“We are going to take a journey of six centuries, from the moment the Portuguese touched Japan, to the cool culture of today. » Curator of the exhibition, Edith Joseph immediately recalls that relations between Japan and the West are only periods of opening and closing. Highlighting how the country of the rising sun, kept away from the industrial revolution, would modernize from 1854 to spread its culture across the world at the end of the 19th century. Before massively militarizing and paying a high price for its switch to the Axis forces, then reinventing itself and invading the planet, peacefully this time, with its animated series and manga.
Samurai and Grendizer
It is this story of exchanges and separations that the Daoulas Abbey tells through an exhibition set up by the Dauphinois Museum in Grenoble, in 2018, and entirely adapted to the Finistère site. From the traditional Samurai outfit to the plastic Grendizer figurine, the journey stretches over the centuries and the evolution of Japanese society, with a particular focus on the contribution of the French to the modernization of the country. In particular that of Brest engineers and industrialists who largely participated in the construction of ports and the equipment of lighthouses on the Japanese coasts.
From vase to walkman
Artistic craftsmanship and prints, an expression of great refinement, are obviously not forgotten, with original pieces loaned by the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, symbolizing this “Japonism” which influenced the Impressionists and Nabis. The youngest will naturally head towards the last rooms of the exhibition where, from cameras and walkmans to arcade games and manga collections, the exhibition shows how, for half a century, the Japan influences our daily lives.
Practical
“From Samurai to Kawaii” from June 7 to December 1, at Daoulas Abbey (29). Every day, from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. (1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. from September 23). Full price: €10, from 7 to 17 years old: €3.
