Léon de Rosny et Fukuzawa Yukichi. 1862, une rencontre déterminante

The article aims to highlight the frequent exchanges the young Fukuzawa had with the French Orientalist-to-be Rosny during the first Bakufu mission to Europe. Needless to say, Fukuzawa would be an important figure of Meiji, known as one of the first intellectuals who introduced the Western civilization to Japan. The author analyses the notes left in his notebook as well as his letters sent to Rosny, carefully kept in the Frenchman’s scrapbook. What we can observe from this study is that he understood highly-civilized Europe and the importance of the academic environment that supported it. As a result, he thought that it was essential for the Japanese to systematically learn Western studies, to understand Japan by contrasting with foreign countries, and to make every effort to maintain its dignity as a country. He wrote the famous Conditions in the West based on these experiences. A best-seller of the time, the book helped to spread “new intellectual thinking” among the Japanese