HIST138-East Asian Civilization: Japan

Week IV The Heian Period I (794-1185 CE)

T Sep 20 Fujiwara, the Heian Aristocracy, Buddhism, the Arts; Beasley: pp. 34-60, 69-77

Th Sep 22 Section; read the excerpt from:

Tale of Flowering Fortunes (Eiga monogatari) "...The mists on the peaks were transformed overnight and the skies stretched calm and hazy to the horizon..."

Week V The Heian Period II (794-1185 CE): Shōen and Shoguns

T Sep 27 Estates, Government, Warriors, Retired Emperors; Beasley, pp. 61-69

Film MIZOGUCHI Kenji, Sansho the Bailiff, time and place TBA

Th Sep 29 FILM—MIZOGUCHI Kenji, Sansho the Bailiff

Week VI Kamakura Period I (1185-1333 CE)

T Oct 4 Rise and Fall of the Taira, “Tent Government,”the Mongol Invasion, and Enter the Samurai; Beasley, pp. 78-89

Short Paper Due

Th Oct 6 Section, read Excerpt from Anonymous, Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari), pp. 283-317:

Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari) "[Chapter 9] The Matter of Ikezuki..."

Week VII Kamakura Period II (1185-1333 CE): The End of the Law

T Oct 11 IN-CLASS WRITING EXERCISE

Th Oct 13 Buddhist Sects (Pure Land, Nichiren, Zen) & Kami Worship; Beasley, pp. 98-104

Week VII Muromachi Japan I (1333-1573 CE)

T Oct 18 Kenmu Restoration, Ashikaga Shogunate, Government and Politics; Beasley, pp. 89-97, 104-115

Th Oct 20 Section, read KAMO no Chōmei, An Account of My Hut (Hōjōki), pp. 197-212:

An Account of My Hut (Hōjōki) "The flow of the river is ceaseless and its water is never the same..."

Week VIII Muromachi Japan II (1333-1573 CE)

T Oct 25 Japan in East Asia, Zen and its Patrons; Beasley, pp. 104-115

Th Oct 27 Economic Growth, Warring States; Beasley, pp. 116-122

A. Beginnings and Foundations (earliest times to 794 CE)

C. Unification and Early Modernity (1573 CE to 1868 CE)

Course Mechanics

Home