Course Name Year Term Period Faculty / Graduate School All Instructors Credits
13290:[2025 Spring]RUIR-2231 Japanese Culture (course jointly designed)(JD) 2025 Spring Mon4 College　Of　International　Relations RAJKAI ZSOMBOR TIBOR 2

Campus

KIC

Class Venue

KOSHINKAN　KS207

Language

英語

Course Outline and Method

【+R-Jugyo】
Information for “+R-Jugyo” will be posted on the “Course News” on manaba+R by the class during Week 6 as supplementary content for the classes in Weeks 6, 7, 8 and 9. Be sure to check the “Course News” on manaba+R.

This course introduces students to the study of Japanese culture. The course is devoted to decomposing the myth of Japan as a unique society, and to reconstruct its real conditions from a cultural anthropological perspective. This includes a general introduction to core issues in the field of cultural studies, as well as to the genealogy of Japanese self-images such as the ‘mixed nation’ or ‘one nation’ theory, invented traditions in modern Japan such as ‘harmony’, and also a reconsideration of popular images and theories on Japanese culture such as those regarding collectivism, conformity or shame culture, and how these have supported Japanese imperialism, nationalism, and socially exclusionary attitudes. The course is basically a lecture course, but there is also space for both open and group discussion in the class in order to promote a student-led learning process. This is a cohort class and JDP students will have the opportunity to further understand their own cultures and those of their fellow students.

Student Attainment Objectives

1. The students will learn a set of fundamental concepts and theories related to Japanese culture, and they will also acquire a basic understanding about the historical conditions of the Japanese mindset from a cultural anthropological perspective.
2. The students will obtain a basic insight into fundamental academic dilemmas regarding cultural studies, and also into the potential and limitation of cultural studies.

Recommended Preparatory Course

Course Schedule

Lecture/Instructor（When there are multiple instructors) Theme
Keyword, References and Supplementary Information
1

Orientation

open discussion on the images of modern Japan

2

Review on ‘Culture’

essentialism, social/cultural evolution theory, cultural relativism, social constructionism

3

The Japan Myth

homogenisation, orientalism, reversed orientalism, Kokugaku

4

Nihonjinron 1

the genre of Nihonjinron, general introduction, historical review, anthropological perspective

5

Nihonjinron 2

mixed-nation theory, one-nation theory, ‘foster-children’, family system and modernization

6

Invented Traditions during Japan’s Modernization 1

harmony, Prince Shōtoku, the Seventeen-Article Constitution, the organ theory of the emperor

7

Invented Traditions during Japan’s Modernization 2

working spirit, ‘beautiful customs’, industrial paternalism, horizontal and vertical unions

8

Invented Traditions during Japan’s Modernization 3

legal consciousness, litigation, public right and government control, the burakumin

9

Invented Traditions during Japan’s Modernization 4

Yanagita Kunio, jōmin, chihō, yamatagokoro, central and periphery

10

‘Japanese-ness’ 1

social and institutional trust, spontaneous sociability, keiretsu

11

‘Japanese-ness’ 2

patterns of Japanese culture, shame culture, guilt culture, contextualism

12

‘Japanese-ness’ 3

ethnocentrism, minority groups

13

‘Japanese-ness’ 4

monitoring communication, verbal and non-verbal, as well as assertive and non-assertive communication

14

Summary; Submission of the Term Report and the Essay-Type Test Paper

open discussion on the potential and limitation of cultural studies

Class Format

This course generally adheres to an in-class, face-to-face format, except for the first, introductory class (Week 1), which is presented in an on-demand web format.

Recommendations for Private Study

It is strongly recommended that students should do preliminary preparations for each lecture, as well as that they should carefully read and study at home the materials distributed in each lecture so that they can constantly follow the course content. Students who fail to do so usually give a poor performance in the final test and term report assignment.

Grade Evaluation Method

Kind Percentage Grading Criteria etc.
Final Examination (Written)

Report Examination
(A report to be submitted by the unified deadline)

Exams and/or Reports other than those stated above, and Continuous Assessment　
(Evaluation of Everyday Performance in Class)		 100

The following assignments are provided to the students as an opportunity to practice and reflect on the learning outcome.

First, there is a reading and writing assignment prior to the related lectures each week, based on guidelines specified by the instructor.

Second, the students are asked to write an essay-type test paper (1,000 words) on a specific subject related to the content of the course.

Third, the students are asked to write a term report (2,000 words) on a freely chosen subject related to the course.

The assignments are weighted as follows:
Class participation: 20%.
Writing assignment: 20%.
Essay-type test paper: 30%.
Term report: 30%.

Grade Evaluation Method （Note）

The course policy regardihng the use of AI tools will be announced in the first, introductory class of the course (Week 1).

Advice to Students on Study and Research Methods

It is strongly recommended that - besides carefully reading the distributed class materials - students should also make efforts in taking notes of the provided class materials. Taking notes is an active learning tool that is complementary to passive learning tools such as 'listening' or 'reading'.

Textbooks

Textbooks （Frequency of Use, Note）

Class materials will be distributed one week before each lecture.

Reference Books

Reference Books （Frequency of Use, Note）

Web Pages for Reference

How to Communicate with the Instructor In and Out of Class(Including Instructor Contact Information)

Talk with Students

Other Comments

A detailed notification will be given about each week’s assignments in advance.
【科目ナンバリング・カリキュラムマップはこちらから/Click here to see the Curriculum-Map and Course-Numbering】
URL:https://secure.ritsumei.ac.jp/students/pathways-future/course/curriculum.html/