The Activities of French Japanologists during the Interwar Period

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02530
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: European literature
• Research Institution: Shinshu University
• Principal Investigator: Shibuya Yutaka 信州大学, 学術研究院人文科学系, 教授 (70386580)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 日仏比較文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study contributes to research on the history of Japanese-French cultural exchange by discussing the reception of Japanese literature in France during the interwar period and examining the work of Japanologists (researchers of Japan). I focused on Alfred Smoular and René Maublanc, and identified that Smoular played a crucial role in the reception of modern Japanese literature (e.g., works by Ashihei Hino), and Maublanc did likewise in the reception of traditional Japanese poetry (e.g., haiku). During this process, I investigated the link between their work and the literary trends of France. One important result of this is my publication of “White Sheep and Haiku: An Aspect of the Reception of Japanese Literature in France” (Shinshu Studies in Humanities , no. 5), which elucidates the relationship between the spread of haiku in France and modern classicism.

Free Research Field

比較文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の意義は、１）日仏の比較文学研究において従来、研究が手薄だったフランス人ジャポニザンの活動を扱っていること、２）しかも、取り上げたのがこれまで完全に看過されてきた事象（スムラーによる火野葦平紹介、モーブランと文芸誌「白い羊」の関係）であったこと、３）文学受容の研究において困難とされる＜相手国（日本文学を受容する国）側に関する調査＞を広範に行ったこと、にある。これにより比較文学研究に寄与することは無論のこと、日本文学研究、フランス文学研究、翻訳学、異文化コミュニケーション論など周辺の学問領域にも波及効果を及ぼし得るものと考えられる。