31107 - Japanese Literature 1

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will have a general understanding of the history of Japanese literature from its origins to the modern era, with particular attention to the relationship between literary texts and the cultural, historical, artistic, and linguistic context in which they were produced. They will have been introduced to the fundamental tools for analyzing and interpreting literary texts.

Course contents

Texts, Contexts, and Canons of Japanese Premodern Literature

The course will provide an overview of the cultural and literary history of the Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and Tokugawa periods. Students will be introduced to the most recent literary theories and encouraged to reflect on possible approaches to reading texts from the premodern Japanese literary tradition. Particular attention will be given to understanding the function of a literary work within its historical and sociocultural context, as well as to the ways in which classical literature and culture have been reinterpreted and reimagined in relation to modernity and the encounter with the West.

Readings/Bibliography

Students are expected to have a foundational knowledge of the history of Japanese literature from its origins to the end of the Tokugawa period.

The reference texts are as follows:

L. Bienati, A. Boscaro, La narrativa giapponese classica, Collana "Elementi", Marsilio, Venezia 2010

Pierantonio Zanotti, Introduzione alla storia della poesia giapponese: Dalle origini all'Ottocento, Venezia, Marsilio, 2012

 

Critical Sources (mandatory):

Gustav Heldt, Between Followers and Friends: Male Homosocial Desire in Heian Court Poetry, U.S.-Japan women's journal (2003), 2007-01 (33): p.3-32

Tomiko Yoda, Literary History against the National Frame, or Gender and the Emergence of Heian Kana Writing, positions (2000) 8 (2): 465–497.

Torquil Duthie, "Poetry and Power in Ancient Japan", https://www.japanpitt.pitt.edu/essays-and-articles/culture/poetry-and-power-ancient-japan

 

Further Readings (recommended):

A. Boscaro (a cura di), Letteratura giapponese. I. Dalle origini alle soglie dell'età moderna, Einaudi, Torino 2005

Haruo Shirane, (a cura di), Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, New York, Columbia University Press, 2007 (una selezione di passi sarà disponibile fra i materiali didattici online all'inizio del corso)

Haruo Shirane, (a cura di), Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900, New York, Columbia University Press, 2002 (una selezione di passi sarà disponibile fra i materiali didattici online all'inizio del corso).

 

Primary Sources (mandatory: for texts marked with an asterisk, a detailed understanding of the introduction and/or afterword and supplementary materials is required):

Kojiki. Un racconto di antichi eventi, a cura di P. Villani, Marsilio 2006.

Man'yōshū (Raccolta delle diecimila foglie), Libro 16: poesie che hanno una storia e poesie varie, a cura di Maria Chiara Migliore, Carocci, 2019

Kaifūsō (Raccolta in onore di antichi poeti), a cura di Andrea Maurizi, Roma: Istituti editoriali e poligrafici internazionali, 2002

*Storia di un tagliabambù, a cura di Adriana Boscaro, Marsilio.

* I racconti di Ise, a cura di Andrea Maurizi, Marsilio 2018

Murasaki Shikibu, La Storia di Genji, Einaudi, Torino 2012 (trad. dal giapponese di M. T. Orsi) (capp. 1-2-4-5-9-22-25).

*Le memorie della dama di Sarashina, a cura di C. Negri, Marsilio, 2005.

Sei Shonagon, Le note del guanciale, SE, 2014.

*Kamo no Chomei, Racconti di un eremo, a cura di F. Fraccaro, Marsilio, 2001.

*La monaca tuttofare, la donna serpente, il demone beone, a cura di Roberta Strippoli, Marsilio, Venezia.

*Il rovescio del broccato. Storie di fantasmi e cortigiane dal Giappone, a cura di di Cristian Pallone, Atmosphere libri 2019.

*Ueda Akinari, Racconti di pioggia e di luna, a cura di Maria Teresa Orsi, Marsilio, Venezia.

 

An additional selection of poetic texts will be made available online at the start of the course.

Teaching methods

The course is part of the university's teaching innovation project. The majority of the course consists of a series of lectures, during which concepts and contexts will be presented and explored in depth. These are complemented by guided individual and group activities (for one-third of the sessions), conducted online and focused on specific topics and/or theoretical approaches. Details regarding the content and organization of the activities will be published before the start of the course.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of several in-progress assessments, which may also include activities carried out in the group work sessions, and a final oral examination.

Throughout the various assessments, the following will be evaluated: knowledge of the topics covered during the course, supported by strong argumentative skills; the ability to contextualize cultural and literary phenomena and to identify the distinctive features of the studied texts. Additionally, critical synthesis skills based on the reference bibliography, as well as expressive accuracy in terms of mastery of the subject's specific lexicon, will be assessed. A comprehensive understanding of the historical, cultural, and literary period, along with proficiency in using the reference texts, will be evaluated as exemplary. Conversely, a basic knowledge limited to textbook-level familiarity, without interpretive depth, will receive a positive but not high grade. Finally, repeated difficulty in establishing logical and descriptive connections between cultural phenomena and literary texts, as well as failure to read one or more texts from the bibliography, will result in a negative evaluation.

Teaching tools

The course will be conducted in a hybrid format and will utilize a variety of multimedia tools made available online to help build a coherent and clear understanding of the studied period. Lecture materials will be made available to students on the Virtual platform to support better preparation for the course.

Participation in 70% of the supplementary course activities—verified through methods that will be outlined at the beginning of the course for students wishing to take advantage of this opportunity—will be positively considered as part of the final assessment.

Office hours

See the website of Dario Minguzzi