JAPAN 7A - Introduction to Pre-Modern Japanese Literature and Culture

Institution:

University of California-Berkeley

Subject:

Japanese

Description:

This course provides an overview of Japanese literature and cultural history, from the seventh to the 18th century. 7A will begin with Japan's early myth-history, Kojiki, and its first extant poetry anthology, Man'yoshu, which show the first stages of transition from a preliterate, communal society to a highly developed courtly culture. Readings from noblewomen's diaries, poetry anthologies, and a selection of chapters from the classical Japanese literary masterpiece The Tale of Genji, offer a window into that courtly culture as its height of refinement. We will examine the intermingling traces of oral culture and high literary art in popular tales from the Kamakura period and explore the early representations of samurai heroism in military chronicles and medieval noh drama. After considering the development of linked verse in late medieval times, we will read several types of vernacular literature that emerged in the urban culture of the early modern Edo period, including the poetic diaries of the haiku poet Basho. This course does not assume or require any previous exposure to or course work in Japanese literature, history, or language.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.berkeley.edu

Phone Number:

(510) 642-6000

Regional Accreditation:

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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