08s-08
CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE LITERATURE (POST-WAR)

Andrew MURAKAMI-SMITH (Graduate School of Language and Culture)

Objective
  In this course, students will read a variety of Japanese short fiction from the period of 1945 to the present and gain a deeper understanding of these literary works in the context of post-war Japanese history and society. We will read a wide selection of post-war authors, including the following.
  - Writers like Oda Sakunosuke, Hayashi Fumiko, and Dazai Osamu, who rose out of the “scorched earth” of the bombed cities of Japan to create a new literature.
  - Writers canonized and well-translated in the West, like Kawabata, Mishima, Abe and Oe, and more recently, Murakami Haruki and Yoshimoto Banana.
  - Women writers, both from the 60s, 70s and 80s, like Oba Minako and Tsushima Yuko, and more recent writers like Uchida Shungiku and Takagi Nobuko.
  - Writers of Manga considered as literary works which are popular, original, and influential in the cultural life of Japan today, like Matsumoto Taiyo and Aoki Yuji.
  - Native Osaka writers like Oda Sakunosuke, Shono Junzo, Kono Taeko, and Tomioka Taeko.
  Beginning in the middle part of the semester, students will make group presentations on the works and authors read, also referring to relevant literary criticism. Group presentations should stimulate discussions in class. A final paper, the contents of which may be based on your group presentation, will be due at the end of the semester.

Textbook
  No textbook will be assigned. Students may purchase a packet of materials from the teacher, or may borrow the materials so they can make their own copies.

Evaluation
  Evaluation will be based on attendance (20%), preparation for and participation in class (20%), the group presentation (30%), and the final paper (30%).

Course Schedule
Week 1: Explanation of course. Overview of historical background of pre-war and
the Pacific War (WW II).
Week 2: Literature of “Scorched Earth” and Black Market: Oda Sakunosuke,
“The State of the Times” (1946), and Hayashi Fumiko, “The Old Part of Town” (1949).
Week 3: The “Decadents”: Dazai Osamu, “Merry Christmas” (1946) and “The Courtesy Call” (1946).
Week 4: The “Third Wave”: Kojima Nobuo, “The American School” (1954), and Shono Junzo,
“Still Life” (1960).
Week 5: Canonical Writers: Kawabata Yasunari, “The Moon on the Water” (1953) and
“One Arm” (1963).
Week 6: Canonical Writers: Mishima Yukio, “Fireworks” (1953) and “Onnagata” (1957).
Week 7: Canonical Writers: Abe Kobo, “The Bet” (1960) and “Friends” (1967).
Week 8: Canonical Writers: Oe Kenzaburo, “Prize Stock” (1957) and “The Clever Rain Tree” (1980). *Group Presentation: “Canonical in the West”
Week 9: Women Writers: Kono Taeko, “Bone Meat” (1967), and Tomioka Taeko:
“Facing the Hills They Stand” (1971).
*Group Presentation: “Osaka Writers”
Week 10:Women Writers: Oba Minako, The Smile of a Mountain Witch” (1976), and
Tsushima Yuko, “The Silent Traders” (1982).
*Group Presentation: “Women Writers”
Week 11:The Kumano Region: Inoue Yasushi, “Passage to Fudaraku” (1961) and
Nakagami Kenji, “The Cape” (1975)
*Group Presentation: “Nakagami Kenji”
Week 12:The Entertainers: Murakami Haruki, “TV People” (1989) and “The Elephant Vanishes” (1987). *Group Presentation: “Murakami Haruki”
Week 13:The Entertainers: Yoshimoto Banana, “Newlywed” (1992) and “Dreaming of Kimchee” (1992). *Group Presentation: “Yoshimoto Banana”
Week 14:Women Writers: Takagi Nobuko, “The Shadow of the Orchid” (1998), Uchida Shungiku,
“My Son’s Lips” (2000), and Shimamura Yoko, “Winter, 1946: A Certain Tempura Shop,
Oda Sakunosuke” (excerpt from Confessions of Lust, 2001). *Group Presentation: “Entertainers?”
Week 15:Manga: Takano Fumiko, “Beautiful Town” (1987), Matsumoto Taiyo,
“The End of a Day in Which Nothing Began” (1994-95), Aoki Yuji,
“Yodogawa Embankment” (1996), and Koda Mamora, “A Can of Coffee” (2003).
*Group Presentation: “Manga as Literature”
**Final paper due.