ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the French media representation of Japanese women through fashion from the time of Japonisme in the late nineteenth century to the present day. It will first examine the widespread characterization of Japanese women as geisha and “mousmé” around the turn of the twentieth century through an analysis of the women’s fashion magazine Fémina. This is followed by an exploration of the portrayal of Japanese femininity during the “kawaii fashion” boom of the early twenty-first century and the image of the shōjo. A comparison of the similarities and differences of these two different historical moments serves to highlight the ongoing image in France of Japanese women as small, pretty, childlike, and exotic.
