Abstract
Roland Barthes' L'Empire des signes (The Empire of Signs) is often regarded by specialists, if not as the product of pure fantasy, then at least as the imaginary manifestation of an unparalleled semiologist. However, given its repercussions on contemporary novelists such as Philippe Forest, the "traits" Barthes identifies in Japanese culture deserve to be examined more seriously, and in the context of the 60s and 70s, when French Teory began to make itself known in Japan.
We therefore propose a reading of the mythical Barthesian book that has caused so much ink to flow, by placing it alongside the texts of Shûichi Katô, a Japanese writer whoseHistory of Japanese Literature is an authority in the world of japonologues. He is an exceptional observer of French civilization in Japan and a singular historian of Japanese culture. Barthes and Katô have much in common: they belong to the same generation, post-Sartre and existentialism; they are both polygraphs, publishing numerous transdisciplinary works, including the texts on Japan that interest us here. However, despite their similar interests, curiously enough, their paths have never crossed. Reflecting on the meaning of this missed encounter, and through a cross-reading of their works, we find, first of all, two diametrically opposed ideas of literature, insofar as for Katô literature must be charged with meaning, whereas for Barthes the charm and quality of haiku consist precisely in "the exemption of meaning". However, on closer analysis, we discover certain similarities in their vision of Japanese culture.
