Japanese 330 Classical Japanese Literature
Fall 2010
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:20 – 6:50 pmLocation: TBA
Instructor: David Henry
Office: Gruening 606c
Office hours(subject to change): Tuesday 4:00 – 5:00 and Thurs. 4:00 – 5:00 or by appt.
Contact: or 474-5463
Course Description
A survey of the major works and genres of Japanese prose and poetry from the 8th to 18th centuries including Heian tales (monogatari), medieval folk tales and military chronicles, and the playful literature of the Edo period. Major emphases include the Tale of Genji , the Tale of the Heike and mastering the conventions that continue to be both adapted and subverted in modern Japanese literature.
Course Goals
We will explore major works and trends of Japanese literature from its beginnings in the 8th century until the 18th century. This will include a broad range of genres from across a millennium of literary history from the first poetry anthology and tales (monogatari), to medieval folk tales and military chronicles, through to the playful, mass produced literature of the Edo period. Specific works studied will include the Tale of Genji, Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa), the Tale of the Heike, and poetry collections including the Manyoshu, Kokinshu, and Shinkokinshu. Students will explore representative works of the classical canon that continues to be the source of patterns that are both adapted and subverted in modern Japanese literature. Moving from the courtly world of the Heian period (8th-12th century), to the warrior ethos and minimalist Buddhist aesthetic of the medieval period (12th-16th century), to the vibrant urban commoner culture of the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), students will explore a variety of constantly changing cultural representations in order to reflect both on the roots of modern Japanese literature and on our own contemporary cultural positions.
Course is taught in English.
Learning Outcomes
*Students will gain an understanding of the forms (prose, poetry, essay, theatrical, etc.) of classical Japanese literature and the conventions governing them
*Students will gain a knowledge of canonical works of classical Japanese literature, be able to connect them to their historical contexts, and explain their significance in the development of Japanese literature.
*Students will sharpen their ability to apply critical arguments, both orally and in writing. Specifically they will be able to develop a thesis with regards to a specific work and support that thesis both through textual references and with regard to critical scholarship in the field.
Required Readings (with abbreviations used in the syllabus)
G&H Helen McCullough, Genji & Heike (Stanford, 1994)
SN Ivan Morris, As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams (Sarashina nikki) (Penguin Classics, 1989)
TJL Haruo Shirane, Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600
(Columbia, 2008)
CP Coursepack with additional readings, available on ERES. Please see:
The password to enter the site is : ______
For blackboard postings, login, go to JPN 330, and then choose Discussion Board. Blackboard URL:
additional abbreviations for materials used in the coursepack include:
TJP readings drawn from Steven Carter, Traditional Japanese Poetry
TLR readings drawn from Donald Keene’s Chushingura: Treasury of the Loyal Retainers
EMJL readings drawn from Haruo Shirane’s Early Modern Japanese Literature.
GRADING
Participation 25% (includes occasional homework sheets)
Quizzes10% (5 quizzes at 2% each)
Final Examination15%
In Class Presentation10%
Writing:
Blackboard posts10%
One 5 page paper10%
Final paper20% (5% draft, annotated biblio; 5% draft submission;
10% rewritten/final submission)
UAF has returned to +/- grading. Grading is as follows:
A+ 100 – 97 B + 89 – 87C + 79 – 77D + 69 – 67F 59 and below
A 96 – 93B 86 – 83C 76 – 73 D 66 – 63
A - 92 – 90B - 82 – 80C - 72 – 70D - 62 – 60
As a rule, no make-ups will be given for participation, etc unless prior arrangements are made or there is a signed doctor note.
COURSE POLICIES
Appropriate class behavior. You are welcome to bring a drink to class, as long as you clean up after yourself. Side conversations are not acceptable. I expect you to be courteous to classmates and professor at all times. Cell phones should be turned off, and I reserve the right to answer any phone that rings in class. If mine rings, you have the right to ridicule me.
Students with disabilities. UAF makes appropriate accommodations for individuals with disabilities who have been documented by the Office of Disability Services (203 Whitaker Building, 474-7043). Students with learning or other disabilities who may need classroom accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to obtain the appropriate documentation if they do not have it. Please meet with me during office hours so that I can collaborate with the Office of Disability Services to provide the appropriate accommodations and supports to assist you in meeting the goals of the course.
Student support services. UAF is committed to equal opportunity for all students. Students who are the first in their families to attempt a four-year college degree, or students whose incomes are low, have opportunities for tutorial and other forms of support from the office of Student Support Services.Please make an appointment with Student Support Services at 474-2644.
Student code of conduct. As a UAF student, you are subject to UAF's Honor Code:
"Students will not collaborate on any quizzes, in-class exams, or take-home exams that will contribute to their grade in a course, unless permission is granted by the instructor of the course. Only those materials permitted by the instructor may be used to assist in quizzes and examinations.
Violations of the Honor Code will result in a failing grade for the assignment and, ordinarily, for the course in which the violation occurred. Moreover, violation of the Honor Code may result in suspension or expulsion."
Tentative course schedule
Week 1: Poetic Beginnings
Monday 1/26Course introduction, review syllabus, and Sources of Classical
Japanese Literature
Readings: No readings
Wednesday1/28Early Poetry Collections: The Manyoshu (c. 759 AD) and the
Kokinshu (c. 905 AD)
Readings: TJL “The Manyoshu” (pp. 60-109); “The Kokinshu”
(pp. 146-167)
Note: Friday January 30 is the deadline for 100% refund for dropped classes
Week 2: The Tale of Genji 1
Monday 2/2The Tale of Genji and Heian (8-12 century) Japan
Readings: CP “Cultural Background” (pp. 1-21, Richard Bowring Murasaki
Shikibu: The Tale of Genji)
G&H “Kiritsubo” (pp. 25-40)
Wednesday 2/4Heian aesthetics and narrative conventions
Readings: G&H “The Broom Tree”; “Yugao” (pp. 41-83)
Note: Friday February 6 is the deadline for 100% refund for dropped classes
Week 3: The Tale of Genji 2
Monday 2/9Poetry and Love in the Genji
Readings: G&H “Young Murasaki”; “A Celebration Amid Autumn
Leaves” (pp. 84-130)
Quiz:Genji quiz
Wednesday 2/11Poetry Analysis small group editing session
Readings: No new readings
Handout: “Functions of Poetry in The Tale of Genji”
Week 4: Women’s Diaries (joryu nikki)
Monday 2/16Sarashina nikki (c. 10th century, “As I Crossed a Bridge of
Dreams”)
Readings: SN introduction to Sarashina nikki (pp. 11-38);
Sarashina nikki (p. 41-58; ch. 1-3)
Wednesday 2/18 Sarashina nikki
Readings: SN Sarashina nikki (p. 58-87, ch. 4-16)
Week 5: Medieval Warrior Tales
Monday 2/23The Tale of Heike 1: Images of Samurai then and now
Readings: G&H Heike chapters 1-3 (pp. 265-299)
Due:Five page paper (analysis of classical Japanese poetry)
Wednesday 2/25 The Tale of Heike 2
Readings: G&H Heike chapters 4-6 (pp. 300-344)
Quiz: Quiz over Sarashina nikki and Tale of Heike
Week 6: Medieval Poetry and Poetry Criticism
Monday 3/2
Reading:TJL Shinkokinshu (pp. 607-622; “New Collection of Ancient and
Modern Poetry”
Wednesday 3/4In class workshop: small group editing of five page papers
Readings: No new readings (but bring 4 extra copies of your own paper)
Week 7
Monday 3/9SPRING BREAK
Wednesday3/11SPRING BREAK
Week 8: Buddhist literature
Monday 3/16Buddhist literature and criticism
Readings: TJL various stories and essays (pp. 639-669)
Wednesday 3/18Recluse literature
Readings: TJL Hojoki and other stories (pp. 623-636, “An Account of a Ten-
Foot-Square Hut)
Week 9: Buddhist literature
Monday3/23Recluse literature 2
Readings: TJL Tsurezuregusa (pp. 820-843, “Essays in Idleness”)
Due:Annotated Bibliography (submit electronically by 5pm)
Quiz: Quiz over Buddhist Literature
Wednesday 3/25In class workshop: reports on annotated bibliographies
Readings: None (but bring 4 extra copies of your annotated bibliography)
Week 10: Secular Tales
Monday 3/30Defining characteristics of medieval Japanese oral literature
Readings: TJL Konjaku monogatari (pp. 529-558; “Tales of Times Now and
Past”)
Wednesday4/1Anecdotal Literature: Setsuwa (tales)
Readings:TJL Uji shui (pp. 670-685; “Collection of Tales from Uji”)
Week 11: No Theater
Monday 4/6Buddhist-inspired theater
Readings: TJL various No plays (pp. 917-967)
Wednesday 4/8Zeami and medieval aesthetics
Readings: TJL various No plays (pp. 968-1038)
Quiz: Quiz over secular tales and medieval theater
Week 12: Samurai Ideal and Reality
Monday4/13Legend of the 47 Samurai
Reading: CP Chushingura Acts 1-5 (Legend of the 47 Samurai, pp. 29-86
from TLR)
Wednesday 4/15Legend of the 47 Samurai 2
Reading: CP Chushingura Acts 6-11 (Legend of the 47 Samurai, pp. 87-180)
Week 13: Samurai Ideal & Reality 2
Monday4/20Way of the Samurai
Readings: CP Hagakure (pp. 287-303, from Sato Hiroaki Legends of the Samurai)
Wednesday 4/22Samurai in Film
Viewing: Twilight Samurai (2002, Tasogare Seibei, director Yamada Yoji)
Due: Draft of Research Paper
Quiz: Quiz over image and reality of the samurai
Week 14: Edo period (1600-1868) literature
Monday 4/27In class workshop: small group editing sessions of Research Paper
Readings: No readings (but bring 4 extra copies of your Research Paper)
Wednesday 4/29Poets and paupers in the city: Matsuo Basho and Ihara Saikaku
Readings:CP various stories and poetry (pp. 345-358 from TJP and pp. 42-82
from EMJL)
Week 15
Monday5/4Review for Final Exam
Handout: Review sheet
Due: Research Paper due
Final Exam: Wednesday , MAY 6 at 5:45-7:45
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