Japanese Literature, Modern and Contemporary

Andrew Murakami-Smith (Graduate School of Language and Culture)

Summary
   This course is a survey of Japanese fiction since 1868. To gain an understanding of the historical context, we will first read several works of classical Japanese literature from the pre-modern period (before 1868). Students will then read a diverse selection of short fiction from the modern and contemporary period.
  In addition to reading the assigned stories, students will be expected to try to answer some discussion questions about each story, and to be prepared to discuss the stories in class. Beginning in the middle part of the semester, students will make presentations analyzing the stories, providing their own answers to the discussion questions, and stimulating class discussion.
  A paper, which may be based on the presentation, will be due two weeks after your presentation. Guidance on writing academic papers in English will be provided.

Field Trip
   A field trip to attend Bunraku, the traditional puppet theater with origins in Osaka, is planned.

Textbook
   Theodore W. Goossen, ed., Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Oxford UP)

Other Materials
   Copies of stories not included in the textbook (those marked with an asterisk (*) in the Course Schedule below) will be provided to students in class.

Evaluation
   Your grade in this class will be based on the following.
   Attendance, preparation, and participation:1/3
   Presentation:1/3
   Final Paper:1/3

Course Schedule
   1.Introduction
   Brief explanation of Japanese history, language and literature before 1868.

   2.The Classical Tradition
   Excerpt from Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book (996)*
   Excerpt from Tales of the Heike (1371)*
   Excerpt from Jippensha Ikku, Travels on the Eastern Seaboard (1802-22)*
  
   3.Classical Echoes
   Higuchi Ichiyo, "Fall Wardrobe" (1896)* and "Separate Ways" (1896)
   Kunikida Doppo, "The Bonfire" (1896)
  
   4.Tales and Legends in Modern Garb
   Izumi Kyoka, "The Holy Man of Mt. Koya" (1900)*
   Akutagawa Ryunosuke, "In a Grove" (1921)
  
   5.Nagai Kafu
   "The Peony Garden" (1909)
   "A Strange Tale from East of the River" (1937)*
  
   6.Shiga Naoya
   "At Kinosaki" (1917)*
   "Night Fires" (1920)
  
   7.The "New Sensationalists"
   Kawabata Yasunari, "The Izu Dancer" (1925)
   Yokomitsu Riichi, "Spring Riding in a Carriage" (1926)
  
   8.Pre-war Women Writers
   Hayashi Fumiko, "The Accordion and the Fish Town" (1931)
   Okamoto Kanoko, "Portrait of an Old Geisha" (1938)
  
   9.The "Decadents"
   Dazai Osamu, "Merry Christmas" (1946)
   Sakaguchi Ango, "In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom" (1947)
  
   10.Canonical Writers
   Mishima Yukio, "Onnagata" (1957)
   Abe Kobo, "The Bet" (1960)
  
   11.Canonical Writers
   Oe Kenzaburo, "Prize Stock" (1958) and "Japan, the Ambiguous, and Myself" (Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, 1994)*
   Kawabata Yasunari, "Japan, the Beautiful, and Myself" (Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, 1968)*
  
   12.The Kumano Region
   Inoue Yasushi, "Passage to Fudaraku" (1961)
   Nakagami Kenji, "The Immortal" (1984)*
  
   13.Post-war Women Writers
   Enchi Fumiko, "The Flower-Eating Crone" (1974)
   Tsushima Yuko, "A Very Strange, Enchanted Boy" (1985)
  
   14.Enter the "Entertainers"
   Shimada Masahiko, "Desert Dolphin" (1992)
   Yoshimoto Banana, "Dreaming of Kimchee" (1992)
  
   15.Manga as Literature
   Takano Fumiko, "Beautiful Town" (1987)*
   Matsumoto Taiyo, "The End of a Day in Which Nothing Began" (1994-95)*