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France-Japan relations refers to bilateral relations between France and Japan. The history of Franco-Japanese relations (????, Nichi-Futsu kankei?) goes back to the early 17th century, when a Japanese samurai and ambassador on his way to Rome landed for a few days in Southern France, creating a sensation. France and Japan have enjoyed a very robust and progressive relationship spanning centuries through various contacts in each others' countries by senior representatives, strategic efforts, and cultural exchanges.
After nearly two centuries of seclusion by "Sakoku" Japan, the two countries became very important partners from the second half of the 19th century in the military, economic, legal and artistic fields. The Bakufu modernized its army through the assistance of French military missions (Jules Brunet), and Japan later relied on France for several aspects of its modernization, particularly the development of a shipbuilding industry during the early years of the Imperial Japanese Navy (Emile Bertin), and the development of a Legal code.
France derived part of its modern artistic inspiration from Japanese art, essentially through Japonism and its influence on Impressionism, and almost completely relied on Japan for its prosperous silk industry.
Chronology of Franco-Japanese relations
[] 17th-18th century
17th century account of Hasekura's visit to France.
- 1615. Hasekura Tsunenaga, a Japanese samurai and ambassador, sent to Rome by Date Masamune, lands at Saint-Tropez for a few days, initiating the first contacts between France and Japan.
- 1619. François Caron, son of French Huguenot refugees to the Netherlands enters the Dutch East India Company, and becomes the first person of French origin to set foot in Japan in 1619. He stays in Japan for 20 years, where he becomes a Director for the company. He later became the founding Director General of the French East India Company in 1664.
- 1636. Guillaume Courtet, a French Dominican priest, sets foot in Japan. He penetrates into Japan in clandestinity, against the 1613 interdiction of Christianity. He is caught, tortured, and dies in Nagasaki on September 29, 1637.
- No French people visit Japan between 1640 and 1780.
- Around 1700, the impostor known as George Psalmanazar claims to come from the Japanese tributary island of Formosa.
- 1787. La Perouse (1741-1788) navigates in Japanese waters in 1787. He visits the Ryukyu Islands (now Okinawa), and the strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, giving it his name.
19th century
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- 1808. The French language is taught to five Japanese translators by the Dutch chief of Dejima, Hendrik Doeff.
- 1844. A French naval expedition under Captain Fornier-Duplan onboard Alcmène visits Okinawa on April 28, 1844. Trade is denied, but Father Forcade is left behind with a translator.
The first French military mission to Japan in 1867. Jules Brunet in front, second from right.
Japan's first modern silk reeling factory at Tomioka, established by the French engineer Paul Brunat in 1872.
20th century
- 1909. The first Japanese mechanical flight, a biplane tracted by an automobile, occurs in 1909 in Ueno through the collaboration of Shiro Aihara and Le Prieur, French military attaché in Tokyo.
- 1910. Captain Tokugawa Yoshitoshi, trained in France as a pilot, makes the first self-propelled flight onboard a Henri Farman plane.
- 1910. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Corporation, visits France to study spinning techniques.
- 1918. Fourth French Military Mission to Japan (1918-1919)
- 1924. First air flight from France to Japan, by Pelletier Doisy and Besin.
- 1925. First air flight from Japan to France, by Kawauchi and Abe.
- 1941. Imperial Japan pressures the South-East Asian colony of French Indochina, which is controlled by Vichy France, into making important military concessions, but leaves the French army and administration intact.
- 1945. On March 9, 1945, Japan rapidly attacks and takes full control of French Indochina, which it maintains until its defeat several months later in September 1945.
- 1952. First Air France flight to Japan.
Franco-Japanese relations today
Recently France has been very involved in trade and cultural exchange initiatives with Japan. Some people see this as being a result of former French president Jacques Chirac being a Japanophile. Chirac has visited Japan over 40 times, probably more than any other world leader outside of Japan, and is an expert on the country. France has started the export promotion campaign Le Japon, c'est possible and the international liaison personnel exchange program JET. Together they built the Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris.
France and Japan have also worked together to improve dire health situations from HIV and underdevelopment in Djibouti, Madagascar, Uganda, and other countries.
Japan and France are also known to share ideas with each other in the realms of art and cooking. Japan has been heavily influenced by French cuisine within the past few decades, as seen on the television show Iron Chef. Anime is popular in France. The movie Interstella 5555 was a collaborative motion picture with Japanese anime writer, Leiji Matsumoto, and the French house band, Daft Punk. French historical figures and settings from medieval, Renaissance, Napoleonic, and World War eras have served as models for certain popular stories in Japanese entertainment. The purity of Japanese painting and illustration, and likewise the modernity and elegance of French visual arts has resulted in hybrid styles in those creative fields.
The two countries have been collaborating closely in the area of nuclear energy generation.
In June 2005, France and Japan announced a collaboration to build the next generation supersonic commercial aircraft, a successor to the Concorde.[citation needed]
French in Japan
Japanese in France
See also
References
- "???????? Soie et Lumière, L'Âge d'or des échanges Franco-Japonais" (French and Japanese), Christian Polak, Hachette Fujingaho
External links
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