JAPANESE LITERATURE, MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY

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

Objective
   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 be prepared to discuss the stories in class. Beginning in the middle part of the semester, students will make presentations analyzing the stories 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)
   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)*