The uses of “Japaneseness”

This article explores cultural globalization through a sociological study of the reception of manga in France, from the 1970s to the 2010s. Based on the analysis of archives and in-depth interviews with actors who contributed to the production, circulation and promotion of manga, it shows how these cultural intermediaries – both enthusiasts and professionals – have shaped (or concealed) the “Japaneseness” of this type of symbolic good, and analyses the diverse uses of the cultural and national “origin” of manga. Two contrasting periods are identified: in the first period, a scholarly approach to “adult” Japanese comic books coexisted with the concealing of markers of national anchorage in animated television series for younger audiences. From the 1990s onwards, by contrast, the “Japaneseness” of manga was strongly emphasized and demonstrated differently, depending on the target audience and the cultural habits of the intermediaries who shaped the manga offer in France, in the form of printed books, digital content and related discourse. The article thus sheds light on the mediations at play in the production and perception of manga in France, and the generational and social differentiation of take up of manga and of Japaneseness.