The main goal of the World Exhibition of 1873 in Vienna was to present the Habsburg Monarchy in a new light after the defeat of 1866, as assuming the role of a mediator between East and West. The exhibition brought new ideas and products from the Middle and Far East to Europe. Especially Japan became a land of desire and inspiration. In 1868, when the Meiji-government started to open Japan up to Europe, the Habsburg Monarchy tried to establish diplomatic and commercial connections. The presentation of Japan at the Viennese World Exhibition was a great success. The products from Japan functioned as cultural mediators and as a starting point for the intercultural exchange between the two empires. The press coverage generated the image of Japan in Austria-Hungary. Many aspects of the social and cultural life were influenced by Japonism, especially the culture of the fin-de-siècle. The state visit of crown prince Franz Ferdinand to Japan in 1893 not only strengthened political connections, but also brought a collection of Japanese products to the Museum of Ethnology (now World Museum) in Vienna. This predoc project will shed new light on perceptions of East Asia as reflected in contemporary reports and literary texts. It will also contextualise them in other diplomatic relations and cultural encounters with Eastern Europe and Asia in the period, for instance, with Russia and Persia (cf. Osterhammel 2008; Watanabe-O'Kelly 2021).