Japanese Literature in Translation
This course provides an introduction to the major works and trends in Japanese prose literature from the earliest times to the modern period. It includes a broad range of genres across more than a thousand years of Japan's literary history, from the beginnings of prose tale literature, to medieval folk tales and military chronicles, to the popular woodblock printed works of the early modern period, and through the important trends in modern Japanese literature. Throughout, the focus will be on both continuity, as later authors draw on the conventions of earlier works; and change, as those conventions are adapted or subverted for changing times and audiences with new expectations. This course makes extensive use of the university’s Blackboard online learning environment, both to distribute readings and as a forum for submitting and responding to reaction papers. The Blackboard interface is fairly straightforward, but if you have no experience using the system or are uncomfortable with computers, let me know immediately so we can help you get started. Becoming experienced with using Blackboard is vital to your success in this course. Evaluation will be on the basis of class attendance and participation, online reaction papers and responses, a midterm exam, and a final exam. Attendance and Participation 20% Six Online Reaction Papers 6 x 5% = 30% Twelve Online Responses 12 x 1% = 12% Four Wiki Edits 4 x 2% = 8% Midterm Exam 15% Final Exam 15% Most important, both to your grade and to the success of the class, is keeping up on the assigned readings and being ready and willing to discuss them, both in the classroom and online. I do take attendance, as well as take note of your participation in class, and these factors do affect your grade. Think of the class as being divided into two halves, with half of the required assignments falling in each half. Thus, half of your online reaction papers (3), half of the online responses (6), and two out of your four wiki edits must be completed by the time of the midterm exam (Oct. 15th). Throughout the semester you will also be required to post reaction papers and responses to the Blackboard online discussion board. A reaction paper should be approximately 1 1/2 to 2 pages long and should articulate your reaction to that day’s readings. It does not need to be a formal argumentative essay, but it should be more substantive than mere summary. It is intended to give your interpretation of the material in light of your own experience and the issues we raise in class, and should show an active engagement with the text. Remember: you aren’t expected to be an expert on the topic, just an engaged reader. Reaction papers must be posted online by midnight the day before the class in which the readings are to be discussed, in order to give your fellow students time to read and respond to them before class. Late reaction papers are useless to fostering online discussion and thus will not be accepted. Six of these papers are required over the course of the semester and you may choose any of the readings to which you wish to respond, but you may not write more than one in any given week. Whether or not you write a reaction paper, other students’ reaction papers should be considered a part of the required readings for all students, and you should make a point of reading the other students’ reactions and perhaps writing an online response to them before coming to class (the response deadline). The online responses are less formal than the reaction papers and should respond not only to the text itself, but to the other students’ reactions. There is no set length for these responses, but they should show a willingness to engage with other students’ ideas rather than relying only on one’s own interpretation. Twelve of these responses are required over the course of the semester, and no more than three will be counted for any given week. These online discussions will be the jumping off point for in-class discussion. The class wiki is intended to help students share resources as they process material, study for exams, etc. A wiki is a communally created website, in this case focused on the material covered in this course. I have set up the framework, including an outline of authors, works, genres, and key terms, but it is up to you to provide the content. You are required to make four edits to the wiki over the course of the semester (send me an e-mail describing what you did in order to insure you receive credit), but the more time and effort are put into it, the more valuable it will be as a resource. You can access the wiki at http://library.wlu.edu/wiki/index.php/JapanLitWiki/JapanLitWiki There are six required texts for this course: Classical Japanese Prose (CJP) Genji & Heike (G&H) Ihara Saikaku, Life of an Amorous Woman Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature (Columbia) Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Oxford) Natsume Sôseki, Kokoro All are available at the bookstore. Additional readings will be made available in pdf format in the “Materials” section of Blackboard and are marked on the syllabus with a ¿ mark. The books containing these works are also on 4-hr. reserve at Leyburn, though you should not rely on being able to access these materials. The midterm exam will be proctored through the TMC, on the top floor of Tucker Hall. Class on that day is cancelled and you should go in to take the exam sometime during regular TMC hours on that day. The final exam period for Fall ‘07 is from December 8th-14th and final exams are distributed through the German Department on the 2nd floor of Tucker Hall. Bring a blue book for both midterm and final. Course Schedule Getting Started Friday, September 7th Syllabus & Introduction to the Course Assignment: Login to Blackboard and Introduce Yourself Week One Monday, September 10th “Tales” and “Poem tales” Readings: “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” CJP pp. 27-37 “Tales of Ise,” CJP pp. 38-69 Wednesday, September 12th Heian “female” diaries Readings: “Tosa Journal,” CJP pp. 70-102 “Gossamer Journal,” CJP pp. 102-155 Friday, September 14th Heian musings Readings: “The Pillow Book of Sei Shônagon,” CJP pp. 156-199 “Short Tales of Aristocratic Life,” CJP pp. 251-270 Week Two Monday, September 17th The Tale of Genji Readings: “Introduction,” G&H pp. 3-19 “Kiritsubo,” G&H pp. 25-40 “The Broom Tree,” G&H pp. 41-58 Wednesday, September 19th The Tale of Genji Readings: “Yûgao,” G&H pp. 59-83 “Young Murasaki,” G&H pp. 84-112 Friday, September 21st The Tale of Genji Readings: “A Celebration Amid Autumn Leaves,” G&H pp. 113-130 “Aoi,” G&H pp. 131-159 Week Three Monday, September 24th The Tale of Genji Readings: “Suma,” G&H pp. 160-189 “Akashi,” G&H pp.190-215 Wednesday, September 26th The Tale of Genji Readings: “New Herbs: Part Two,” G&H pp. 216-230 “The Rites,” G&H pp. 231-242 Excerpts from As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams ¿ Excerpts from The Diary of Lady Murasaki ¿ Friday, September 28th Transition to the Kamakura Period Readings: “Heian and Medieval Setsuwa,” CJP pp. 271-287 “An Account of my Hermitage,” CJP pp. 377-392 “The Way of the Warrior” (pp. 265-276) ¿ Week Four Monday, October 1st The Tale of the Heike Readings: Ch. 1-5, G&H pp. 265-337 Wednesday, October 3rd The Tale of the Heike Readings: Ch. 6-9, G&H pp. 338-397 Friday, October 5th The Tale of the Heike Readings: Ch. 10-12, G&H pp. 398-445 “The Initiates Chapter,” G&H pp. 446-458 Week Five Monday, October 8th Medieval Memoirs Readings: “Confessions of Lady Nijô,” CJP pp. 288-339 “Essays in Idleness,” CJP pp. 393-421 Wednesday, October 10th Otogizôshi and illustrated scrolls Readings: “Two Companion Booklets,” CJP pp. 495-509 Excerpts from Tales of Tears and Laughter ¿ View picture scrolls online ¿ Friday, October 12th ••• Reading Day • No Class ••• Week Six Monday, October 15th ••• Midterm Exam – Class Cancelled ••• ••• Take the midterm in the TMC sometime today ••• Wednesday, October 17th Into the Tokugawa Period Readings: “Early Modern Japan” (Shirane pp. 1-20) ¿ “Kana Booklets and Emergence of Print Culture” (Shirane pp. 21-41) ¿ “A Japanese Burlesque: Nise Monogatari” (pp. 1-18) ¿ Friday, October 19th Ihara Saikaku Readings: “The Period” and “The Author,” Saikaku pp. 3-19 “Five Women Who Chose Love,” Saikaku pp. 55-118 Week Seven Monday, October 22nd Ihara Saikaku Readings: “Life of an Amorous Woman,” Saikaku pp. 121-208 Wednesday, October 24th Ihara Saikaku Readings: “The Eternal Storehouse of Japan,” Saikaku pp. 211-232 “Reckonings That Carry Men…” Saikaku pp. 235-263 Friday, October 26th Matsuo Bashô Readings: “The Journey of 1684,” CJP pp. 510-522 “The Narrow Road of the Interior,” CJP pp. 522-551 Week Eight Monday, October 29th Ueda Akinari Readings: “Tales of Moonlight and Rain” (Shirane pp. 563-598) ¿ Wednesday, October 31st Santô Kyôden Readings: “Playboy, Roasted a la Edo” (Shirane pp. 339-426) ¿ Friday, November 2nd Ryûtei Tanehiko Readings: “Country Genji by Commoner Murasaki” (Shirane pp. 800-842) ¿ Week Nine Monday, November 5th Into the Modern Era Readings: “The Essence of the Novel” (Keene pp. 55-58) ¿ “Drifting Clouds,” Columbia pp. 56-66 “Meat and Potatoes,” Columbia pp. 153-167 “The Clay Doll,” Columbia pp. 168-206 “The Girl Watcher,” Columbia pp. 254-264 Wednesday, November 7th Shiga Naoya Readings: “The Diary of Claudius,” Columbia pp. 492-502 “The Paper Door,” Columbia pp. 502-508 “The Shopboy’s God,” Columbia pp. 508-514 “Night Fires,” Oxford pp. 52-61 “Han’s Crime,” (Keene pp. 261-271) ¿ “At Kinosaki,” (Keene pp. 272-277) ¿ Friday, November 9th Mori Ôgai Readings: “The Dancing Girl,” Columbia pp. 10-25 “Boat on the River Takase,” Columbia pp. 206-213 “Sansho the Steward,” Oxford pp. 1-27 Week Ten Monday, November 12th Natsume Sôseki Readings: Kokoro pp. 1-96 Wednesday, November 14th Natsume Sôseki Readings: Kokoro pp. 97-192 Friday, November 16th Nagai Kafû, Shimazaki Tôson Readings: “The Mediterranean in Twilight,” Columbia pp. 213-217 “The River Sumida” (Keene pp. 159-200) ¿ “The Life of a Certain Woman,” Columbia pp. 226-253 “The Broken Commandment” (Keene pp. 134-141) ¿ •• November 19th – 23rd • Thanksgiving Break •• Week Eleven Monday, November 26th Akutagawa Ryûnosuke, Tanizaki Jun’ichirô Readings: “The Nose,” Columbia pp. 342-346 “The Christ of Nanking,” Columbia pp. 347-355 “In a Grove,” Oxford pp. 95-102 “The Two Acolytes,” Columbia pp. 539-554 “Okuni and Gohei,” Columbia pp. 627-639 “Aguri,” Oxford pp. 62-73 Wednesday, November 28th Kawabata Yasunari, Hayashi Fumiko Readings: “The Dancing Girl of Izu,” Oxford pp. 129-149 “The Mole” (Keene pp. 366-375) ¿ “The Accordion and the Fish Town,” Oxford pp. 154-171 “Tokyo” (Keene pp. 415-428) ¿ Friday, November 30th War and its aftermath Readings: “December 8th,” Columbia pp. 660-667 “Soldiers Alive,” Columbia pp. 667-675 “Blind Chinese Soldiers,” Oxford pp. 182-186 “Merry Christmas,” Oxford pp. 224-231 “Prize Stock,” Oxford pp. 351-390 Week Twelve Monday, December 3rd Okamoto Kanako, Kôno Taeko, Enchi Fumiko Readings: “Portrait of an Old Geisha,” Oxford pp. 79-94 “Toddler-hunting,” Oxford pp. 313-333 “The Flower Eating Crone,” Oxford pp. 172-181 Wednesday, December 5th Abe Kôbô, Mishima Yukio Readings: “The Bet,” Oxford pp. 264-287 “The Magic Chalk” (Gessel pp. 63-75) ¿ “Onnagata,” Oxford pp. 293-312 “The Boy Who Wrote Poetry” (Hibbett pp. 282-291) ¿ Friday, December 7th Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana Readings: “The Elephant Vanishes,” Oxford pp. 400-416 “On Meeting My 100% Woman…” (Mitsios pp. 23-26) ¿ “Desert Dolphin,” Oxford pp. 417-431 “Kitchen” (Mitsios pp. 152-171) ¿ Final Exam Period: December 8th – 14th 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LIT 221
Fall 2007
Click Here for a pdf Version of this Syllabus Click Here for the Japanese Literature Wiki