It is becoming ever more important to reconsider the intrinsic value of Japanese culture from diverse perspectives and disseminate the findings with people from vastly different cultural backgrounds and areas of expertise.

This for-credit course will examine some of the specialized fields in which Tokyo Geidai educates its students and conducts research to help students understand the doctrines of each field—in English—in a systematic manner with a historical perspective. In 2023, We will focus on Japanese art crafts, printmaking, animation, and traditional performing arts in the spring semester and architecture, printmaking, film, and more (tbc) in the fall semester.

This course offers Japanese students the opportunity to reexamine the arts and culture of their own country from an international perspective, and gives international students the opportunity to study the general outline of Japanese arts and culture that may lie outside their usual fields of study. The series will be taught through lectures with an emphasis on critical thinking and discussions.

Topics Covered in the Spring Semester (15 classes in total)

Please note the following schedule is subject to change. Join the Google Classroom for this course for updates.

1. Japanese Printmaking and Art #1 – Publishing Art Then and Now: Japanese Art in Print
   Japanese printmaking from early black and white prints to contemporary art practice
2. Japanese Printmaking and Art #2 – Publishing Art Now: Art and Print in Japan
   Ideas and players in current art production
3. Japanese Printmaking and Art #3 – Publishing Art for Tomorrow
   Art and visual culture in post-digital Japan
4. Japanese Art Crafts #1 – An Exchange Between Eastern and Western Cultures and Arts
   Shōsōin’s art and craft treasures, Japanese art and crafts from the inside, patrons and the roles played by Shogunate families
5. Japanese Art Crafts #2 – Japanese Art Crafts by Material
   Ceramic arts and the rise and fall of Arita and Seto, metalwork’s role in arts and crafts and its later status, woodwork’s position between traditional and advanced arts and crafts, dyeing/weaving and Japan’s unique colors and fabrics, lacquer arts
6. Japanese Art Crafts #3 – Transcendent Skills from the Meiji Era to Contemporary Art
   Meiji era craftworks as important cultural assets for modern Japan
7. Japanese Music (Traditional Performing Arts) #1 – The Diverse World of Japanese Music
   Gagaku (court music), noh, kyogen, kabuki, classical Japanese dance, Buddhist music, joruri (ballad dramas), folk songs, music for rites and festivals, sokyoku (koto music), and music written for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and biwa (Japanese lute)
8. Japanese Music (Traditional Performing Arts) #2 – Noh plays, Kyogen, Kabuki
   History, methods of expression, costumes, stage equipment, and characteristics of the music
9. Japanese Music (Traditional Performing Arts) #3 – Music in Kabuki
   Japanese music especially focusing on ohayashi (musical instrument) with demonstration
10. Japanese Animation #1 – The Origins of Japanese Animation
    Pioneering artists who learned from foreign films and explored their own creative paths
11. Japanese Animation #2 – Lineages for Puppet Animation in Japan
    Tadahito Mochinaga, Kihachiro Kawamoto, and Tadanari Okamoto
12. Japanese Animation #3 – A Decade of Dramatic Changes in Post-war Japan (1956-1965)
    The birth of major studios to the rise of independents and the beginnings of TV series
13. Field Trip (Museum, Gallery Tour)
14. Presentations by Students #1
15. Presentations by Students #2

Topics Covered in the Fall Semester (15 classes in total)

In the second semester, we will focus on the fields of urban architecture, manga, film, and crafts, providing an overview of their historical and cultural backgrounds, as well as opportunities to experience actual production sites through viewing actual works, showing artworks, and demonstrating musical instruments and dances. In addition, by providing time for discussion and group work between international and Japanese students, students will learn from diverse perspectives and acquire communication skills in English.

Contact : Global Support Center globalsupport@ml.geidai.ac.jp