Adoration for the "Sweet France"
A poetic name for France is "Douce France" (Umashi kuni), meaning the "sweet country" or "beautiful country". This name derives from the Middle Ages chanson de geste (lit. tale of heroic deeds) The Song of Roland ("Dulce France" in old French), and Japanese word Umashi kuni is a translation taken from Emperor Jomei's legend of Kunimi (lit. viewing the realm) from the 2nd poem of the Man'yōshū. It is an excellent translation which evokes France's beautiful scenery and culture. The influence which the cultural superpower of France had on Japan, was not limited to just the political thought, industrial technology, literature, art and other fields noted in this piece, but also in the lifestyle and popular culture fields. It can even be said that the role of these types of more immediate and familiar things was even greater than the other aspects in the development of "adoration" with the country. From among these many fields, this article will discuss the four fields of cuisine, fashion, movies, and revue and chanson.
