between aesthetic japonism – which spread all over Europe at the end of the 19th century – and exotic expectations, i.e. the picturesque fascination of the Other. The latter, however, remains unsatisfied throughout his stay. In both writings, Pierre Loti provides an insight into Japan that entirely reflects the spirit of his time. Thereby, he contributes to an image of Japan, which will long remain vivid in the Occident. Contemporaries perceive Loti’s representation of Japan as a realistic testimony, tinged with both sensory impressions and his highly ambiguous feelings towards the distant country, which in the end remained incomprehensible to him.…