Beyond Japonisme: The Queen Poet Carmen Sylva and Japan
Beyond Japonisme: The Queen Poet Carmen Sylva and Japan

Author(s): George T. Sipos
Subject(s): Cultural history, Political history, Social history, Romanian Literature, Theory of Literature, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Addleton Academic Publishers
Keywords: Carmen Sylva; japonisme; Japanese culture; cultural exchange; Romanian monarchy; transnational influence; East Asian art; literary cosmopolitanism; nineteenth-century literature; cultural diplomacy;
Summary/Abstract: Carmen Sylva, the pen name of Queen Elisabeth of Romania (Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied, 1843-1916), was a prolific writer and translator known for her literary contributions in multiple languages. Her work includes poetry, prose, drama, and translations. Her writing often drew upon her personal experiences, Romanian folklore, and themes of spirituality and nature. Well-known in Europe during her active literary career, Carmen Sylva seems to have always been fascinated by Japan, and alongside her husband, King Carol I (Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, 1839-1914, r. 1881-1914) was swept in the japonisme trend of her time.1 The queen’s interest for japonisme was not solely limited to collecting objets d’art, although her introduction to Japanese (and by extension to other East Asian) cultural artefacts was most likely facilitated by the popular trend of the artistic elites which occurred in the wake of the opening of Japan during the final years of the shogunate (Bakumatsu Period, 1853-1867) and of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, but it went further with her purposeful engagement with Japanese artists and literati who passed through the young modern Romanian kingdom during her and Carol I’s reign.

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