History 251: Popular Culture in Early Modern Japan
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Program Guide
(Linked Electronic Readings (ER) and Lecture Outlines are PDF files. )
Week: 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15

 

Week 1 (8/29-31): Setting the Stage of Tokugawa Japan

 
topics:

W. Problems, Parameters
F. The Tokugawa System
 
materials:

F.Electronic Reading (ER): "Early-Modern Japan, The Political Narrative"

 
task:

Study Maps of Japan and Edo-Tokyo

 

 

 

 

Week 2 (9/3-7): Setting the Stage of Edo

 
topics:

M. The Foundation and Transformation of Edo-Tokyo
W. Edo Culturescapes: Society, Body, and Play
F. MAP QUIZ
 
materials:

M. Edo Culture, Chapter 1
W. ER: "Sky & Water: The Deep Structures of Tokyo"

 
task:

Study for Friday's Map Quiz

 

 

 

 

Week 3 (9/10-14): Sakariba: Thriving Places

 
topics:

M. Edokko Culture
W. Spectales & the Carnivalesque
F. Bathhouse Talk

 
materials:

M. Edo Culture, Chapter 2; PopSite 1: Roaming Ryôgoku
W. ER: "The Carnival of Edo" ; "Ryôgoku Bridge"
F. ER: "The Bathhouse of the Floating World"

 
task:

Begin PopSite & PopThought 1

 

 

 

 

Week 4 (9/17-21): Ukiyo: The Floating World

 
topics:

M. The Idea of the Floating World
W. The Representation of the Floating World
F. Saikaku's kôshoku-mono ("books on love")

 
materials:

M. The Floating World in Japanese Fiction, Chapters 1-2;
ER: "Tales of the Floating World: Preface"
W. The Floating World in Japanese Fiction, Chapter 3;
F. ER: "Life of a Senuous Man";
The Floating World in Japanese Fiction, 153-217

 
task:

PopThought 1 Due by Class Time Monday
Prepare to discuss works of Saikaku on Friday

 

 

 

 

Week 5 (9/24-28): Akusho: The Kabuki Theater as "Notorious Place"

 
topics:

M. Taking the Kink Out of Kabuki, I
W. Taking the Kink Out of Kabuki, II
F. VIDEO: "Kabuki"

 
materials:

M. ER: "Sex, Art, and Edo Culture"
W. ER: "Bakufu versus Kabuki"
F. VIDEO: "Kabuki"

 
task:

Begin PopSite & PopThought 2

 

 

 

 

Week 6 (10/1-5): The Aesthetics of Edo Kabuki

 
topics:

M. Street Knights & Tranvestites
W. Edo's Aragoto Style in Shibaraku
F. VIDEO: "Portrait of an Onnagata"
 
materials:

M. Edo Culture, Chapter 11
W. Web links to "Shibaraku" and "Sukeroku"
ER: "Just a Minute! (Shibaraku)"
F. VIDEO: "Portrait of an Onnagata"

 
task:

PopThought 2 Due by Class Time Friday
Begin Take-home Essay 1

 

 

 

 

Week 7 (10/8-12): Ukiyo-e: Pictures of the Floating World

 
topics:

M. The Development of Edo Woodblock Prints
W. Genre Prints: Actors, Courtesans, & Sumo Wrestlers
F. KEYWORD QUIZ

 
materials:

M. Edo Culture, Chapter 4
W. Ukiyo-e Slideshow

 
task:

Study for Keyword Quiz
Take-home Essay 1, Due Friday 10/12

 

 

 

 

Week 8 (10/15-19): Akusho: The Yoshiwara as "Notorious Place"

 
topics:

M. Founding the Yoshiwara
W. Visiting the Yoshiwara
F. Navigating the Yoshiwara

 
materials:

M. Yoshiwara, Chapters 1-2
W. Yoshiwara, Chapter 3
F. Yoshiwara, Chapter 4

 
task:

Begin PopSite & PopThought 3

 

 

 

 

Week 9 (10/22-26): Taste and Fashion in the Yoshiwara

 
topics:

M. FALL BREAK (NO CLASS)
W. The Idea of Iki and the Tsû in Edo
F. Enter the Geisha

 
materials:

W. Edo Culture , Chapter 3; Yoshiwara, Chapter 5
ER: "The Playboy Dialect &
Forty-Eight Techniques for Success with Courtesans"
F. Yoshiwara, Chapter 6

 
task:

PopThought 3 Due by Class Time Friday

 

 

 

 

Week 10 (10/29-11/2): Edo Erotica
 
topics:

M. Sex, Lies, and Ukiyo-e
W. Situating Sex and Shunga in Edo
F. Embodying the Erotic in Edo Pornography

 
materials:

M.Sex and the Floating World, Introduction and Chapter 1
W. Sex and the Floating World, Chapter 2
F.Sex and the Floating World, Chapter 3

 

 

 

 

Week 11 (11/5-9): Edo Erotica

 
topics:

M. Decoding Sexual Symbols
W. To See and Be Seen
F. Shunga, Inside and Out

 
materials:

M. Sex and the Floating World, Chapter 4
W. Sex and the Floating World, Chapter 5
F. Sex and the Floating World, Chapter 6

   
task:

Begin Take-home Essay 2

 

 

 

 

Week 12 (11/12-11/16): Edo Sumo

 
topics:

M. The Origins of Sumo
W. The Professionalization of Sumo
F. The Spectacle of Sumo
 
materials:

MWF. Web links; in-class video

 
task:

Take-home Essay 2 Due Friday 11/16

 

 

 

 

Week 13 (11/26-11/30): Edo Comicbooks

 
topics:

M. Kibyôshi in the Floating World
W. Kibyôshi in the Literary World
F. Santô Kyôden & Playful Storytelling
 
materials:

M. Manga from the Floating World, 39-65.
W. Manga from the Floating World, 93-128.
F. MFW, 253-269 & "Those Familiar Bestsellers" (275-338)
 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 14 (12/3-12/7): Edo Comicbooks

 
topics:

M. Satire in the Pleasure Quarters
W. Double Double Entendre
F. Reading Quiz
 
materials:

M."Playboy, Roasted à la Edo" (MFW, 339-426)
W. "The Unseamly Silverpiped Swingers" (MFW, 427-506)
F. Review Sex and the Floating World & Manga from Floating World

 
task:
Study for Reading Quiz

 

 

 

 

Week 15 (12/10-12): Edo Legacies

 
topics:

M. Kibyôshi and Modern Manga
W. Legacies of Edo Culture
 
materials:

M. Manga from the Floating World, 129-180.
W. ER: "Edo: A Lifestyle Alive and Well in the Present Day"

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

©2007 gerald figal • email • about me east asian studies • history • vanderbilt home