Dans cette thèse, nous allons aborder le problème de l'interprétation et de la compréhension de l'image filmique en traitant des vues du Cinématographe Lumière, et en particulière des films tournés au Japon. Nous devons ici confronter plusieurs points de vue pour différencier des lectures diverses, par exemple un point de vue historique et un socioculturel. Notre point de vue actuel sur les images du Japon prises par des Français à la fin 19e siècle est très éloigné de celui du spectateur du Cinématographe à cette époque-là. Cette distance est un des intérêts majeurs de la thèse, car aucune personne ne peut échapper au point de vue provenant de sa propre culture lors de sa rencontre avec l'extérieur. / In this thesis, we address the problem of the interpretation and understanding of the cinematic image, analyzing films by the Cinematograph Lumière, especially films shot in Japan. Here we must confront several points of view to differentiate various translations, such as a historical perspective and a sociocultural perspective. Our current point of view of the images of Japan taken by two French operators in the late 19th century is really far from the point of view of a spectator at the time of the Cinematograph. This distance is a major interest of the thesis, because no one, when confronted with a foreign culture, can escape from his own point of view based on his own culture.

This thesis explores the possibility and challenges of international/interracial female friendship and anti-communitarian hospitality through writings of Victorian female travellers to Meiji Japan between 1854 and 1918. It features three travellers, viz. Isabella Bird, Mary Crawford Fraser, and Marie Stopes. The introduction delineates the context of key events in the Anglo-Japanese relationship and explores the representation of Japan in Victorian travelogues and literary works. Chapter I considers the philosophical dialogue between Jean-Luc Nancy, Maurice Blanchot, and Jacques Derrida on community, friendship, and hospitality. It demonstrates the potential of applying their thinking, notwithstanding its occasional complicity, to an analysis of the place of hitherto marginalised groups, women and foreigners, in Western philosophical models. Chapter II examines relationships between Bird and Japanese natives, especially her interpreter, Ito in Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880) in terms of questions of stable identity and translation. It further undertakes a comparative study between the travelogue and Itō no koi (2005) by Nakajima Kyōko. I explore the afterlife of Bird in Japanese literature. Chapter III investigates friendships in Fraser’s A Diplomatist’s Wife in Japan (1898). It uncovers her connection with Japanese female writers in oblivion, Yei Theodra Ozaki and Wakamatsu Shizuko. I discuss the influence her friendships had on Fraser’s fictional works such as The Stolen Emperor (1903), especially on the fair portrayals of Japanese women. Chapter IV explores friendships between the sexes in Stopes’ A Journal from Japan (1910) and articulates its relationship with Love-Letters of a Japanese (1911) and Plays of Old Japan (1913). I examine Stopes’ romantic relationship with Fujī Kenjirō and its influence on her career in sexology. It also investigates Stopes’ collaboration with Sakurai Jōji on Nō translation and exposes complex gender, racial, and linguistic politics. The conclusion explores three Japanese female travellers to Victorian Britain, focusing on their contact with local women. It considers Tsuda Umeko’s Journal in London, Yasui Tetsu’s Wakakihi no ato, and Yosano Akiko’s Pari yori (1914).