Modern History of Japan
Fall 2023
Syllabus
2024/01/25
Ryoichi Imai
International Student Center, Kyushu University
Contents
2. Organization,
Attendance, and Other Requirements
The course is designed to provide some introductory knowledge of Japanese history. The course will cover the history of Japan's political and economic system from Edo era to the end of World War II.
Organization, Attendance, and Other Requirements
Students are expected to buy the text book.
Gordon, Andrew (2003), A Modern History of Japan. Oxford University Press.
Some lecture notes will be uploaded on this website. The course consists mainly of a series of lecture given by the instructor. Depending on the number of the students who register this course, they may present some selected reading materials in the late half of the course. Each course attendant is supposed to do at least ONE oral presentation of the reading assignments. The presenter must make a set of PowerPoint slides. If too many students take this course, individual presentations will be replaced by group ones. There is one final examination, closed-book or take-home.
None.
You can get two credits by satisfying the following three
requirements.
1. Class Attendance and
Discussion 20%
According to the government guideline, no students are
allowed to take the course final examination, if they do not show up in more
than 1/3 of the class meetings. The government has set up a more rigorous
grading standard on credits.
2. Presentation 40%
3. Final Examination 40%
Getting the course credits is not a hard task, while no negotiation is
allowed on credits or grades.
If you need to acquire three credits in accordance
with the credit transfer policy of your home university, you can get three
credits by making a second presentation in different topics in addition to the
requirements as above.
Schedule and Readings (subject to Change)
1. (10/3) Introduction 1
Concise History of Japan Overview - Wikipedia
@@A Short
History of Japan before the Showa Era
2. (10/10) Introduction 2
Religion in Japan – Buddhism in Japan
(Wikipedia)
Shinto – Ise Shrine, Usa Shrine, Izumo Shrine, Itsukushima Shrine
Ancient Buddhism – Houryuji, Todaiji
Amidism – Byodo-in, Chion-in, West Honganji, East Honganji
Zen – Tenryuji, Bairinji,
Eiheiji,
Lotus Sutra – Minobusan Kuonji
3. (10/17) Introduction 3
4. (10/24) The Tokugawa
Polity
Supplement:
The Sengoku
Warlords and Their Culture
Kumamoto
Castle Suizenji Seishuen
Dazaifu and Sumo@Sumo Banzuke
5. (10/31) Social
Economic Transformations
6. (11/7) The
Intellectual World of Late Tokugawa
7D(11/14): The Overthrow of
the Tokugawa
8. (11/21) The Samurai
Revolutions
9. (11/28) Participation
and Protest
10. (12/5) Social
Economic, and Cultural Transformations
Matsumoto Kaichi School, Video, Elementary School Moral Textbook (1934 – 1940)
Silk
(movie),@The Nomugi Pass (movie)
Higher
Schools, Imperial
Universities
Mitsubish Nagasaki
Shipyard, Yahata
Steel Works
Japanfs Meiji Industrial Revolution
Reach Beyond
the Blue Sky – The
Life of Shibusawa
Eiichi
Demon
Slayer (Wikipedia),@Demon Slayer – The Infinity Train (movie)
11. (12/12) Empire and Domestic
Order
`aciThe Boxer Rebelionj
ϊ{CCνiBattle of Tsushimaj
12. (12/19) Economy and Society
@@@World War 1 (wikipedia)
(12/26) Make Up
Economic History of the Pre-modern
Japan
Japan and the Great
Divergence, 725 to 1874@
voxeu
article
Agricultural
Land Survey 1598-1872 (in Japanese)
Kyoji Fukao (2018) Historical
Insights for the Long-run Stagnation of Japanese Economy (J)
The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern
World:
Clark and Ishii (2012) Social
Mobility in Japan, 1868-2012: The
Surprising Persistence of the Samurai, University of California, Davis
-----Winter Break-----
Students' Presentations: Materials are subject to change.
Each student is allowed to speak for 15 minutes at maximum.
Submit the group presentation slide set consisting of less than 40
slides to the File Sharing System before the presentation.
Convert
your file to PDF and Name it as gName1-Name2-Name3-Historyh like
Yamada-Kato-Higo-History. Use your final name in the
title.
Assignment: Conrad Totman
(2005) A
History of Japan, Second Edition
13. (1/9) Presentation 1
Chapter 3. Political Consolidation to 671CE: Tom,
Jake, Ben
Chapter 4:: Establishing the Ritsuryo Order (672-750):
Alex O, David, Freddy
14. (1/16) Presentation 2
Chapter 5. Ritsuryo Adaptation and Decay (759-1250):
Norman, Sutjipto, Zhang
Chapter 6: Classical Higher Culture (750-1250) Show,
Chen, Chang
15. (1/23). Presentation 3
Chapter 7: The Centuries of Disorder (1250-1550)
Larissa, Samaa, Khaled
Chapter 8: Medieval Higher Culture (1250-1550) Alex,
Berkhan, Elsa, Eliksater
(1/30). Extra – Chapter 9: Eliksater, Berkhan
Final Exam
Final Take-home Examination (New 2024)
Last Year .
Kenichi
Ohno (2006) The Economic
Development of Japan
Chapter 1 Modernization for Latecomers ······ 1
Jennie
Chapter 2 The Edo Period: Pre-conditions for Industrialization ······ 21
Franck
Chapter 3 Meiji (1): Key Goals of the New Government ······ 39
Eriane
Chapter 4 Meiji (2): Importing and Absorbing Technology ······ 55
Erika
Chapter 5 Meiji (3): Development of Major Industries ······ 71
Sama
Chapter 6 Meiji (4): Budget, Finance and the Macroeconomy ······ 85
Magdalena
Chapter 7 World War I and the 1920s: Export-led Boom and Recession
Friderik
Chapter 8 The Showa Financial Crisis of 1927:
Joy
Review of the History of Ancient and Mediaeval Japan
Readings:
chapters from A History of Japan, 2nd edition, by Conrad Totman
Underlines
show the leaders.
Ch.1: Geology, Climate, and Biota
Ch.2: From Erigines to Agriculture
Ch.3: Political Consolidation to 671 CE
Presenters:
Gesine, Mikaela, Melissa, Haruka
Ch.4: Establishing the Ritsuryo Order (672-750)
Ch. 5. Ritsuryo Adaptation and Decay (750-1250), pp. 87-113.
Presenters:
Joy, Casey, Emma, Gesine
Ch. 6. Classical Higher Culture (750-1250), pp. 114-139.
Ch. 7. The Centuries of Disorder (1250-1550), pp. 146-174.
Presenters:
Marie, Kathi, Gregoire
Ch. 8. Medieval Higher Culture (1250-1550), pp. 175-202
Ch.9: Establishing the Bakuhan Order (1550-1700).
Presenters:
Yang, Phoenix, Mellissa, Harry
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