HIST 312 Medieval Japan
Many enduring aspects of Japanese culture and society evolved during the earliest centuries of the archipelago's written history. This course explores Japan from its origins, through the classic Nara and Heian eras (710-1185 C.E) and the development of shogunate and daimyo in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1568), to the beginnings of Tokugawa rule (from 1600 C.E.). Historians have often compared Japan during this period to the middle ages of European history; the comparison is controversial, but worth exploring for what it reveals about ways of viewing historical time. Topics include Shinto and Buddhism, emperors and court culture, and the rise of militarism, samurai, and bushido. Students will analyze classic texts from the period, including The Tale of Genji, Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, and The Tale of the Heike, as well as the archeological, artistic, and architectural legacies of early Japan.