| WEEK # | TOPICS | FILMS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the Class | No film this week, only shorts in class and the fieldtrip. |
Keene describes several characteristics of Japanese aesthetics. Please pay attention to the ways he uses concrete examples to make larger generalizations. How does he contrast Japan with the West? Do you agree?
Written by Murasaki Shikibu, this is often regarded as the first novel ever written. Please read the introduction and consider the uses of poetry, writing, and the audiences for both. Why did poetry have political power in addition to being a means to have people fall in love with you? Fieldtrip: Meet at classroom promptly for a fieldtrip to the Massachusetts College of Art Bakalar and Paine Galleries to see performance/film/art by Miyake Shintarô. |
| 2 | Japanese Aesthetics | Rashomon. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. |
This story forms the basis of Kurosawa Akira's film Rashomon. Please consider perspective, voice, and emotion. How does it appear in the text? How in comparison to the film?
Why do you think Kurosawa used this title of another Akutagawa's short story? |
| 3 | Suicide | Double Suicide. Directed by Masahiro Shinoda. |
This is the story that the film Double Suicide is based upon. Please note the use of the "jyoruri" or narrator, and see how this is managed in the film. Consider how "giri" (obligation) and "ninjo" human feelings come into conflict. As always, consider this tale in relation to the other materials we've touched on so far. |
| 4 | The Pressure of Daily Life | Paranoia Agent (TV series). Directed by Satoshi Kon. Episodes 1-7. |
Session 1: Guest lecture: Professor Adam Kern from Harvard will discuss his research on Edo period manga, and the history of comics in Japan |
| 5 | Gender and Sexuality | Paranoia Agent (TV series). Directed by Satoshi Kon. Episodes 8-13. |  Kirino, Natsuo. Out. Reprint ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 2005. ISBN: 1400078377. |
| 6 | Contemporary and Traditional Japan | Twilight Samurai (Tasogare seibei). Directed by Yamamoto (Yôji). Optional: Watch/ compare The Last Samurai. Directed by Edward Zwick. |
Session 2: In lieu of class, visit the Museum of Fine Arts exhibit Tradition and Transformation: Japanese Art 1860-1940. Please consider the representative works related to Japan in terms of class themes regarding the representation of gender, class, violence, and traditional vs. modern Japan. You do not need to visit the MFA during class, but you must come prepared to discuss the MFA in Session #1 of Week 7. |
| 7 | The Making of Anime | Princess Mononoke. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. | Abe, Kobo. The Woman in the Dunes. Reissue ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 1991. ISBN: 0679733787. |
| 8 | Surrealism | Electric Dragon 80,000 volts. Directed by Sogo Ishii. | Finish Abe, Kobo. The Woman in the Dunes. Reissue ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 1991. ISBN: 0679733787. |
| 9 | False Realism | Woman in the Dunes. Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Optional: Special anime screening related to the two-day symposium "COOL JAPAN: Violence and Desire in Japanese Popular Culture." | Discuss Woman in the Dunes in relation to the book. Given that the book is largely a psychological study, how does the film deal with the challenge of portraying this aspect of Abe's tale? |
| 10 | Uses of the Absurd | Mind Game. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa. | Murakami, Haruki. Kafka on the Shore. Reprint ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 2006. ISBN: 1400079276. |
| 11 | Humor | Tampopo. Directed by Juzo Itami. | Finish Murakami, Haruki. Kafka on the Shore. Reprint ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 2006. ISBN: 1400079276. |
| 12 | Student Presentations | Watch on one's own, related to final paper. | Short stories
|
| 13 | Student Presentations (cont.) | Watch on one's own, related to final paper. | Short stories Mishima, Yukio. |
| 14 | Concluding Thoughts / Further Questions | No films this week. | No readings. |
Table of Contents
Study Materials
Readings
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Required Texts
Kirino, Natsuo. Out. Reprint ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 2005. ISBN: 1400078377.
Abe, Kobo. The Woman in the Dunes. Reissue ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 1991. ISBN: 0679733787.
Murakami, Haruki. Kafka on the Shore. Reprint ed. New York, NY: Vintage, 2006. ISBN: 1400079276.
Weekly Films and Readings