JAPN215: Cool japan today
Course Description: This course examines contemporary media culture and products as a conceptual lens to focus on Japanese pop culture and soft power in the 21st Century. Manga, Anime, Cinema, literature, performance art, music, and fine arts will all be surveyed with an eye to understanding what exactly is cool and different about Japanese creative work and whether these kinds of cultural exports could become the foundation of a new post-industrial Japanese economy. Taught in English.
Course reflective narrative
Within this course, Cool Japan Today, topics ranging in history from the earliest centuries of Japan to modern day were discussed: such as the Jomon and Edo period arts and poetry as well as animation and Japanese food culture.
When discussing the Jomon, Asuka, and Heian periods in pre-modern Japan, a deep look at sculptures and crafts was utilized in the class. For our midterm exam, a good portion of the questions consisted of identifying an image of a certain sculpture or other art form and matching it to the period of time it came from.
Once writing came into play for Japanese people, the class consisted of an analysis of "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu paired with a film depicting the story of Murasaki Shikibu and the development of her tale. In addition to this analysis, we also looked at Japanese terms of aesthetic such as aware, a pleasant, melancholic emotion evoked from reading Japanese writings and observing Japanese art forms.
Buddhism and the spread of religion in Japan in pre-modern times was also a point of discussion, and many stories from authors such as Kamo no Chomei and Ihara Saikaku were analyzed in accordance to class discussions on impermanence and Buddhist ideologies.
After the midterm exam which I scored a 98% on, modern examples of "cool Japan today" were finally discussed. First, animation and anime fandom were observed by watching the film "Howl's Moving Castle" from Studio Ghibli. In relation to Studio Ghibli, we also looked at efforts of Walt Disney and the multiplanar linear image, a way of creating a three-dimensional animation style used in classic animations like "Bambi". From observing fans of animation and the creation of animation, the class next observed ways fans express their appreciation, such as cosplay and consumerism of merchandise. Unique aspects of Japan such as prefectural mascots, the way of the otaku, and Japanese food with Western influence were final points in the class discussion of contemporary aspects of "cool Japan".
The class concluded with live final presentations roughly six minutes each, to which I presented on the island of Okinawa and its food culture, which has been heavily influenced by American military presence. Please look here to see my presentation slides.
We also had a final exam, which is based on the information after the midterm exam, meaning all information was contemporary.
What I took away from this class was mainly an inspiration to delve into more of Japanese art expressions such as ceramics, ukiyoe wood block prints, animation, and fashion, including cosplay. This class consisted mainly of writing assignments and exams which was quite challenging with such dense information, especially in the beginning of the class which was history-based. However, I think I leave this class with a better understanding of summarizing information and presenting research to my peers.
When discussing the Jomon, Asuka, and Heian periods in pre-modern Japan, a deep look at sculptures and crafts was utilized in the class. For our midterm exam, a good portion of the questions consisted of identifying an image of a certain sculpture or other art form and matching it to the period of time it came from.
Once writing came into play for Japanese people, the class consisted of an analysis of "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu paired with a film depicting the story of Murasaki Shikibu and the development of her tale. In addition to this analysis, we also looked at Japanese terms of aesthetic such as aware, a pleasant, melancholic emotion evoked from reading Japanese writings and observing Japanese art forms.
Buddhism and the spread of religion in Japan in pre-modern times was also a point of discussion, and many stories from authors such as Kamo no Chomei and Ihara Saikaku were analyzed in accordance to class discussions on impermanence and Buddhist ideologies.
After the midterm exam which I scored a 98% on, modern examples of "cool Japan today" were finally discussed. First, animation and anime fandom were observed by watching the film "Howl's Moving Castle" from Studio Ghibli. In relation to Studio Ghibli, we also looked at efforts of Walt Disney and the multiplanar linear image, a way of creating a three-dimensional animation style used in classic animations like "Bambi". From observing fans of animation and the creation of animation, the class next observed ways fans express their appreciation, such as cosplay and consumerism of merchandise. Unique aspects of Japan such as prefectural mascots, the way of the otaku, and Japanese food with Western influence were final points in the class discussion of contemporary aspects of "cool Japan".
The class concluded with live final presentations roughly six minutes each, to which I presented on the island of Okinawa and its food culture, which has been heavily influenced by American military presence. Please look here to see my presentation slides.
We also had a final exam, which is based on the information after the midterm exam, meaning all information was contemporary.
What I took away from this class was mainly an inspiration to delve into more of Japanese art expressions such as ceramics, ukiyoe wood block prints, animation, and fashion, including cosplay. This class consisted mainly of writing assignments and exams which was quite challenging with such dense information, especially in the beginning of the class which was history-based. However, I think I leave this class with a better understanding of summarizing information and presenting research to my peers.