MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE (PRE-WAR)

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

Objective
  In this course, students will read a variety of Japanese short fiction and gain a deeper understanding of these literary works in their historical context. To appreciate the historical background of modern Japanese literature and society, we will first go back to the pre-modern period and read several works from the canon of classical Japanese literature. We will then proceed to the modern era and read a wide selection of pre-war authors (1868-1945), including the following.
   -Higuchi Ichiyo (whose face is on the \5,000 bill), who continued to be influenced by the classical tradition, and Izumi Kyoka and Akutagawa Ryunosuke, who turned old legends and tales into modern fiction.
   - Meiji experimenters like Kunikida Doppo, who forged a new literary style, and later modernist stylists like Yokomitsu Riichi and the early Kawabata Yasunari.
   - Canonical writers like Shiga Naoya and Tanizaki Junichiro.
   - Native Osaka writers like Kamitsukasa Shoken, Kajii Motojiro, Takeda Rintaro, and Oda Sakunosuke.
   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 (which may be based on your group presentation) will be due at the end of the semester.

Field Trip
  A field trip to attend a performance of Bunraku, or traditional puppet theater, is planned for November. (Details will be announced later.) The first of the group presentations will be an explanation of the puppet theater and the performance by some of the students who attend the field trip.

Textbooks
  Theodore W. Goossen, ed., Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Oxford Univ. Press)
Most of the stories we will read are in this anthology. Copies of other stories to be read (marked with an asterisk (*) in the schedule below) will be provided to students. (The same textbook will also be used in the Spring semester in �gContemporary Japanese Literature (Post-War).�h)

Evluation
   Evaluation will be based on attendance (20%)
   Preparation for and participation in class (20%)
   The group presentation (30%)
   The final paper (30%)

Course Schedule
   1: Explanation of course. Overview of Japanese history, language and literature before 1868.
   2: The Classical Tradition: Excerpts from Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book* (996), TheTale of the Heike* (1371), and Ihara Saikaku, Five Women Who Loved Love* (1686).
   3: The Classical Tradition: A play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon* (to be announced) and excerpts from Jippensha Ikku, Travels on the Eastern Seaboard* (1802-22) and Tamenaga Shunsui, Spring-color Plum Calendar* (1832).
   4: Classical Echoes: Higuchi Ichiyo, �gFall Wardrobe�h* (1896) and �gSeparate Ways�h (1896).
   5: Finding a New Literary Voice: Kunikida Doppo, �gThe Bonfire�h (1896) and �gOld Gen�h* (1897).
   6: Meiji Nostalgia: Nagai Kafu, �gThe Peony Garden�h (1909) and �gA Strange Tale from East of the River�h* (1937).
   7: Izumi Kyoka, �gThe Holy Man of Mt. Koya�h* (1900) and �gA Quiet Obsession�h* (1924).
   8: The �gI-Novel�h: Shiga Naoya, �gNight Fires�h (1920) and Kajii Motojiro, �gLemon�h (1924).
   9: Modernists: Akutagawa Ryunosuke, �gIn a Grove�h (1922), and Yokomitsu Riichi, �gSpring Riding in a Carriage�h (1926) and �gMachine�h* (1930).
   10: Modernists: Yasunari Kawabata, �gThe Izu Dancer�h (1925) and �gKid Ume, the Silver Cat�h* (excerpt from The Crimson Gang of Asakusa, 1930).
   11: Proletarians: Kobayashi Takiji, �gThe Cannery Boat�h* (1929) and Takeda Rintaro, �gKamagasaki�h* (1933).
   12: Women Writers: Hayashi Fumiko, �gThe Accordion and the Fish Town�h (1931) and Okamoto Kanoko, �gPortrait of an Old Geisha�h (1938).
   13: Tanizaki Junichiro, �gAguri�h (1922) and �gA Portrait of Shunkin�h* (1933).
   14: Osaka Nostalgia: Kamitsukasa Shoken, �gThe Skin of the Pike Conger Eel�h* (1914) and Oda Sakunosuke, �gHurray for Marriage, or Sweet Beans for Two�h* (1940).
   15: Vanishing Worlds: Excerpt from Tanizaki Junichiro, The Makioka Sisters* (1948) and Oda Sakunosuke, �gCity of Trees�h* (1944).