Survey of Japanese History and Culture

Dr. P.B. Reagan
Japan Center for Michigan Universities
May 7- May 18 2007

Monday-Friday 9:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.
Room 210 Academic Building
Office Hours: M-F 1-2 P.M. and by Appointment
E-Mail: reaganp1@msu.edu

Course Description and Objective:

This survey course in the history and culture of Japan is designed to introduce the student to the major themes in Japanese history, political and social organization, religion, and culture. We examine key aspects of the major periods of Japanese history beginning with the archaic period, and proceeding through the Classical and Medieval eras and concluding with developments in the modern era. We will study the ordering of Japanese society and the emergence of political, social and military elites through the centuries and the processes of transformation that took place politically, socially and culturally.

Course Requirements:

The student is expected to prepare for class by completing the reading assignments and preparing for selected discussion topics prior to attending class. Attendance, participation in class discussion and submission of two writing assignments (5 pages) based on assigned topics and a Field Trip Journal constitute the core course requirements

Writing Assignments (Two) 70%
Attendance 10%
Preparation and Participation 10%
Field Trip Journal 10%

Grading
94-100% = A 4.0
90-93 % = A/B 3.5
87-89 % = A/B 3.5
84-86 % = B 3.0
80-83 % = B/C 2.5
77-79 % = B/C 2.5
74-76 % = C 2.0
70-73 % = C/D 1.5
64-70% = D 1.0
60-63% = D/F 0.5

Required Readings:

1. Japanese Culture. Paul Varley. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN: 0824821521

2. A History of Japan. Mason and Caiger. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN: 080482097X

Regarding basic study, research and writing skills, students are encouraged to refer to A Student's Guide to History. Jules Benjamin. Bedford/St. Martin's

Recommended Titles:

3. The Last Shogun: The Life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Ryotaro Shiba and Juliette Winters Carpenter. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 1568363567

4. Yoshiwara: The Glittering World of the Japanese Courtesan. Cecelia Segawa Seigle. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN: 0824814886

5. Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed. Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN-10: 0824820665

6. Silence. Shusaku Endo.

Films:

" Kagemusha
" The Sea and Poison

Field Trips and Recommended Places of Interest:
" Theater: Noh, Kabuki, or Bunraku

" Museums: Kyoto Museum of Art, Kyoto National Museum

" Hikone- Hikone Castle, Garden and Museum

" Nara- 13 May
Tôdaiji
Shosoin
Kasuga Taisha

" Kyoto- 12 May
Imperial Palace
Katsura Rikkyu (Detached Palace)
Shugakuin
Kinkakuji
Ryuanji
Nijo-jo

Academic Honesty and Classroom Etiquette
The University's academic policy regarding academic integrity and honesty will be strictly upheld. Cheating, plagiarizing and failure to cite and properly document sources of information will be dealt with according to University Policy.

"The student shares with the faculty the responsibility for maintaining the integrity of scholarship, grades, and professional standards."

In addition, The Japan Center for Michigan Universities adheres to the policies on academic honesty specified in General Student Regulation 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades; the all-University Policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades; and Ordinance 17.00, Examinations. (See Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide and/or the MSU Web site www.msu.edu.)
(Article 2.3.3 of the Academic Freedom Report)

"Therefore, unless authorized by your instructor, you are expected to complete all course assignments, including homework, lab work, quizzes, tests and exams, without assistance from any source. You are expected to develop original work for this course; therefore, you may not submit course work you completed for another course to satisfy the requirements for this course. Also, you are not authorized to use the www.allmsu.com Web site to complete any course work in this course. Students who violate MSU rules may receive a penalty grade, including but not limited to a failing grade on the assignment or in the course."
Office of the Ombudsman, Michigan State University

Cell phones, recording devices and other electronic equipment, food and beverages are forbidden in the classroom.

Class Schedule and Assignments
Please note that the student is expected to have read and studied the assigned reading and prepared for discussions prior to each class. Be sure to bring to class the texts under discussion.

May 7, 2007 Introduction- Historical and geographical Background to Japan

Reading:
Mason, Chapters One and Two. Environment, Early Settlement and Yamato
Varley Chapter One, The Emergence of Japanese Civilization

Discussion: Examine the historical and Mythological origins of the Japanese Polity

May 8, 2007
Readings:
Mason, Chapters Three and Four: The Creation of a Unified State and Nara.
Varley Chapter Two, The Introduction of Buddhism

Discussion: What were the enduring aspects of Buddhism in Japan in terms of its political and intellectual influence. Was there conflict with indigenous philosophies and religious traditions?

May 9, 2007
Readings:
Mason, Chapters Five and Six: The Government of Heian Japan. Heian Literature
Varley, Chapter Six, The Court at Its Zenith

May 10, 2007
Reading:
Mason, Chapters Seven and Eight, Heian Religion, Architecture and Art
Varley, Chapter Six, The Court at Its Zenith

May 11, 2007
Readings:
Mason, Chapters Nine, Ten, and Eleven. Medieval Japan and Rule by the Military Houses
Varley, Chapters Four and Five The Advent of a New Age and the Canons of Medieval Taste

May 12, 2007
Field Trip to Kyoto

May 13, 2007
Field Trip to Nara

May 14, 2007
Reading: National Unification and Administration Under the Tokugawa
Mason, Chapters Twelve and Thirteen and Fourteen
Varley, Chapters Seven and Nine, The Flourishing of a Bourgeois Culture and Encounter with the West

Discussion: Unification and Pacification. What were the greatest challenges facing the three unifiers, Oda, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa. How did each military strategist realize military and political success?

What is meant by "Genroku Culture and how does still seem to be a source of inspiration and identity in the study of modern Japanese culture?

May 15, 2007
Reading: The Tokugawa Fall and The Meiji Restoration
Mason, Chapter Fifteen
Varley, Chapter Ten, Fruits of Modernity.

Discussion:
What were some of the internal weaknesses already present in the Tokugawa Polity that led to the collapse of the Tokugawa regime?

Did the opening of the ports inevitably lead to the overthrow of the Tokugawa Regime?

How did the Japanese accommodate the demands of political, social and industrial modernization with traditional core cultural values?

May 16, 2007
Reading: Building the Meiji State
Mason, Chapter Sixteen
Discussion: Provide a summary of the personal characteristics of the Meiji Leaders

May 17, 2007
Reading: Imperial Japan and the Pacific War
Chapter Seventeen
Discussion: What were Japan's Imperial interests on the Asian Continent?

May 18, 2007
Reading Postwar Occupation
Mason, Chapter Seventeen
Varley, Chapter 10. The Culture of Modernity

Discussion: How would one interpret the "liberalism" of interwar Japan?

What factors led to Japan's advance in China?

Causes of the War and the effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki