"Japanese Feel-Good Literature: What Are We Talking About?"

Thomas Garcin (Paris Cité University) gives a lecture on “Japanese Feel-Good Literature: What Are We Talking About?”, as part of the Kyoto Lectures, organised by the EFEO, ISEAS and the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University.

This hybrid lecture will be held on site and via Zoom (meeting ID: 827 7153 4635).

Japanese feel-good literature has enjoyed considerable success in Europe, particularly in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. However, the category of “healing fiction” or “feel-good fiction” is neither as self-evident nor as widespread in Japan. What does this say about the reception of “Japanese feel-good fiction” in Europe? Is this label blurry and irrelevant in and of itself? Should we distinguish different trends within “Japanese feel-good” literature? By addressing these questions, this lecture aims to provide a better understanding of the perceptions and realities underlying the “Japanese feel-good” phenomenon.

Thomas Garcin is an associate professor at Paris Cité University and currently serves as director of the French Research Institute on Japan (IFRJ-MFJ), Tokyo. He edited Mishima, Écrits sur le théâtre (2023) and co-edited Mishima revisité (2025). His current research focuses on Japanese healing fiction and its commodification.