From Basho to Banana: Four Centuries of Japanese Literature

This course explores classic writers of Japanese literature written between 1600 and 2000. We will focus on both the specificity of Japanese genre as well as the historical, social relations that have shaped them--Edo merchant culture, modernism, the avant-garde, mass culture and postmoderism, among others. Writers covered will include Ihara Saikaku, Jippensha Ikku, Higuchi Ichiyo, Natsume Soseki, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Tanizaki Junichiro and Yoshimoto Banana. No prerequisites.