Bibliographie complète

From 1635 onward, Tokugawa Japan closed itself to any type of foreign trade, with the establishment of the isolationist policy of sakoku, and only merchants operating on behalf of the Dutch East India Company were permitted to trade in the country, on a limited basis. It was in this context that the True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam was written, in 1636, by a Protestant Dutch merchant known as François Caron. The work, a brief administrative document, which was not initially intended for publication, was a great success from its first publication in 1661, and was translated into several languages. As part of this thesis, we will study the impact of the True Description on perceptions of the Japanese in 17th century France, through the rich descriptions made by its author of the society and culture of Edo Japan. To do this, we will first analyze the writings of the Jesuits, who were the first to build a particular image of the Japanese and to have a lasting influence on the way they were described and perceived. Secondly, we will analyze in detail the content of the True Description in order to determine the image that a Dutch merchant of the 17th century may have had of Japan and its people. As a conclusion, we will examine the influence of the True Description on the way French authors wrote about Japan from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the Enlightenment.