Abstract
One aspect of Japonism studies that has not been sufficiently explored is the artistic phenomenon of the "return of Japonism" from France to Japan. There are many examples of Japanese painters who went to France and, consciously or unconsciously, took the Japonism present in French art, or the Japanese art they discovered through France, and created hybrid works that combine the cultures.
This Franco-Japanese "return of Japonism" is of several types, with painters such as Kuroda Seiki, Fujita Tsuguharu and Okamoto Tarō, who studied in Paris in the late19th and first half of the20th centuries, all having a different relationship to Japonism and producing works of their own. A lesser-known artist, Kosugi Misei, also spent time in France in 1920 and was inspired by Gauguin and Puvis de Chavannes, whose works are in tune with the Japanese aesthetic.
Post-war examples can be recalled, for example, in the 1980s with painting in the style of the Rinpa school by Imai Toshimitsu, who participated in the Informel movement in Paris in the 1950s. More recently, there's the Etang de nymphéas series (2013) by Japanese painter Hiramatsu Reiji, inspired by the Nymphéas series by Monet, who himself was inspired by ukiyo-e style prints. On the other hand, just asthere is such a thing as "Japonisme", there is also such a thing as "Francisme". To find an example of the opposite direction, Taniguchi Jirō, famous manga author, studied French comics and created his own manga, which he circulated in France.
The "return of Japonism" continues into the21st century. The study of the circulation of art between different cultures will be an important subject for future research into Japonism.
