Japanese Language < University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2019-20 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

Spring 2020 COVID-19 Measures

About the Program

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures offers an undergraduate major in Japanese Language. The course of study is designed to train students in the humanistic investigation of major East Asian traditions, through a curriculum that centers on the acquisition of the modern and classical forms of the language, the informed and engaged reading of a wide variety of East Asian texts in their historical and cultural contexts, and the development of effective writing skills and critical thinking. Students are introduced to the vast and variegated literary, artistic, philosophical, and cultural traditions of East Asia and their transformations in modernity. Course offerings situate the study of East Asia in a global context and expose students to a variety of disciplinary and comparative approaches.

The major provides training in speaking, reading, and writing the relevant modern languages as well as a basic familiarity with one or more of the language's earlier forms. Students complete the major by selecting from a broad range of courses in literature, popular culture, philosophy, and linguistics both in translation and in the original languages.

Students who major in the program have a variety of backgrounds and many students are double majors in a broad spectrum of other departments and programs including: anthropology, applied mathematics, architecture, art history, art practice, Asian studies, business, comparative literature, computer science, economics, English, linguistics, mass communications, molecular and cell biology, political economy, political science, psychology, rhetoric, and theater arts.

Declaring the Major

Students interested in majoring in the program should consult with the staff undergraduate advisor regarding major requirements, transfer credits, and other academic concerns. Students are admitted to the major only after successful completion (with a grade of C or higher) of the prerequisites to the major; for information regarding the prerequisites, please see the Major Requirements tab on this page. Students are advised to begin preparation for the major as soon as possible in order to satisfy University, college, and department requirements. All students should be familiar with the college requirements for graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree, as explained in the "Earning Your Degree," a bulletin available from the College of Letters & Science, 206 Evans Hall.

Honors Program

A senior undergraduate student who has completed 12 units of upper division language courses in the department, and who has a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 in those courses and an overall GPA of 3.0 may apply for admission to the honors program. If accepted, the student will enroll in an honors course (any H195 course) for two consecutive semesters leading to the completion of an honors thesis, which must be submitted at least two weeks before the end of the semester in which the student expects to graduate. While enrolled in the honors program, the student will undertake independent advanced study under the guidance of the student's honors thesis adviser. Upon completion of the program, a faculty committee will determine the degree of honors to be awarded (honors, high honors, highest honors), taking into consideration both the quality of the thesis and overall performance in the program. Honors will not be granted to a student who does not achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 in all undergraduate work at the University by the time of graduation.

Minor Program

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures offers an undergraduate minor in Japanese Language. To declare the minor, please visit 3414 Dwinelle Hall.

Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Chinese Language (Major and Minor)
East Asian Religion, Thought, and Culture (Major only)
Korean Language (Minor only)
Tibetan (Minor only)

Visit Department Website

Major Requirements

In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.

General Guidelines

All courses taken to fulfill the major requirements below must be taken for graded credit, other than courses listed which are offered on a Pass/No Pass basis only. Other exceptions to this requirement are noted as applicable.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs, with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters & Science.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.

For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.

Please note that students with previous language experience will be required to take the online placement exam.

Lower Division Prerequisites

Course List
Code	Title	Units
JAPAN 1A	Elementary Japanese (or equivalent) ¹	5
JAPAN 1B	Elementary Japanese (or equivalent) ¹	5
JAPAN 7A	Introduction to Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture ²	4
or JAPAN 7B	Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture

Lower Division Major Requirements

Minimum three courses, 12 units

Course List
Code	Title	Units
JAPAN 10A	Intermediate Japanese (or equivalent) ¹	5
JAPAN 10B	Intermediate Japanese (or equivalent) ¹	5
or JAPAN 10X	Intermediate Japanese for Heritage Learners
Select one of the following (whichever one not selected as a prerequisite)
JAPAN 7A	Introduction to Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture [4]
or JAPAN 7B	Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture

Upper Division Major Requirements

Minimum eight courses, 32 units

Course List
Code	Title	Units
JAPAN 100A	Advanced Japanese (or equivalent) ¹	5
JAPAN 100B	Advanced Japanese (or equivalent) ¹	5
or JAPAN 100X	Advanced Japanese for Heritage Learners
JAPAN 120	Introduction to Classical Japanese	4
Select one classical Japanese literature courses numbered JAPAN 130-149
JAPAN 130	Classical Japanese Poetry [4]
JAPAN 132	Premodern Japanese Diary (Nikki) Literature [4]
JAPAN 140	Heian Prose [4]
JAPAN C141	Introductory Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts [4]
JAPAN 144	Edo Literature [4]
JAPAN 146	Japanese Historical Documents [4]
Select one modern Japanese literature course from courses numbered JAPAN 150-159
JAPAN 155	Modern Japanese Literature [4]
JAPAN 159	Contemporary Japanese Literature [4]
Select one EA LANG upper division course, from courses numbered EALANG 100-189		4
Select two additional upper division EALC electives (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan, or East Asian Languages and Cultures) in consultation with the adviser		8

Please note that students with previous language experience will be required to take a placement exam. Students who place out of language courses or into the heritage track will be required to take additional adviser-approved literature or culture courses offered by the department in order to meet the above unit requirements.

Introduction to Japanese Literature must be taken at UC Berkeley.

Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions. To declare a minor, contact the department advisor for information on requirements, and the declaration process.
All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, please see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)

Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Units
Language Training ¹
JAPAN 1A	Elementary Japanese (or equivalent)	5
JAPAN 1B	Elementary Japanese (or equivalent)	5
JAPAN 10A	Intermediate Japanese (or equivalent)	5
JAPAN 10B	Intermediate Japanese (or equivalent)	5
or JAPAN 10X	Intermediate Japanese for Heritage Learners
Upper Division (five courses, minimum 20 units) ^2,3
Select three upper division Japanese courses
JAPAN 100A	Advanced Japanese [5]
JAPAN 100B	Advanced Japanese [5]
or JAPAN 100X	Advanced Japanese for Heritage Learners
JAPAN 101	Fourth-Year Readings: Social Sciences [4]
JAPAN 102	Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Culture [4]
JAPAN 103	Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Literature [4]
JAPAN 104	Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese History [4]
JAPAN 111	Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Japanese Texts [4]
JAPAN 112	Fifth-Year Readings: Japanese for Research and Professional Use [4]
JAPAN C115	Japanese Buddhism [4]
JAPAN 116	Introduction to the Religions of Japan [4]
JAPAN 120	Introduction to Classical Japanese [4]
JAPAN 130	Classical Japanese Poetry [4]
JAPAN 132	Premodern Japanese Diary (Nikki) Literature [4]
JAPAN 140	Heian Prose [4]
JAPAN C141	Introductory Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts [4]
JAPAN 144	Edo Literature [4]
JAPAN 146	Japanese Historical Documents [4]
JAPAN 155	Modern Japanese Literature [4]
JAPAN 159	Contemporary Japanese Literature [4]
JAPAN 160	Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Grammar [4]
JAPAN 161	Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Usage [4]
JAPAN 163	Translation: Theory and Practice [4]
JAPAN 170	Classical Japanese Literature in Translation [4]
JAPAN 173	Modern Japanese Literature in Translation [4]
JAPAN C176	Archaeology and Japanese Identities [4]
JAPAN 177	Urami: Rancor and Revenge in Japanese Literature [4]
JAPAN 180	Ghosts and the Modern Literary Imagination [4]
JAPAN 181	Reframing Disasters: Fukushima, Before and After [4]
JAPAN 185	Introduction to Japanese Cinema [4]
JAPAN 188	Japanese Visual Culture: Introduction to Anime [4]
JAPAN 189	Topics in Japanese Film [4]
Select two additional electives from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan, and East Asian Languages and Cultures courses ⁴		8

Students with previous language experience will be required to take a placement exam.

All courses require advisor approval.

One 7A or 7B course from the EALC department listings may be substituted for one of the five upper division courses.

⁴

EAP course(s) may be used to satisfy one of the electives; however, not all EAP courses will be approved for the minor. Please check with the adviser in advance.

College Requirements

Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.

For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please review the College of Letters & Sciences page in this Guide. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages.

University of California Requirements

Entry Level Writing

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley.

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a US resident graduated from an American university, should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

Berkeley Campus Requirement

American Cultures

All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.

College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements

Quantitative Reasoning

The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.

Foreign Language

The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.

Reading and Composition

In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses by the end of their second semester and a second-level course by the end of their fourth semester.

College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements

Breadth Requirements

The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.

Unit Requirements

120 total units
Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units
Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department

Residence Requirements

For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.

Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.

Senior Residence Requirement

After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your BA degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.

You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.

Upper Division Residence Requirement

You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.

Courses

Japanese Language

Terms offered: Summer 2019 10 Week Session, Summer 2018 10 Week Session, Summer 2017 10 Week Session
This course is the equivalent of Japan 1A and Japan 1B offered in the regular academic year.
Intensive Elementary Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Japan 1 after taking Japan 1B.

Hours & Format

Summer: 10 weeks - 15 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intensive Elementary Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2020
Japanese 1A is designed to develop basic Japanese language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students will learn the Japanese writing system: hiragana, katakana and approximately 150 kanji. At the end of the course, students should be able to greet, invite, compare, and describe persons and things, activities, intensions, ability, experience, purposes, reasons, and wishes. Grades will be determined on the basis of attendance, quiz scores, homework and class participation.
Elementary Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for JAPAN 1A after completing JAPAN 1.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 12 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Elementary Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
Designed to supplement Japan 1A in order to facilitate students' listening proficiency. Japan 1AL will cover a variety of listening strategies.
Supplementary Work in Listening-Elementary: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Listening-Elementary: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
This course designed to be taken concurrently with Japan 1A to help students improve overall kanji performance. The course will make the kanji learning process easier by providing exercises and background information about the relationships between characters and how they function.
Supplementary Work in Kanji: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Kanji: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2020
Japanese 1B is designed to develop basic skills acquired in Japanese 1A further. Students will learn approximately 150 new kanji. At the end of the course students should be able to express regret, positive and negative requirements, chronological order of events, conditions, giving and receiving of objects and favors, and to ask and give advice. Grades will be determined on the basis of attendance, quiz scores, homework and class participation.
Elementary Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 1A

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for JAPAN 1B after completing JAPAN 1.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 12 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Elementary Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
Designed to supplement Japan 1B in order to facilitate students' listening proficiency. Students will apply the strategies learned in Japan 1AL in listening activities.
Supplementary Work in Listening-Elementary: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Listening-Elementary: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
This course designed to be taken concurrently with Japan 1B to help students improve overall kanji performance. The course will make the kanji learning process easier by providing exercises and background information about the relationships between characters and how they function.
Supplementary Work in Kanji: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Kanji: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2019
This course is an overview of Japanese literature and culture, 7th- through 18th-centuries. 7A begins with Japan's early myth-history and its first poetry anthology, which show the transition from a preliterate, communal society to a courtly culture. Noblewomen's diaries, poetry anthologies, and selections from the Tale of Genji offer a window into that culture. We examine how oral culture and high literary art mix in Kamakura period tales and explore representations of heroism in military chronicles and medieval Noh drama. After considering the linked verse of late medieval times, we read vernacular literature from the urban culture of the Edo period. No previous course work in Japanese literature, history, or language is expected.
Introduction to Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2020, Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session
An introduction to Japanese literature in translation in a two-semester sequence. 7B provides a survey of important works of 19th- and 20th-century Japanese fiction, poetry, and cultural criticism. The course will explore the manner in which writers responded to the challenges of industrialization, internationalization, and war. Topics include the shifting notions of tradition and modernity, the impact of Westernization on the constructions of the self and gender, writers and the wartime state, literature of the atomic bomb, and postmodern fantasies and aesthetics. All readings are in English translation. Techniques of critical reading and writing will be introduced as an integral part of the course.
Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Summer 2019 10 Week Session, Summer 2018 10 Week Session, Summer 2017 10 Week Session
This course is the equivalent of Japan 10A and Japan 10B offered in the regular academic year.
Intensive Intermediate Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 1 or Japan 1B

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Japan 10 after taking Japan 10B or Japan 10X.

Hours & Format

Summer: 10 weeks - 15 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intensive Intermediate Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2020
The goal of this course is for the students to understand the language and culture required to communicate effectively in Japanese. Some of the cultural aspects covered are; geography, speech style, technology, sports, food, and religion. Through the final project, students will learn how to discuss social issues and their potential solutions. In order to achieve these goals, students will learn how to integrate the basic linguistics knowledge they acquired in J1, as well as study new structures and vocabulary. An increasing amount of reading and writing, including approximately 200 new kanji, will also be required.
Intermediate Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 1 or Japan 1B

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for JAPAN 10A after completing JAPAN 10.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 12 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intermediate Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
This supplementary course is designed for students who are concurrently enrolled in Japan 10A to enable their acquisition of a better understanding of Japanese grammar in general and clause linkage in particular.
Supplementary Work in Grammar - Intermediate: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Grammar - Intermediate: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
This supplementary course is designed for students who are concurrently enrolled in Japan 10A to acquire a better understanding of kanji writing system and to improve overall kanji performance.
Supplementary Work in Kanji - Intermediate: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Kanji - Intermediate: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2020
The goal of this course is for the students to understand the more advanced language and culture required to communicate effectively in Japanese. Some of the cultural aspects covered are; pop-culture, traditional arts, education, convenient stores, haiku, and history. Through the final project, students will learn how to introduce their own cultures and their influences. In order to achieve these goals, students will learn how to integrate the basic structures and vocabulary they acquired in the previous semesters, as well as study new linguistic expressions. An increasing amount of more advanced reading and writing, including approximately 200 new kanji, will also be required.
Intermediate Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 10A

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for JAPAN 10B after completing JAPAN 10.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 12 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intermediate Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
This supplementary course is designed for students who are concurrently enrolled in Japan 10B to enable their acquisition of a better understanding of Japanese grammar in general and clause linkage in particular.
Supplementary Work in Grammar - Intermediate: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Grammar - Intermediate: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
This supplementary course is designed for students who are concurrently enrolled in Japan 10B to acquire a better understanding of kanji writing system and to improve overall kanji performance.
Supplementary Work in Kanji-Intermediate: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Supplementary Work in Kanji-Intermediate: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019
This course is intended to train students who wish to acquire reading
fluency in the Japanese language in a short time period and therefore
dispenses with all components not germane to that goal. Prior
knowledge of fundamental first-year grammar and vocabulary is required
as this course will start at the second-year level and run parallel
with our full-language second-year courses, covering the same reading
materials as used in J10A-B. The course will be conducted in English and
students’ comprehension will be examined and analyzed in terms of
Japanese-to-English translation. By completion of J10RB, students will
be functional readers of Japanese for general purposes.
Intermediate Reading in Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 1B or equivalent

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intermediate Reading in Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020
This course is intended to train students who wish to acquire reading
fluency in the Japanese language in a short time period and therefore
dispenses with all components not germane to that goal. Prior
knowledge of fundamental first-year grammar and vocabulary is required
as this course will start at the second-year level and run parallel
with our full-language second-year courses, covering the same reading
materials as used in J10A-B. The course will be conducted in English and
students’ comprehension will be examined and analyzed in terms of
Japanese-to-English translation. By completion of J10RB, students will
be functional readers of Japanese for general purposes.
Intermediate Reading in Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: J10RA or equivalent for J10RB

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intermediate Reading in Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
This course is designed specifically for heritage learners who possess high fluency in casual spoken Japanese but little reading and writing abilities. It introduces formal speech styles, reinforces grammatical accuracy, and improves reading and writing competencies through materials derived from various textual genres. Students will acquire the amounts of vocabulary, grammar, and kanji equivalent to those of Japan 10A and Japan 10B.
Intermediate Japanese for Heritage Learners: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Japan 10X after taking Japan 10 or Japan 10A.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Intermediate Japanese for Heritage Learners: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2011, Spring 2010, Fall 2008
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.
Freshman Seminar: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring:
8 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.

Freshman Seminar: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2020
Introduction to Japanese culture from its origins to the present: premodern historical, literary, artistic, and religious developments, modern economic growth, and the nature of contemporary society, education, and business. Class conducted in English.
Japanese Culture: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Japanese Culture: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2015
Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores.
Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring:
5 weeks - 3-6 hours of seminar per week
10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week
15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 2.5-5 hours of seminar per week
8 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.

Sophomore Seminar: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2009, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
Small group instruction in topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Directed Group Study for Lower Division Students: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Lower division standing, 3.5 GPA

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of directed group study per week
8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Directed Group Study for Lower Division Students: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 1997
Independent study in topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Independent Study for Lower Division Students: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Lower division standing, 3.5 GPA

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Independent Study for Lower Division Students: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2015 10 Week Session, Summer 2014 10 Week Session
This course is the equivalent of Japan 100A and Japan 100B offered in the regular academic year.
Intensive Advanced Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 10 or Japan 10B

Credit Restrictions: Student will receive no credit for Japan 100 after taking Japan 100B or Japan 100X.

Hours & Format

Summer: 10 weeks - 15 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Intensive Advanced Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course will develop further context-specific skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. It concentrates on students using acquired grammar and vocabulary with more confidence in order to express functional meanings, while increasing overall linguistic competence. Students will learn approximately 200 new Kanji. There will be a group or individual project. Course materials include the textbook supplemented by newspapers, magazine articles, short stories, and video clips which will provide insight into Japanese culture and society.
Advanced Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 10 or Japan 10B

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Japan 100A after taking Japan 100 or Japan 100X.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Advanced Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
This course aims to develop further context-specific skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. It concentrates on students using acquired grammar and vocabulary with more confidence in order to express functional meanings, while increasing overall linguistic competence. Students will learn approximately 200 new Kanji. There will be a group or individual project. Course materials include the textbook supplemented by newspapers, magazine articles, short stories, essays, and video clips which will provide insight into Japanese culture and society.
Advanced Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 100A

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Japan 100B after taking Japan 100 or Japan 100X.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Advanced Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2017, Spring 2015
Students will be trained to read, analyze, and translate modern Japanese scholarship on Chinese subjects. A major purpose of the course is to prepare students to take reading examinations in Japanese. The areas of scholarship to be covered are: politics, popular culture, religion, sociology and history as well as areas suggested by students who are actively engaged in research projects. Two readings in selected areas will be assigned, one by the instructor and the second by a student participant.
Japanese for Sinologists: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Graduate standing; Japan 10B and Chinese 100B or equivalents

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Japanese for Sinologists: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
This course helps heritage learners of Japanese who have completed 10X to develop further their linguistic and cultural competencies. More sophisticated linguistic forms are introduced and reinforced while dealing with various socio-cultural topics. Close reading knowledge and skills, formal and informal registers, and different genres of Japanese reading and writing are practiced. The materials covered are equivalent to those of 100A-100B.
Advanced Japanese for Heritage Learners: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 10X

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Japan 100X after taking Japan 100B.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Advanced Japanese for Heritage Learners: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2017, Fall 2015
Students develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills further to think critically, to express their points of view, and to understand Japanese culture and society in depth The readings are mainly articles on current social issues from Japanese newspapers, magazines, and professional books as sources of discussions. Students are required to write short essays on topics related to the reading materials.
Fourth-Year Readings: Social Sciences: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 100, Japan 100B, or Japan 100X; or consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Fourth-Year Readings: Social Sciences: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2016
This course provides students an opportunity to develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in order to express their opinions in argumentative discourse. Students read and discuss a variety of Japanese texts to deepen their understanding of Japanese society and people and to improve their intercultural communicative competence.
Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Culture: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 100, Japan 100B, or Japan 100X; or consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Culture: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2016
This course provides students an opportunity to develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, thereby enabling them to express their points of view and to engage in argumentative discourse. In addition to Japanese literature, readings include academic essays and other texts, which provide a variety of writing styles and serve as sources for classroom discussion. Also, Japanese films are used for various activities in order to broaden students’ cultural awareness and knowledge of Japanese society.
Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Literature: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 100, Japan 100B, or Japan 100X; or consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Literature: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
Students develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills further while examining Japanese historical figures, events, background, stories, etc. Students read a variety of texts and watch videos related to Japanese history as sources for discussions to deepen their understanding of Japanese society, culture, and people from historical perspectives. Students conduct individual research on a topic in Japanese history, and write a short research paper.
Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese History: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 100, Japanese 100B, or Japanese 100X; or consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese History: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2019
In this course, students will practice various techniques to read articles in Japanese on current issues in Japan, and they will learn about Japanese conceptions of the world and how Japanese society functions. They may want to compare what they have learned with similar issues in their own countries to deepen their understanding of the issues and develop their critical thinking ability. They will also learn more advanced Japanese grammar and increase their vocabulary.
Fourth-Year Japanese: Current Issues in Japan: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 100, Japan 100B, or Japan 100X; or consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Fourth-Year Japanese: Current Issues in Japan: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2012
This course is designed for students who have studied Japanese for at least four years (540 hours). It aims to develop further their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills enabling them to utilize Japanese materials for research and job-related purposes, to present orally the results of their researches, and/or to pursue college-level courses taught in Japanese. Although much of class time will be devoted to reading- and writing-oriented activities, students are expected to participate actively in oral presentations, discussions, and debates in class.
Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Japanese Texts: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Two courses chosen from Japanese 101, Japanese 102, Japanese 103, or Japanese 104

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Japanese Texts: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
This course is designed for students who have studied Japanese for at least four years (540 hours). It aims to develop further their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills with special emphasis on essay and research paper writing on topics relevant not only to the student’s interest but also to the student's major or intended career. Part of this written work will become the material on which the student will give an end-of-the-term oral presentation. Students are expected to fully prepare for and dynamically participate in the discussions and debates that occur in class.
Fifth-Year Readings: Japanese for Research and Professional Use: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Two courses chosen from Japanese 101, Japanese 102, Japanese 103, or Japanese 104

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Fifth-Year Readings: Japanese for Research and Professional Use: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2015
A critical survey of the main themes in the history of Japanese Buddhism as they are treated in modern scholarship. The course covers the transmission of Buddhism from China and Korea to Japan; the subsequent evolution in Japan of the Tendai, Shingon, Pure Land, Nichiren, and Zen schools of Buddhism; the organization and function of Buddhist institutions (monastic and lay) in Japanese society; the interaction between Buddhism and other modes of religious belief and practice prevalent in Japan, notably those that go under the headings of "Shinto" and "folk religion."
Japanese Buddhism: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Also listed as: BUDDSTD C115

Japanese Buddhism: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2017
An introductory look at the culture, values, and history of religious traditions in Japan, covering the Japanese sense of the world physically and culturally, its native religious culture called Shinto, the imported continental traditions of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, the arrival and impact of Christianity in the 16th century and the New Religions of the 19th and 20th centuries. Focus will be on how the internal structure of Buddhist and Confucian values were negotiated with long-established views of mankind and society in Japan, how Japan has been changed by these foreign notions of the individual’s place in the world, particularly Buddhism, and why many see contemporary Japan as a post-religious society.
Introduction to the Religions of Japan: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Blum

Introduction to the Religions of Japan: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
An introduction to classical Japanese (bungo), the premodern vernacular, which was used as Japan's literary language until well into the 20th century and remains essential for a thorough grounding in Japanese literature and culture.
Introduction to Classical Japanese: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 10 or Japanese 10B

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to Classical Japanese: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2016
An introduction to the critical analysis and translation of traditional Japanese poetry, a genre that reaches from early declarative work redolent of an even earlier oral tradition to medieval and Early Modern verses evoking exquisitely differentiated emotional states via complex rhetoric and literary allusion. Topics may include examples of Japan's earliest poetry in Man'yoshu, Heian courtly verse in Kokinshu, lines from Shinkokinshu with its medieval mystery and depth, linked verse (renga), and the haikai of Basho and his circle.
Classical Japanese Poetry: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 120

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Classical Japanese Poetry: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2011, Spring 2009
The tradition of Japanese self-reflective literature, composed by both men and women, is long and rich. Topics for this course include highly personal memoirs by court women and poetic travel diaries.
Premodern Japanese Diary (Nikki) Literature: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 120

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Premodern Japanese Diary (Nikki) Literature: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2000, Spring 1999
The course focuses on select masterpieces from the Japanese narrative tradition, including Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) and Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book (Makura no soshi).
Heian Prose: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 120

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Heian Prose: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Spring 2018
This course is an introduction to the study of medieval Buddhist literature written in Classical Japanese in its wabun (aka bungo) and kanbun forms (including kakikudashi). The class will read samples from a variety of genres, including material written in China that are read in an idiosyncratic way in Japan. Reading materials will include Chinese translations of Sanskrit and Central Asian Buddhist scriptures, scriptural commentaries written in China and Korea, Japanese subcommentaries on influential Chinese and Korean commentaries, philosophical treatises, hagiography, apologetics, histories, doctrinal letters, preaching texts, and setsuwa literature. This course is intended for students who already have some facility in literary Japanese.
Introductory Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 120. One semester of classical Japanese. Prior background in Buddhist history and thought is helpful, but not required

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Instructor: Blum

Also listed as: BUDDSTD C141

Introductory Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2013, Spring 2012
Critical reading and translation of important literary texts from the Edo period, including poetic diaries, merchant fiction, and (joruri) drama.
Edo Literature: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 120

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Edo Literature: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Fall 2009
Writings in the Japanese vernacular constitute only one part of the total premodern Japanese written corpus. Until the 20th century, the preferred medium for most historical texts and male diaries was Sino-Japanese (kanbun). Familiarity with the grammar of this extraordinarily rich tradition is therefore essential for all students of premodern Japanese disciplines
Japanese Historical Documents: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 120

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Japanese Historical Documents: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Spring 2018
This course is an introduction to Japanese modernism through the reading and discussion of representative short stories, poetry, and criticism of the Taisho and early Showa periods. We will examine the aesthetic bases of modernist writing and confront the challenge posed by their use of poetic language. The question of literary form and the relationship between poetry and prose in the works will receive special attention.
Modern Japanese Literature: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 100A (may be taken concurrently)

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Modern Japanese Literature: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019
This course examines the historical production and reception of key Japanese literary and film texts; how issues of gender, ethnicity, social roles, and national identity specific to each text address changing economic and social conditions in postwar Japan.
Contemporary Japanese Literature: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 100A (may be taken concurrently)

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Contemporary Japanese Literature: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course deals with issues of the structure of the Japanese language and how they have been treated in the field of linguistics. It focuses on phonetics/phonology, morphology, writing systems, dialects, lexicon, and syntax/semantics, historical changes, and genetic origins. Students are required to have intermediate knowledge of Japanese. No previous linguistics training is required.
Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Grammar: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 10, Japan 10B or Japan 10X

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Hasegawa

Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Grammar: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017
This course deals with issues of the usage of the Japanese language and how they have been treated in the field of linguistics. It concentrates on pragmatics, modality/evidentiality, deixis, speech varieties (politeness, gender, written vs. spoken), conversation management, and rhetorical structure. Students are required to have intermediate knowledge of Japanese. No previous linguistics training is required.
Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Usage: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japan 10, Japan 10B, or Japan 10X

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Hasegawa

Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Usage: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
An overview of the concepts of theoretical, contrastive, and practical linguistics which form the basis for work in translation between Japanese and English through hands-on experience. Topics include translatability, various kinds of meaning, analysis of the text, process of translating, translation techniques, and theoretical background.
Translation: Theory and Practice: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Japanese 100, Japanese 100B, or Japanese 100X; or equivalent

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Hasegawa

Translation: Theory and Practice: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Fall 2010, Fall 2008
This course surveys Japanese poetry and/or prose written predominantly in or before the Heian Period (794-1185). Topics will vary.
Classical Japanese Literature in Translation: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Classical Japanese Literature in Translation: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Spring 2015
This course surveys modern Japanese fiction and poetry in the first half of the 20th century. Topics will vary.
Modern Japanese Literature in Translation: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Modern Japanese Literature in Translation: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2007
Course explores stereotypical images of traditional Japanese culture and people through archaeological analysis. Particular emphasis will be placed on changing lifeways of past residents of the Japanese islands, including commoners, samurai, and nobles. Consideration will be given to the implications of these archaeological studies for our understanding of Japanese identities.
Archaeology and Japanese Identities: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Also listed as: ANTHRO C125B

Archaeology and Japanese Identities: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2017

Urami (rancor, resentment) has an enduring presence in Japanese literature. Figures overburdened with urami become demons, vengeful ghosts, or other transformed, dangerous, scheming characters. They appear in many different genre and eras. The course's topic enables discussion on concepts important for understanding Japanese literary works such as hyper-attentiveness to shifting social status, the role of groupness in targeting victims, the imperatives of shame, secrets, the circumscribed agency of women, and the reach of Buddhist teachings into behavioral norms. For those interested in comparative literature, the course offers an opportunity to take a measure of what Japanese narratives offer as legitimate causes of rancor and revenge.
Urami: Rancor and Revenge in Japanese Literature: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Wallace

Urami: Rancor and Revenge in Japanese Literature: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2018
This course will examine the works of the novelist Murakami Haruki and the animator Miyazaki Hayao within the context of contemporary Japanese aesthetics and history. Both Murakami and Miyazaki debuted in 1979 and their work has very much defined Japan’s cultural experience from the tail end of the Era of High Growth Economics through the Bubble Era, the Lost Decade, and into the twenty-first century. Students will explore the works of these two figures in the context of the history of Japanese literature and film and its relation to larger political, social, and cultural trends of Japan from the 1980s to the present.
Murakami Haruki and Miyazaki Hayao: the Politics of Japanese Culture from the Bubble to the Present: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 6 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Murakami Haruki and Miyazaki Hayao: the Politics of Japanese Culture from the Bubble to the Present: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2008, Spring 2008
The course examines the complex meanings of the ghost in modern Japanese literature and culture. Tracing the representations of the supernatural in drama, fiction, ethnography, and the visual arts, we explore how ghosts provide the basis for remarkable flights of imaginative speculation and literary experimentation. Topics include: storytelling and the loss of cultural identity, horror and its conversion into aesthetic pleasure, fantasy, and the transformation of the commonplace. We will consider historical, visual, anthropological, and literary approaches to the supernatural and raise cultural and philosophical questions crucial to an understanding of the figure and its role in the greater transformation of modern Japan (18th century to the present).
Ghosts and the Modern Literary Imagination: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Ghosts and the Modern Literary Imagination: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2016
The course considers the different literary, social and ethical formations that arise or are destroyed in disaster. It explores how Japanese literature and media, before and after 3:11, attempt to translate the un-representable, and in so doing, to create a new type of literacy about 1) trauma and the temporality of disaster, 2) precarity, community and the public sphere and 3) sustainability and ecological scale. The course will pay particular attention to a range of works that explicitly or obliquely reframe iconic or popular representations of disasters in cinema, literature and other media, taking into account of the readiness with which certain cultural forms lend themselves to vistas of disaster.
Reframing Disasters: Fukushima, Before and After: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Reframing Disasters: Fukushima, Before and After: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2015, Spring 2013
This course will offer a survey of Japanese cinema from its earliest days to contemporary anime (animated film). Providing the basic tools for analyzing film language, the course begins by analyzing the interactions between early Japanese film and early Hollywood. We then consider the development of Japanese film, discussing style and structures of connotation, figurative meaning and political critique, the uses of the historical past and ideology, and the roles of youth culture and views of the family. We consider the place of important individual directors. We also discuss current critical debates about broader trends in Japanese film and culture, as they illuminate the construction and ruptures in notions of Japanese identity.
Introduction to Japanese Cinema: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Introduction to Japanese Cinema: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2017, Fall 2011
This course is an introduction to Japanese animation, or anime, from its earliest forms (in relationship to manga) to recent digital culture, art, and games. We will analyze and study mainly animated feature films and read the critical work they inspired. We will address such issues as cultural memory and apocalyptic imagination, robots and the post-human, cities, nature, and the transnational; gender, shojo, and the aesthetics of "cute," as well as consider specific issues in the theoretical understanding of anime within technology and media theory.
Japanese Visual Culture: Introduction to Anime: Read More [+]

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 3.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: O'Neill

Japanese Visual Culture: Introduction to Anime: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Summer 2018 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2013, Spring 2012
Selected topics in the study of Japanese film.
Topics in Japanese Film: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture and 2-3 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8-8 hours of lecture and 4-6 hours of discussion per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Topics in Japanese Film: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2018 10 Week Session
Directed independent study and preparation of senior honors thesis. Limited to senior honors candidates in East Asian Languages (for description of Honors Program, see Index).
Honors Course: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Senior honors standing in East Asian Languages, 3.5 GPA in major, 3.3 overall

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-5 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 10 weeks - 3-7.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Honors Course: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
Directed independent study and preparation of senior honors thesis. Limited to senior honors candidates in East Asian Languages (for description of Honors Program, see Index).
Honors Course: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Senior honors standing in East Asian Languages, 3.5 major GPA, 3.3 overall

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-5 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 10 weeks - 3-7.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. This is part two of a year long series course. Upon completion, the final grade will be applied to both parts of the series. Final exam not required.

Honors Course: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
Small group instruction in topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Upper division standing

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of directed group study per week
8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Directed Group Study: Read Less [-]

Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
Independent study in topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Independent Study: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Upper division standing

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Summer:
6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Japanese/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Independent Study: Read Less [-]

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Jinsoo An, Associate Professor. Modern Korean Literature, East Asian Cinema, Korean Film, visual studies .
Research Profile

Robert Ashmore, Associate Professor. China, lyric poetry, Chinese literature, Chinese culture, poetic theory.
Research Profile

Weihong Bao, Associate Professor. Film theory and history, media archaeology, critical theory, visual and performance culture, Chinese language cinema, transnational genre cinema, comparative media history and theory.
Research Profile

Mark L. Blum, Professor. Buddhism, Japan, culture and society, modernization.
Research Profile

Mark Csikszentmihalyi, Professor. Early China, Confucianism, Taoism, Daoism, Comparative Religion.
Research Profile

Jacob Dalton, Professor. Religion, ritual, Tibet, Buddhism, Tantra, Dunhuang.
Research Profile

Yoko Hasegawa, Professor. Pragmatics, syntax, east asian languages and cultures, acoustic phonetics, semantics, sociolinguistics of Japanese, cognitive linguistics.
Research Profile

+ H. Mack Horton, Professor. Performativity, east asian languages and cultures, classical poetry, diary literature, cultural context, anthology of vernacular poetry, Man'yoshu, poetry and poetics.
Research Profile

Andrew Jones, Professor. East asian languages and cultures, Chinese popular music, sonic culture, media technology, modern Chinese fiction, children's literature, literary translation.
Research Profile

Youngmin Kwon, Adjunct Professor. Korean literature.
Research Profile

Ling Hon Lam, Assistant Professor. Premodern Chinese Drama and Fiction, Women's writing, sex and gender, Media Culture, and Critical Theory.
Research Profile

Daniel C. O'Neill, Associate Professor. Modern Japanese Literature, East Asian Cinema, Global Modernism, visual studies.
Research Profile

Lanchih Po, Associate Adjunct Professor.
Research Profile

Robert Sharf, Professor. East asian languages and cultures, medieval Chinese buddhism, Chan buddhism, Japanese buddhism, Zen buddhism, Tantric buddhism, buddhist art, ritual studies, methodological issues in the study of religion.
Research Profile

Alan Tansman, Professor. Modern Japanese Literature, literary and cultural theory, aesthetics and politics, Comparative Responses to Violence, literary history.
Research Profile

Paula Varsano, Associate Professor. Phenomenology, translation, comparative literature, aesthetics, epistemology, classical Chinese poetry and poetics (3rd-11th centuries), traditional Chinese literary theory.
Research Profile

Sophie Volpp, Associate Professor. East asian languages and cultures, history of performance, gender theory, the history of sexuality, material culture, material objects in late-imperial literature.
Research Profile

Lecturers

Yasuko Konno Baker, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Brian Baumann, Lecturer. Mongolian language.
Research Profile

Weisi Cai, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Yuriko Caltabiano, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Damien Donnelly, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Kayoko Imagawa, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Wakae Kambara, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Minsook Kim, Lecturer. Korean language.
Research Profile

Kijoo Ko, Lecturer. Korean language.
Research Profile

Meehyei Lee, Lecturer. Korean language.
Research Profile

Soojin C. Lee, Lecturer. Korean language.
Research Profile

I-Hao Li, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Hsin-yu Lin, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Li Liu, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Sanjyot Mehendale, Lecturer. Near Eastern studies, Central Asia, Central Asian studies, archaeology and art history.
Research Profile

Junghee Park, Lecturer. Korean language.
Research Profile

Chika Shibahara, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Maki Takata, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Chen-Hui Tsai, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

John R. Wallace, Lecturer. Japanese language.
Research Profile

Chunhong Xie, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Lihua Zhang, Lecturer. Chinese language.
Research Profile

Emeritus Faculty

Haruo Aoki, Professor Emeritus.

Cyril Birch, Professor Emeritus.

James E. Bosson, Professor Emeritus.

Hung-Nin Samuel Cheung, Professor Emeritus. East asian languages and cultures, East Asian studies, vernacular Chinese literature and linguistics.
Research Profile

John C. Jamieson, Professor Emeritus.

Lewis Lancaster, Professor Emeritus. East asian languages and cultures, East Asian studies, east asian buddhism.
Research Profile

Susan Matisoff, Professor Emeritus. Japanese literature, performing arts and folklore.
Research Profile

Jeffrey Riegel, Professor Emeritus. East asian languages and cultures, ancient Chinese poetry and prose, early Chinese thought, Confucian classics, paleography, recently-excavated manuscripts.
Research Profile

Pang-Hsin Ting, Professor Emeritus.

Stephen H. West, Professor Emeritus.

Contact Information

Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

3413 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-3480

Fax: 510-642-6031

ealang@berkeley.edu

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Andrew Jones

3112 Dwinelle Hall

afjones@berkeley.edu

Student Services Advisor

Presi Diaz

3413 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-3480

ealc-advising@berkeley.edu

Japanese Language

About the Program

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Declaring the Major

Honors Program

Minor Program

Other Majors and Minors Offered by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Major Requirements

General Guidelines

Lower Division Prerequisites

Lower Division Major Requirements

Upper Division Major Requirements

Minor Requirements

General Guidelines

Requirements

College Requirements

University of California Requirements

Berkeley Campus Requirement

College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements

College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements

Unit Requirements

Residence Requirements

Senior Residence Requirement

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Upper Division Residence Requirement

Courses

Japanese Language

JAPAN 1 Intensive Elementary Japanese 10 Units

JAPAN 1A Elementary Japanese 5 Units

JAPAN 1AL Supplementary Work in Listening-Elementary 1 Unit

JAPAN 1AS Supplementary Work in Kanji 1 Unit

JAPAN 1B Elementary Japanese 5 Units

JAPAN 1BL Supplementary Work in Listening-Elementary 1 Unit

JAPAN 1BS Supplementary Work in Kanji 1 Unit

JAPAN 7A Introduction to Premodern Japanese Literature and Culture 4 Units

JAPAN 7B Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture 4 Units

JAPAN 10 Intensive Intermediate Japanese 10 Units

JAPAN 10A Intermediate Japanese 5 Units

JAPAN 10AG Supplementary Work in Grammar - Intermediate 1 Unit

JAPAN 10AS Supplementary Work in Kanji - Intermediate 1 Unit

JAPAN 10B Intermediate Japanese 5 Units

JAPAN 10BG Supplementary Work in Grammar - Intermediate 1 Unit

JAPAN 10BS Supplementary Work in Kanji-Intermediate 1 Unit

JAPAN 10RA Intermediate Reading in Japanese 4 Units

JAPAN 10RB Intermediate Reading in Japanese 4 Units

JAPAN 10X Intermediate Japanese for Heritage Learners 5 Units

JAPAN 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit

JAPAN 80 Japanese Culture 4 Units

JAPAN 84 Sophomore Seminar 1 or 2 Units

JAPAN 98 Directed Group Study for Lower Division Students 1 - 4 Units

JAPAN 99 Independent Study for Lower Division Students 1 - 4 Units

JAPAN 100 Intensive Advanced Japanese 10 Units

JAPAN 100A Advanced Japanese 5 Units

JAPAN 100B Advanced Japanese 5 Units

JAPAN 100S Japanese for Sinologists 4 Units

JAPAN 100X Advanced Japanese for Heritage Learners 5 Units

JAPAN 101 Fourth-Year Readings: Social Sciences 4 Units

JAPAN 102 Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Culture 4 Units

JAPAN 103 Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese Literature 4 Units

JAPAN 104 Fourth-Year Readings: Japanese History 4 Units

JAPAN 105 Fourth-Year Japanese: Current Issues in Japan 4 Units

JAPAN 111 Fifth-Year Readings: Reading and Analysis of Advanced Japanese Texts 4 Units

JAPAN 112 Fifth-Year Readings: Japanese for Research and Professional Use 4 Units

JAPAN C115 Japanese Buddhism 4 Units

JAPAN 116 Introduction to the Religions of Japan 4 Units

JAPAN 120 Introduction to Classical Japanese 4 Units

JAPAN 130 Classical Japanese Poetry 4 Units

JAPAN 132 Premodern Japanese Diary (Nikki) Literature 4 Units

JAPAN 140 Heian Prose 4 Units

JAPAN C141 Introductory Readings in Japanese Buddhist Texts 4 Units

JAPAN 144 Edo Literature 4 Units

JAPAN 146 Japanese Historical Documents 4 Units

JAPAN 155 Modern Japanese Literature 4 Units

JAPAN 159 Contemporary Japanese Literature 4 Units

JAPAN 160 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Grammar 4 Units

JAPAN 161 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Usage 4 Units

JAPAN 163 Translation: Theory and Practice 4 Units

JAPAN 170 Classical Japanese Literature in Translation 4 Units

JAPAN 173 Modern Japanese Literature in Translation 4 Units

JAPAN C176 Archaeology and Japanese Identities 4 Units