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J7A, Fall 2012 Course Home Page–Outline
*Meets Tues & Thurs 11-12:30PM
IMPORTANT DATES (all deadlines HERE, when available)
- Aug 23 (Thurs) — First class
- Nov 29 (Thurs) — Last Class
- Sep 20 (Thurs) — Midterm 01
- Oct 23 (Tues) — Midterm 02
- Nov 13 (Tues) — Midterm 03
- Nov 22 (Thurs) — No class
- Dec 12, 8-11AM — Final Exam Period (location typed into below schedule, when known)
- *For essay or project deadlines, see sidebar link "Essay Process" or click here
Course Outline / Schedule
Orientation
◊ Orientation
Sessions loosely built around the concept of uchi-soto (inner-outer)
Although this might change as I develope the lectures, this series as now planned begins with some basic Shinto principles, then focuses on one of those—purity/impurity and how this can be related to a conceptual duo advanced by the Japanese psychaitrist Takeo Doi called uchi-soto. In Uchi-soto I we consider Shinto, its devotion to purity, and how this suggests an "inner" (uchi) and "outer" (soto) region. In Uchi-soto II we look at another concept important to Shinto—musubi (connectedness). When this is considered together with the notion of purity, we are lead into considering "groupness" in Japanese culture. From the perspective of "uchi-soto" this means the conformism within the group, what it means to have the status of being expelled from a group, and rivalry between groups (regionalism). In Uchi-soto III we consider Takeo Doi's more advanced formulation of uchi-soto as omote-ura (the "face" "surface" and the "back" "within").
Session 02: Uchi-soto I (purity)
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Some Shintō (神道) basics
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Introduction of uchi-soto (内外, inner-outer) with emphasis on defining inner spaces and the purification of those spacesReadings selected from: Norito (8th c. / Heian One for earliest written record but older than that, ritual prayers), ❖ Kojiki (8th c. / Nara legend & history)
Session 03: Uchi-soto II (connectedness)
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Uchi-soto (内外) as a way to explore Heian period texts (and texts written in that style) in terms of gaining entrance to groups and being ejected from groups.
Readings selected from: Izumi Shikibu Diary (11th c. / Heian Two memoir), Murasaki Shikibu Diary (11th c. / Heian Two memoir), Confessions of Lady Nijo (14th c. / Kamakura memoir) ❖ Pillow Book (10th c. / Heian Two memoir)
Session 04: Uchi-soto III (public-private, omote-ura)
❖ Script: Woman's hand (onnade)—Heian period literature considered in terms of script (sinified Chinese vs. onnade), gendered perspective, etc.
❖ Conceptual freamworks: private-public
◊ Conceptual frameworks: form-content (言葉・心, kotoba-kokoro)
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Adding sophistication to the uchi-soto (内外) framework by introducing omote-ura (表裏, surface-front / anterior)Readings selected from: Nihon Ryōiki (9th c. / Heian One legends), Chiteiki (10th c. / Heian Two journal), Tosa Journal (10th c. / Heian Two jounral), Gossamer Journal (10th c. / Heian Two memoir), ❖ Pillow Book (10th c. / Heian Two memoir)
Lyricism
This is a general working definition of how I use the term "lyricism" in this class. It is loosely associated with the term as it is used in literary criticsm of Western texts, but is not exactly the same. The key point is the tendency towards subjective positions and expressions of subtle, nuanced emotions that display one's education and aesthetic sophistication: "By lyricism, for this class, I mean a tendency in poetry and, as an outgrowth of that, in prose passages, to take a subjective perspective by expressing the poet or character's emotional response to a situation or scene. However, that response itself is subject to collective ("banquet") values and, very often, the expression of that response is seen as an opportunity to display one's education in terms of emotional intelligence as defined by that time/era." In this looser sense, lyricism can be seen as defining in many aspects of premodern literature.
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Lyricism—the appearance of lyrical poetry in the 7th-8th c.
❖ Text: Man'yōshū (8th c. / Nara poem anthology)
❖ Genre: tanka/waka (poem form)
❖ Genre: chōka (poem form)
◊ People: Man'yōshū period poet Nukata (6th-7th c. / Asuka poet)
❖ People: Man'yōshū period poet—Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (7th c. / Asuka poet)
◊ Script: Manyogana
❖ Aesthetic terms: masurao, makoto
◊ Additional aesthetic term: taketakashiReadings selected from: ❖ Man'yōshū (8th c. / Nara poem anthology)
❖ Lyrical expression in premodern poems that has nature as an important component
❖ Texts: Kokinshū (10th c. / Heian Two poem anthology)
❖ Aesthetic term (poetic technique): kakekotoba (pivot words)
◊ Texts: Shin-Kokinshū (13th c. / Kamakura poem anthology) *The Shin-Kokinshū is introduced in full later
◊ People: Saigyō (12th c. / Kamakura Buddhist priest & poet)
❖ People: Fujiwara Teika (12th-13th c. / Kamakura poet & critic)
Readings selected from: ❖ Kokinshū (10th c. / Heian Two poem anthology), ❖ Shin-Kokinshū (13th c. Kamakura poem anthology)
Humor & delight
I have this session for several reasons: One is as a counter-balance to a class structure that leans towards more somber topics to insure there is not a misunderstanding that premodern literature is broadly humorless. It is not. Another reason is to highlight poem and prose movements that are intended to delight in some way. Also, although this is not deeply explored, to contemplate what a culture views as humorous is an interesting way of thinking about the values of that culture.
❖ Cultural salons & daughters of provincial governors
❖ Genre: zuihitsu (brush-follows-thoughts)
❖ Genre: nikki (journal, memoir)
❖ Texts: Sei Shōnagon's Pillow Book (10th c. / Heian Two memoir)
❖ Aesthetic term: okashi
◊ Genre: Short fiction—otogi zōshi (Muromachi period short fiction)
◊ People: Ihara Saikaku (17th c. / Edo short fiction writer) *Ihara Saikaku is introduced in full later
◊ I screen an example of how the multiple choice questions will be projected for the midtermReadings selected from: ❖ Pillow Book (10th c. / Heian Two memoir), otogizōshi (Muromachi short story), ❖ Life of an Amorous Woman (17th c. / Edo fiction)
Miyabi (courtly beauty)
This is so widespread and obvious a tendency in premodern texts that it almost can be skipped as an explicit topic and let its powerful presence speak for itself. However, I want to make the point of how extensive, how central and how constraining a "rule of miyabi" can be. More importantly, an appreciation of the core components of this aesthetic are needed for a correct understanding of yūgen and sabi, which we take up towards the end of the term.
Session 08: Miyabi (courtly beauty)
❖ Aesthetic term: miyabi
❖ Conceptual frameworks: courtly romance (irogonomi)
◊ Test review
Midterm
◊ The full session is devoted to the exam.
Sessions built around mujōkan (ephemerality) and mono no aware (that which deeply moves one) / narratives of loss
This segment of the course looks closely at The Tale of Genji and The Tale of Heike, primarily through the lens of "mujōkan". Mono no aware, in my opinion, except in its very early articulations, presupposed the Buddhist teaching of mujōkan. It is in part for this reason that they are paired but primarily it is because understanding these two concepts goes a long way towards achieving powerful readings of both Genji and Heike, two of the best of Japan's premodern texts. This course segment is also the heaviest reading segment of the class. While it is obvious that the element of time is important in the idea of mujōkan (since transience presupposed time) it isn't particularly this logic which gives mujōkan and aware their evocative power; it is, rather, the thoughtful, sensitive contemplation of events with a broad understanding of time included in that contemplation. The relationship of xxx and mono no aware as I present them is ambiguous. For the purposes of this class, I don't see a need to resolve that. The "shape" or "essence" of mujōkan and mono no aware, comparatively speaking, in Genji and Heike is, again, neither clearly the same nor clearly different. However, asking the question, "How is mujōkan or mono no aware the same or different in Genji and Heike?" is, in my opinion, a good way to explore these texts, avoiding the tendency to embrace them as vastly different because they are of the same substance more than one would expect, even with their important differences. I pair Genji and Heike in this class neither to establish contrasts or to show some sort of progression of literary history but rather to create a forum for exploring aspects of mujōkan and mono no aware, and, through that, perhaps getting a deeper and more personally valuable reading of these two remarkable works. These texts are several hundreds of years apart in terms of their composition and so come to shape in very different environments and times so this segment of the course also takes us out of the Heian period into a different political terrain. They also fall on opposite sides of the Buddhist reforms, which I suggest are one of the major dividing and defining events when the topic is premodern Japanese culture and cultural expressions.
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Some brief comments on love and Confucianism, love and Buddhism
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Koi (恋, "longing")—as connectedness
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Mujōkan and mujōkan in a romantic context—Episode 24 of The Tales of Ise, the five books of love in the KokinshūReadings selected from: ❖ Kokinshū (10th c. / Heian Two poem anthology), ❖ Tales of Ise (10th c.? / Heian Two prose+poem tales), Gossamer Journal (10th c. / Heian Two memoir)
Session 11: Mujōkan / mono no aware II: Tale of Genji I
❖ Genre: monogatari (narrative fiction)
❖ Texts: Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (11th c. / Heian Two fiction)—Chapters 1, 2, 4Readings selected from: ❖ Tale of Genji (11th c. / Heian Two fiction)
Session 12: Mujōkan / mono no aware III: Tale of Genji II
❖ Texts: Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (11th c. / Heian Two fiction)—Chapters 5, 7, and 9
Readings selected from: ❖ Tale of Genji (11th c. / Heian Two fiction)
Session 13: Mujōkan / mono no aware IV: Tale of Genji III
❖ Texts: Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (11th c. / Heian Two fiction)—Chapters 12, 13, 35, 40
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Mono no awareReadings selected from: ❖ Tale of Genji (11th c. / Heian Two fiction)
◊ Introduction of essay or project
❖ Transition from the Heian period to the Kamakura period
❖ Conceptual frameworks: Buddhist reforms of the mid-13th century
❖ Genre:gunki monogatari (military tales)
❖ Texts: The Tale of Heike (14th c. / Muromachi historical fiction)—General introduction, Opening Paragraph, Individuals (Kiyomori, Hotoke, Ario, Shunkan)
Reading selected from: ❖ Tale of Heike (14th c. / Muromachi historical fiction)
Session 15: Mujōkan / mono no aware VI: Tale of Heike II
❖ Performing The Tale of Heike
◊ "Spectacular" helmuts (変り兜, kawari kabuto) of the 17th and 18th centuries
◊ Swordsmanship (modern national kendō championship)
◊ Sword-makingReading selected from: ❖ Tale of Heike (14th c. / Muromachi historical fiction)
Session 16: Mujōkan / mono no aware VII: Tale of Heike III
❖ I will write this page later but the reading assignment is Chpt 9 to end, in McCullough's abridged edition
Reading selected from: ❖ Tale of Heike (14th c. / Muromachi historical fiction)
Lectures related to yūgen (depth and mystery)
The key concept of this group of lectures is yūgen. Ushin and yōen and Shin-Kokinshū are brought up as a group because ushin and yōen are good start points for getting a full understanding of yūgen and because the Shin-Kokinshū is a good context to think about ushin and yōen and, given its excellence, deserving of a second visit by us.
Yūgen, therefore, is better understood with ushin and yōen kept in mind. However, in addition, it is just as important to remember the courtly, opulent character of miyabi and include it as part of the mix. And, finally, like the wabi-sabi value that is the topic of the next set of lectures, yūgen most definitely is refined to its highest expression through not just Nō theater as its manifestation but Buddhism as its conceptual lifeblood. Therefore, mujō must also be kept in mind though yūgen and the theater of Nō is less about impermanence as it is about the awesome or transcendent or evocative, and mysterious, nature of Buddhism—usually presented in counterpoint to human psychological agony, insanity or various forms of suffering that comes from ignorance of Buddhist truth or desire. Thus, in short, I treat yūgen as a drawing (brilliantly) on many concepts we have covered: miyabi, ushin, yōen, mujōkan, Buddhist principles of suffering arising from ignorance (desire). I posit it, together with wabi-sabi, as the most refined and nuanced of the aesthetic principles of premodern Japan, although this leaves out many others worth noting.
Nō drama cannot be fully appreciated without a solid understanding of yūgen, and vice versa.
While this lecture set includes both the Shin-Kokinshū and Nō drama they are not close to each other on the timeline. Please note that. Indeed, the Shin-kokinshū is pre-Buddhist reformulation while Nō drama is developed when Buddhist ideas are having their most powerful influence on the arts.
Session 17: Shin-Kokinshū, including a discussion of ushin and yōen
❖ Texts: Shin-Kokinshū (13th c. / Kamakura poem anthology)
◊ Aesthetic term (poetic technique): honkadori (本歌取り, "borrowing from a former poem")
◊ Aesthetic term: ushin (有心)
❖ Aesthetic term: yōen (妖艶)Readings selected from: ❖ Shin-Kokinshū (13th c. Kamakura poem anthology)
Midterm
◊ The full session is devoted to the exam.
Lectures related to yūgen (depth and mystery) continued
Session 19: Northern Hills culture, Nō drama I
❖ Northern Hills culture, late 14th c. thru first half of 15th c. (Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Golden Pavilion)
❖ Genre: Nō drama—Introductory comments, Atsumori (the warrior from Heike), Aoi no Ue (Genji's wife Aoi, although this is about Rokujō's state of mind)Readings: ❖ Atsumori (15th c. / Muromachi Nō play), Aoi no Ue (15th c. / Muromachi Nō play)
Session 20: Yūgen, Nō drama II
❖ Nō drama: Masks
❖ Nō drama: Two plays about the great female lover Komachi—Adachigahara, Sotoba Komachi
❖ Aesthetic term: yūgenReadings: Adachigahara (15th c. / Muromachi Nō play), Sotoba Komachi (15th c. / Muromachi Nō play)
Wabi-sabi and karumi (lightness)
Session 21: Eastern Hills culture, Sen Rikyū's "wabi-cha" (wabi-style tea ceremony)
❖ Eastern Hills culture, late 15th c. (Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Silver Pavilion)
❖ Events related to the advent of the tea ceremony as we know it today (linked-verse master Shinkei's "chill" and Sesshu's sumi-e)
❖ People: Sen Rikyū (16th c. / Momoyama tea master and founder of the modern Japanese tea ceremony)
❖ Aesthetic terms: sabi & wabiSession 22: Sabi / mono no aware: Matsuo Bashō's Narrow Road to the Interior
❖ Aesthetic term: sabi revisited
❖ Texts: Matsuo Bashō's Narrow Road of the Interior (1694, Oku no hosomichi 奥の細道)Readings: ❖ Narrow Road of the Interior (17th c. / Edo haiku journal)
Session 23: Haiku, karumi in Bashō's later haiku as perhaps an extension of sabi
❖ Genre: haiku (poem form)
❖ People: Matsuo Bashō (17th c. / Edo poet)
◊ Aesthetic term: karumi (evident in some of Bashō's later haiku)Readings: haiku of Bashō, Buson and Issa (Haiku Reader)
Midterm
◊ The full session is devoted to the exam.
Explorations of honor & shame
❖ Genroku period (late 17th c. – early 18th c.) including "Ukiyo" (the floating world, 浮世) and Yoshiwara (a district in Tokyo, 吉原) as common setting for Genroku literature
❖ Aesthetic term: iki (粋, chic)
❖ Conceptual frameworks: giri-ninjō (義理人情, obligations and love)Session 26: Honor & shame II: Bushidō, Ihara Saikaku's short stories of love
❖ Conceptual frameworks: bushidō (武士道, warrior ethics)
❖ Conceptual frameworks: shinjū (心中, merged hearts, lovers' suicides, suicides in pairs or more, double suicide)
❖ People: Ihara Saikaku (17th c. / Edo short fiction writer)
◊ Genre: kana-zōshi (short fiction form)
❖ Texts: Short stories of love by Ihara SaikakuReadings selected from: ❖ Great Mirror of Male Love (17th c. / Edo short fiction)
❖ Puppet theater (文楽 bunraku)
◊ Kabuki theater (歌舞伎)
❖ People: Chikamatsu Monzaemon (17th-18th c. / Edo playwright)
❖ Texts: Chikamatsu's Love Suicides at Sonezaki (曾根崎心中, Sonezaki shinjū, 1703)
❖ Texts: Chikamatsu's Love Suicides at Amijima (心中天の網島, Shinjū Ten no Amijima, 1720)Readings: ❖ Love Suicides at Sonezaki (18th c. / Edo puppet play), ❖ Love Suicides at Amijima (18th c. / Edo puppet play)
Last day
Session 28: Chikamatsu continued and open topics
❖ Chikamatsu discussion, continued
◊ Open topics
RRR periods: go here
Final Exam Period: Wednesday, Dec 12 8-11AM in our room: 2 Leconte
♦ Jomon ca. 11,000-300 BCE
♦ Yayoi 300 BCE - 300 AD
♦ Kofun 300 - 552
♦ Asuka 552 - 710
♦ Nara 710 - 794
♦ Heian One 794 - 900
♦ Heian Two 900 -1185 (Kokinshū, Tosa Nikki, Tales of Ise, Izumi Shikibu Diary, Pillow Book, Genji, sponsored cultural salons)
♦ Kamakura 1185 - 1333 (Shin-Kokinshu, Buddhist reforms in 1200s; Hōjōki; Tale of Heike; Essays in Idleness; Confessions of Lady Nijō)
♦ Muromachi 1333 - 1573 (Northern Hills late 1300s, first half 1400s, Zeami & Nō drama) (Eastern Hills late 1400s)
♦ Momoyama 1568/73 - 1603/15 (Sen Rikyū & wabi-cha)
♦ Edo 1603-1868 (Genroku 1688-1704) (Narrow Road, Love Suicides, Ihara Saikaku) *graphic of complicated name designation systems for Middle Period eras
Quick links to aesthetic & related terms: iki, karumi, makoto, masurao, miyabi, mono no aware, mujōkan, okashi, sabi / wabi, taketakashi, wa