There is a growing interest in the French Japonism movement of the late nineteenth century, and academic research in the subject is developing in both quantity and quality. However, much of this scholarly activitiy is confined to the area of art history and, apart from some work on leading authors like Pierre Loti or Judith Gautier, very little scholarship has emerged from the field of French literature. Indeed, many works produced by popular French authors during this period have long been forgotten, even in France.
Addressing the absence of source material for those studying Japonism literature in France, Edition Synapse has established a new series—available outside Japan from Routledge. The series collects reprinted French novels which have Japan and/or the Japanese as their main subject. The first set reprints four illustrated works which were originally published in the fin-de-siècle period. These gathered works graphically illustrate and exemplify typical views of French society towards Japan during the period.