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MADAME CHRYSANTHEME AS AN ITEM OF

NINETEENTH-CENTURY FRENCH JAPONAISERIE

Heather McKenzie

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury 2004
i !

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How did I meet you?

I don't know

A messenger sent me

ill a tropical storm.

You were there in the winter,

Moonlight on the snow,

And on Lillypond Lane

When the weather was warm.

Bob Dylan

II Any experience is coloured by the people with whom we share it. My Ph.D. years were brightened by the following kaleidoscope of people:

· .. my family who have supported me in whatever I have chosen to do: Andrew for being a dependable

brother; Fay, the best nan with her sparkle and baking talents; John, a generous and wise father; Mark,

a like-minded companion and source of fine port; and Rowena for being an encouraging mother and friend. · .. Ken Strongman, mentor and friend for absolutely anything.

· .. Greg my best friend, from across the corridor or from across the Pacific: a true amigo para siempre .

... Maureen Heffernan, who I enjoy knowing in a number of contexts: out running, in the consulate office, or across the table over dinner.

... Dave Matheson, a helpful, unassuming, and quietly supportive friend who appeared at just the right

time. · .. Andrew Stockley whose friendship percolated through the latter stages of my Ph.D. life. '" Chris Wyeth, for friendship and support given over a long period of time. '" Nick, Kathryn, Steve, Rachel, Glen, and Natasha for their laughter and companionship. '" Sayoko Yabe for her energy and generosity.

· .. Dr. Edwina Palmer and Mr. Ken Allott, my two supervisors who read countless drafts, discussed

ideas, and kept me moving forward. Also to the University of Canterbury and the benefactors of the

Barbara Mito-Reed Award for providing funding.

Beni so it Ie Seigneur pour 11l' avail' can fie cette tfiche Andre Gide

THE LAST FAREWELL

There's a ship lying rigged ready in the harbour

Tomorrow for

Old England she sails.

Far away from your land

of English sunshine To myland full of rainy skies and gales.

And I shall be aboard that ship tomorrow

Though my heart is full

of tears at this farewell. For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly,

More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly,

More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

Though death and darkness gather all about me

And my ship be torn apart upon the sea.

I shall smell again the fragrance

of these islands In the heaving waves that brought me once to thee.

And should I return safe home again to England

I shall watch the English mist roll through the dell. For you are beautiful, and I have loved you dearly,

More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

For you are beautiful, and I have loved you dearly,

More dearly than the spoken word can tell.

Roger Whittaker

III IV

ABSTRACT

Japonisme, a Japanese influence on Western art and design, enjoyed intense popularity during the last

quarter of the nineteenth century. This study is primarily concerned with the interrelationship between products of that influence, items of japonaiserie, and Pierre Loti's first Japanese travelogue, Madame

Chrysantheme (1887).

It proposes that this work can be considered and meaningfully analysed as an item of 'literary' japonaiserie even though it contained aspects that criticised Japan.

Characteristic

of nineteenth-century commentary on Japan, Madame Chrysantheme is an amalgam of conflicting elements. While the work evokes and reinforces the ideas of a quaint, invigorating, and exotic Japan popular amongst European readers due largely to japonisme, at the same time its protagonist frequently criticises, belittles, and derides aspects of Japan and his Japanese experience. It is this duality combined with the major influence the work has had on Western perceptions of Japan that makes Madame Chrysantheme an important work to examine as an item of japonaiserie. This study aims towards an intra-and extra-textual evaluation of Madame Chrysantheme. It first examines various extra-textual contexts, applying these to the travelogue through an in-depth, intra textual analysis in Part V. The stylistic and thematic similarities between the book and japonisme in the non-literary arts are examined, and their nature and extent suggest that Loti deliberately tailored

Madame Chrysantheme

to meet consumer expectations. Similarities centre upon narrative style and language use, as well as aspects of the 'traditional,' exotic, and unusual Japan that consumers were familiar with being given precedence over a balanced representation of the reality of Meiji Era Japan. The negative criticism levied at Japan that runs throughout the work is also examined. This aims to demonstrate that while being a formulaic 'Japanesque' travel memoir, Madame Chrysantheme also contains aspects that contrasted and conflicted with the prevailing stereotypes of japonaiserie. In particular, language use and the protagonist's response to Japanese women are vehicles by which he diminishes and derides Japan and the Japanese, while his emotional detachment contrasts with his affection for other places and peoples as recounted in other examples of his travel writing.

This study aims

to contribute towards the present body of scholarship on Madame Chrysantheme in several ways. Firstly, while recognising the work as a travelogue, it analyses it as an example or product of japonisme, a movement hitherto largely attributed to the fine and/or decorative arts. Conversely, it broadens conventional scholarly discussion of japonisme and japonaiserie to include travel writing. Secondly, this investigation is the first book-length study dedicated specifically to Madame Chrysantheme and japonaiserie. Its focus on the interrelationship between japonaiserie and v

the literary representation of Loti's first visit to Japan aims to provide a more thorough investigation

and analytical combination of the various facets of this relationship than occur elsewhere.

In a similar

vein, it draws together writing on Loti and Japan, and interrelates and contrasts the various ideas

authors have expounded. Lastly, this study aims to stimulate future inquiry into the similarities between

Western stereotypical images

of Japan that persist in the present-day and those Loti projected over one hundred years ago. In particular, the persistence, right up to the present day, for the Japanesque to predominate over Japan-proper in Western images of Japan, that is to say a preference for aesthetics rather than actuality, is traced to Madame Chrysantheme. VI

NOTE TO THE TEXT

Where non-English single words and short phrases are cited, these are in italics with no apostrophes.

Exceptions are foreign words commonly used in English, names, and 'japonisme' and 'japonaiserie.' Citations are usually given in their original language, followed by a translation into English. Exceptions are instances where the original has been unavailable, or the citation is a lengthy one included for its general idea or themes rather than language.

Spelling is standard British, though an individual author's spelling has been retained in citations even

if

deviating from this. For foreign words whose spelling is conventionally anglicised in English-language

texts, the anglicism is used. For less common instances the original transcription is retained: for example, Tokyo is written 'Tokyo' rather than 'Tokyo,' while Ryuunosuke Akutagawa is written 'Ryunosuke Akutagawa' rather than 'Ryunosuke Akutagawa.'

Loti's original text has been retained as much

as possible. This means that French and Japanese names and phrases have been transcribed as they appear in the 1990 edition of Madame Chrysantheme (Flammarion, edited by Bruno Vercier).

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

NOTE TO THE TEXT

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four Introduction

PART I

INTRODUCTION

The vocabulary of japonisme and japonaiserie

Method

of approach

The importance

of this study

Theoretical signposts

Orientalism

Monologism

Reaccentuation

Aestheticisation

Body idiom

Essentialism

The life and works

of Pierre Loti

Loti's life

Loti's character

Loti's oeuvre

'My little Japanese comedy': synopsis of Madame Chrysantheme

The wider reception alld literary context

of Madame Chrysantheme

Nineteenth-century responses to Madame

Chrysantheme

Positive responses

Negative responses

Literature review

VII II IV VI 1 11 19 37

PART II

EXTRA-TEXTUAL ASPECTS: NINETEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE

Introduction

Chapter Five

Chapter

Six

Chapter Seven

La mission civilisatrice: colonialism

The popular ideology of colonialism

The extrapolation

of colonial ideology onto Japan

The administrative and popular manifestation

of colonialism in France 'Scientific racism' and its various manifestations Industrialisation and life in nineteenth-century Paris

Industrialisation

Life and leisure in late nineteenth-century Paris

Travel or travail? Nineteenth-centulY leisure travel

Early travel

The expanding travel industry

Informative guidebooks

Motivations for travel

Attitudes towards popular travel

Pierre Loti

as a nineteenth-century traveller

PART III

VIII 51
53
63
69
EXTRA-TEXTUAL ASPECTS: PRE-PERRY AND EARLY MEIJI EXCHANGE BETWEEN

JAPAN AND THE

WEST

Introduction

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Pre-Perry exchange between Japan and the West

Early contact between Japan and the West

The era

of sakoku or 'national seclusion'

The Dutch trading post at Dejima

Westerners in Japan during the nineteenth centwy

The Meiji Era

The Rokumeikan

Era Western visitors to Japan during the early Meiji Era 87
89
97

Chapter Ten

Diplomats

Government advisors

Military servicemen

Teachers

Doctors

Missionaries

Merchants

The foreign settlement at Nagasaki

'The country of Madam Chrysanthemum': nineteenth-century general perceptions of Japan

Japan's culture

Reducing Japan to an aesthetic image, and temporal nostalgia

The Japanese character

Physical characteristics of the Japanese

Japanese women

PART IV

IX 121

EXTRA-TEXTUAL ASPECTS: JAPONISME AND JAPONAISERIE

Introduction

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Japonisme andjaponaiserie: the aesthetic context

Orientalism

Chinoiserie

Pre-Perry artistic exchange between Japan and the West 139
141
Japonisme andjaponaiserie: the social, political, and cultural contexts 147 The reasons japonaiserie and japonisme enjoyed popularity at the particular time they did How items of japonisme and japonaiserie reached the French consumer

The exhibition spaces

of japonisme and japonaiserie 'High' and 'popular' Japanese aesthetic influence

J aponisme and japollaiserie: the content

Japanese influence on Western painting

The borrowing or adaptation

of Japanese artistic techniques

Borrowing and adaptation

of subtle techniques Japonisme andjaponaiserie in the decorative or applied arts 163

Screens

Fans

Plates

Ceramics and glassware

Accessories, jewellery, and clothing

Japanese influence in architecture, interior design, and landscape

Peripheral japonisme and japonaiserie

Dramatic arts

Literature

Pierre Loti and Madame Chrysantheme in the context of nineteenth century French authors and writing on Japan

PART V

x

MADAME CHRYSANTHEME AS AN ITEM OF JAPONAISERIE

Introduction

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen Extra-textualfactors contributing to the success of Madame

Chrysantheme

Loti's personality

Loti's renown

Individual style or formula to maintain in his work Loti as a credible writer due to his travels and publications

Comparison between Madame Chrysantheme and

Loti's J oumal intime

The protagonist

as the principal subject

Loti's Japanese oeuvre

Structural and narrative aspects

of Madame Chrysantheme

Fifty-six short chapters

Inclusion

of sketches by Rossi and Myrbach

Linguistic aspects

of Madame Chrysantheme

Vocabulary use in Madame

Chlysantherne

Loti's manipulation of names

Inclusion

of Japanese words and speech

Thematic aspects

of Madame Chrysantheme Japan proper being akin to its image onjaponaiserie

Rejection

of modernisation and westernisation 187
191
211
217
229
Uncomplimentary comparisons of Japan to other places Loti had visited Value judgments being passed on external things as a negative criticism of Japan Chapter Eighteen Loti's depiction of the Japanese female

Physical appearance of the Japanese female

Body idiom

Character

The 'marriage'

to Chrysantheme

Felix Regamey's response to Madame Ch,ysantheme

CONCLUSION

JAPANOPHILE AND JAPANOPHOBE: THE DUALITY THAT IS MADAME

CHRYSANTHEME

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Appendix

V

BIBLIOGRAPHY

From increased Franco-Japanese exchange to japonisme

Linking the parts together

A work both 'shaped by' and 'shaping' perceptions

of Japan

A 'spirit

of Health' or 'Goblin damn'd'?

Japanophile or Japanophobe?

The significance

of Madame Chrysantheme as an item of japonaiserie

The duality that

is both Madame Chrysantheme and Pierre Loti

ApPENDICES

Loti's oeuvre

Annotated chronology of Pierre Loti's visit to Japan in 1885

Annotated chronology

of Madame Chrysantheme

Characters and places in Madame Chrysantheme

Ukiyo-e

XI 247
267
281
283
291
299
303
307
1

PART I

INTRODUCTION

... before the [Russo-Japanese] war, apart from a limited number of specialists and scholars who kept themselves informed by their travels and serious works (seldom read), for us, the rest of the French, what we knew of Japan was that above all it was the country of Madam Chrysanthemum. Andre

Cheradam

1 The French writer and naval officer Pierre Loti was three years old on 8 July 1853 when Commodore Matthew Perry cast anchor in Edo Bay in what essentially heralded the end of Japan's sakoku or 'national seclusion' policy. The small child in Rochefort, France, would have been unaware of Perry's historic activities more than

9,500 km away. Little over thirty years later however the two would

intersect as the popularity of Loti's Japanese travelogue Madame Ch,ysantheme (1887) relied in part on japonisme, a Japanese or Japanesque influence seen in Western art and design after Japan resumed contact following Perry's initiative. This intersection, or more specifically the thesis born of it that Madame Chlysantheme can be considered an item of nineteenth-century japonaiserie, is the primary focus of this study. Since the first exchange between Japan and the West when three Portuguese were shipwrecked off Tanegashima Island in 1543, Japan has continued some form of interaction with the Western world. During the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries this exchange was characterised by zealous religious activity led by the Jesuit missionaries under Francis Xavier. However, a fear of political and cultural instability resulting from the adoption of a foreign religion led the Tokugawa shogunate to

expel all Westerners from Japan in 1639. Any subsequent contact was restricted to a Dutch trading post

on the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki Harbour. The small number of residents on Dejima (usually no more than twenty) meant that between 1639 and the mid-1850s, Japan and the West were almost totally isolated from one another. When Commodore Perry cast anchor in 1853, for most Europeans Japan was a far Eastern country about which they knew nothing at all. Furthermore, for the vast majority of Japanese the very concept of the 'West' was all but totally unknown. 2

This situation of

mutual ignorance and the reSUlting hunger for contact and knowledge fuelled decades of vigorous policy-making and diplomatic and cultural exchange. It also meant that those in the position to create items of japonaiserie could exploit and further stimulate the newfound interest by circulating fantastic depictions of Japan. Most consumers neither knew nor were concerned with the reality.

1 Andre Cheradame. Le Monde et la Guerre Russo-Japonaise (Paris: PIon Nourrit et Cie., 1906), pp. 3-5.

2Though very limited, Westemers knew a little about Japan through writing produced by early visitors such

as

Engelbert Kaempfer. Japan had restricted any intemational exchange to that with its Asian neighbours, adopting a

reactive rather than active approach to interaction with the West. 2 With exchange came mutually beneficial trading, diplomatic, and cultural ties. Japan was eager to

compensate for centuries of 'lost' learning from the West, while, in addition to trade and diplomatic

gain, the West saw Japan as an antithetical land to its increasingly industrialised, 'tired,' and decadent societies. One product of this combination and its interaction with other factors such as colonialism and the development of nineteenth-century leisure travel was a Japanese influence on the principles of Western art and design. This was accompanied by a craze for cheap Japanese or Japanesque items. A Japanese influence on the arts is commonly referred to as 'japonisme,' while the products born of this, ranging from expensive furniture to cheap, often mass-produced items, are known as 'japonaiserie.'

The vocabula/Y ofjaponisme and japonaiserie

The word 'japonisme' was coined in 1872 by the influential French art critic and collector Philippe

Burty. While technicalities of definition vary, 'japonisme' can be generally defined as 'the influence of

Japanese art on Western art and decoration following the opening of Japan to the Western world by

Commodore

Perry in 1854, and extending into the early twentieth century.,) The authoritative French dictionary Le Robert defines 'japonisme' as an 'interest in items from Japan, particularly for Japanese art,' or 'a Japanese influence on art.' Klaus Berger (1992) extends these definitions by calling the movement the 'recognition, admiration, adoption, and reinterpretation of an Eastern way of seeing.,4 'Japonaiserie' usually denotes items or tangible products of japonisme, with

Le Robert defining it as

'objects of art, curios corning from Japan or of a Japanese style.' This dictionary also writes that it can

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