JPNS U150 Culture in Pre-Modern Japan
Instructor: William J. Farge, S.J.
This course will introduce the history, literature, religion and philosophy that formed Japanese culture from the tenth to the twelfth century. English translations of contemporary texts will be studied from a broad historical perspective in order to give the student a better appreciation of Japanese culture as it has evolved from the pre-modern period to the present.
The purpose of this course will be to give the student an understanding of Japanese aesthetics by applying a Japanese sense of values to the evaluation of cultural trends. The student will also learn to explain Japanese behavior patterns in light of the country’s ancient traditions.
Students will read selections from the following works:
- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
- A tenth-century folk tale in about a beautiful moon princess who comes to earth.
- Tales of Ise
- One hundred and twenty five incidents in the life of a courtly lover in early Japan.
- A Tosa Journal
- A court official, writing in the persona of a women, describes a journey from the provinces back to the capital.
- The Gossamer Journal
- This psychological exposé is one of the major diary classics of the Heian period (794-1185).
- The Tale of Genji
- This is the monumental work of Japanese prose, often called the world’s first novel.
- A Tale of Flowering Fortunes, p. 200-227.
- A tale of the Japanese imperial court during its cultural and political pentacle.
Other works read during the semester:
- Essays in Idleness
- The Narrow Road of the Interior
- As I Crossed A Bridge of Dreams
- The Pillow Book of Sei Shoµnagon