An Introduction to Japanese History: Surveying Japan's Pre-Modern Past

(2 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course will examine the premodern period of Japan from its origins in the Jomon Period through to the end of the 16th century by focusing upon the emergence of the imperial state, court rulership, and the rise of the warrior class. Though dominated by the rulership, religions, and lifestyles of courtiers and warriors, the course also explores the cultural context within which elites, commoners, and those in between lived and prospered. The approach is thus primarily sociocultural, aiming to enhance the students' understanding not only of the Japan of the past, but also of the present. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the most important aspects of the classical Heian age, the dual, or tripartite, polity of Kamakura, the warrior rule of the Muromachi era, and the subsequent era of civil warfare.