“Congratulations are due to Doug Slaymaker for assembling so many excellent essays on such an interesting and important topic.”
--Roy Starrs in the Journal of Japanese Studies

“This book will prove an interesting and timely read for anyone concerned with democracy, nationalism, and the frequently strained relationship between the two.”
--Rachael Hutchinson in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

France and Japan have shared much in a long and critical history of artistic practice and production. France has been an important source of energy for Japanese intellectual endeavors, and the impact of French painting, literature, and thought on Japan, from even before the Meiji Revolution, cannot be overstated. Likewise, France has been stimulated by an image of Japan as "Other" and as a model to American cultural hegemony. The impact of Japanese prints on French (and European) art, the related artistic production collected under the heading of 'Japonisme,' and the creative responses to Japanese poetic and dramatic forms are profound.

Confluences details these exchanges and outlines the ground from which they proceed. In doing so, the authors elucidate much of the development of national and individual identities, especially as filtered through the artistic endeavors of a culture.

Contributors include: Kevin M. Doak, Katô Shûichi, Kuroko Kazuo, Jean-Philippe Mathy, Matt Matsuda, Nishikawa Nagao, J. Thomas Rimer, Hiroaki Sato, Doug Slaymaker, and Watanabe Kazutani.