ASIA 217
Premodern Japan Fall 2023
Division II
Cross-listed HIST 217
This is not the current course catalog

This course is intended to familiarize students with the premodern history of Japan, roughly defined as before the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the modernizing reforms it unleashed. We will examine the archipelago’s natural environment and the human impact thereon. We will explore the creation of “Japan” as a coherent political and cultural unit, key figures and works of Japanese culture and the shift in cultural production from elite patronage to the market. We will examine the Imperial institution and gendered aspects of Japanese private and public life, tracing the changing role Japanese women played in both spheres. We will also pay close attention to the rise of the samurai, both as warriors and political elites, and Japan’s relationship with foreign lands and peoples. Students will become familiar with several significant shifts in interpretation of key aspects of Japanese history, such as the growing appreciation of the roles of non-elites in history, and the shift away from the “national seclusion” understanding of Japanese foreign relations.