「リュクス」(luxe)から見た現代日本のフランス観 : パリ症候群との関連から

概要

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This article attempts to make explicit the image of France in Japan as it is expressed in the discourse on luxe, a recent vogue-word in the Japanese mass media. The discourse on luxe, however, is not limited to contemporary Japan but its rise is inherent to modern Europe characterized by the development of commercial society and the secularization of society. In particular, eighteenth-century philosophes widely discussed pros and cons of luxury products. In particular, Rousseau's stigmatization of luxury products seems somehow influential to contemporary France where although the free market economy is taken for granted, a consumption-oriented society remains seen as somewhat negative and the moral independence of individuals from the desire for luxury products is expected. In contrast, the analysis of the usage of the term, luxe, in Japanese women's magazines reveals that the Japanese tend to see in European luxury goods something beyond their material values, a sophisticated and elegant life style specifically applicable to the upper-class Europeans. Yet the Japanese seem to consider this trend as generally European and aspire to it by purchasing European luxury goods. The article concludes that differences in terms of the perception of luxury goods in France and Japan are susceptible to lead to a "culture shock" among young Japanese females in France.