Modern Japanese History 2 Modern Japanese History 2

【授業の目標 / Course Objectives】

This course provides the overview of the transnational histories of modern and contemporary Japan in East Asia within both local and global contexts, alongside humanitarianism. It covers topics in Japanese history from the late Tokugawa period to the present day. With reference to modern Japanese history, it first explores the economic, cultural, and political interactions between East Asia and the West in the framework of Japan as an axis, and examines Japan’s modernisation and its impact on the reactions of East Asia to imperialism. Interactions with and movements in Japan accelerated the so-called ‘globalisation’ in East Asia, thereby altering the trajectory of the modern world, alongside a range of modern crises.
Regarding post-1945 Japan, this course provides an introduction to both the classic and recent historiography on contemporary Japan, and explores the post-industrial society of Japan as a case study of a country facing one of the most advanced problems in the contemporary world. It is crafted into an exploration of what sustainable society is, by focusing on international security, ageing society, energy policy, disaster preparedness, the crisis of capitalism, SNS, gender, and digital technology. Focusing on humanitarian crises in Japan brought about by modernisation and wars and post-industrial Japan may allow students to understand the pros and cons of modernity – its progress and retreat within the context of global history. Therefore, it teaches the development of Japan and Asia-Pacific as a symbol of modernity and contemporary phenomena.

【授業の内容 / Course Contents】

Our work begins with close reading of the assigned texts as well as a textbook. Lectures are designed to supplement the required reading; seminars will allow you to clarify questions raised in class, discuss assigned reading, and prepare for essays. Each class is designed to introduce you to the intellectual tools necessary for historical inquiry, and in seminars, you are expected to participate in small-group discussions structured to provoke your questions about that class’s reading assignment. While learning the facts of Japanese and East Asian history, you will be required to engage in critical reading of secondary sources to develop your analytical writing skills, and to learn about the use of electronic and print-based research tools. Class presentations and coursework essays provide an opportunity to synthesize material in preparation for the reports, which may draw on any and all required reading, class lectures, and seminar discussions. Ultimately, the aim of this course is to develop your interests in the history of Japan and East Asia and to make sure that you are knowing how to fulfil your potential. Training critical readers of texts will be one of the most important purposes of this course.

【授業計画 / Course Schedule】

【活用される授業方法 / Teaching Methods Used】

板書 /Writing on the Board
スライド（パワーポイント等）の使用 /Slides (PowerPoint, etc.)
上記以外の視聴覚教材の使用 /Audiovisual Materials Other than Those Listed Above
個人発表 /Individual Presentations
グループ発表 /Group Presentations
ディスカッション・ディベート /Discussion/Debate
実技・実習・実験 /Practicum/Experiments/Practical Training
学内の教室外施設の利用 /Use of On-Campus Facilities Outside the Classroom
校外実習・フィールドワーク /Field Work
上記いずれも用いない予定 /None of the above

【授業時間外（予習・復習等）の学修 / Study Required Outside of Class】

1.Introductions
In this lecture, we will introduce the back history of Japan and East Asia from antiquity to the late medieval era, and discuss the modernity.

Suggested reading:
Gordon, Andrew. A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
Holcombe, Charles. A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century: Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, New York, 2017.
Suzuki, Michiko. Humanitarian Internationalism Under Empire: The Global Evolution of the Japanese Red Cross Movement, 1877-1945. New York: Columbia University Press, 2024.


2.Meiji Restoration
In this lecture, we will scrutinise the Meiji Restoration within the context of politics, economy, society and culture.

Suggested reading:
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. London: Belknap Press, 2002.
Cluck, Carol. Japan’s Modern Myths: Ideology in the Late Meiji Period. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.


3.Women in Modern Japan
In this lecture, we will explore the lives of female nurses and women in urban (modern girls: moga).

Suggested reading:
Molony, Barbara, and Uno Kathleen S. Gendering Modern Japanese History. London: Harvard University Press, 2005.
Takahashi, Aya. The Development of the Japanese Nursing Profession: Adopting and Adapting Western Influences. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.


4.Industrialisation
In this lecture, we will explore the economy and culture of female textile workers.

Suggested reading:
Fletcher, W. Miles. “The Japan Spinners Association: Creating Industrial Policy in Meiji Japan.” The Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol.22, No.1 (1996) : 49-75.
Francks, Penelope. Rural Economic Development in Japan: From the Nineteenth Century to the Pacific War. London: Routledge, 2007.


5.Interwar Japan
In this lecture, we will explore the rise of Japan’s internationalism, with particular focus on the role of the 15th International Red Cross Conference of 1934 in Tokyo.

Suggested reading:
Abel, Jessamyn R. The International Minimum: Creativity and Contradiction in Japan’s Global Engagement, 1933-1964. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2015.
Kato, Shuichi. “Taishō Democracy as the Pre-Stage for Japanese Militarism.” In Japan in Crisis: Essays on Taisho Democracy, edited by Harootunian, Harry and Silberman, Bernard S., 217-36. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Suzuki, Michiko. Humanitarian Internationalism Under Empire: The Global Evolution of the Japanese Red Cross Movement, 1877-1945. Columbia University Press, New York, 2024.


6.Japanese Imperialism and Colonialism
In this lecture, we will scrutiny the similarity and difference among Imperial Japan’s colonial movement in Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, Karafuto, South Seas Mandate and South East Asia.

Suggested reading:
Beasley, William G. Japanese Imperialism, 1894-1945. London: Clarendon Press, 1987.
Chatani, Sayaka. Nation-Empire: Ideology and Rural Youth Mobilizaion in Japan and its Colonies. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2018.
Caprio, Mark E. Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea, 1910- 1945. Washington: University of Washington Press, 2009.
Hofmann, Reto. The Fascist Effect: Japan and Italy, 1915-1952. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2015.
Duara, Prasenjit. Sovereignty and Authenticity: Manchukuo and the East Asian Modern. Lanham, Boulder, New York & Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003.
Dudden, Alexis. Japan’s Colonization of Korea: Discourse and Power. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2005.
Lincicome, Mark. Imperial Subjects as Global Citizens: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Education in Japan. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2009.
Young, Louise. Japan’s Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism. Berkeley, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press, 1998.


7.Total War and Co-Prosperity Sphere
In this lecture, we will survey the rise of militarism, with particular focus on the role of the Japanese Red Cross from the 1920s to 1945.

Suggested reading:
Dower, John W. War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1986.
Ienaga Saburo. The Pacific War 1931-1945: A Critical Perspective of Japan’s Role in World War II By a Leading Japanese Scholar. New York: Presidio Press, 2012.


8.Nuclear Bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
In this lecture, we will explore Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic bombing as global humanitarian crises, with particular focus on the humanitarian relief activities by the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Suggested reading:
Suzuki, Michiko. “The Japanese Red Cross Society’s Emergency Responses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945.” Social Science Japan Journal, Vol. 24, No. 2 (2021): 347-367. OP: https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/jyab026
Hein, Laura E., and Selden Mark, eds. Living with Bomb: American and Japanese Cultural Conflicts in the Nuclear Age. London: M. E. Sharpe, 1997.


9.The Allied Occupation
In this lecture, we will explore the legacy of war and the birth of post-war Japanese democracy.

Suggested reading:
Duara, Prasenjit. “The Legacy of Empires and Nations in East Asia.” In China Inside Out, edited by Nyíri, Pál and Breidenbach, Joana, 35-54. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2005.
Schonberger, Howard B. Aftermath of War: Americans and the Remaking of Japan, 1945-1952. London: The Kent State University Press, 1989.
Takemae, Eiji. The Allied Occupation of Japan. London: Continuum, 2002.


10.The Postwar Recovery
In this lecture, we will focus on Japan’s economic miracle and its influence on the global economy.

Suggested reading:
Gordon, Andrew. Postwar Japan as History. London: University of California Press, 1993.
McCormack, Gavan. The Emptiness of Japanese Affluence: Revised Edition. New York and London: An East Gate Book, 2001.


11.The Cold War International Relations
In this lecture, we will explore the renewal of the Japan-US security treaty, student protests and Japan’s complicated international relations with China.

Suggested reading:
Iokibe, Makoto. The Diplomatic History of Postwar Japan. London: Routledge, 2011.
Kapur, Nick. Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2018.


12.Economic Miracle and Post-industrial Japan
In this lecture, we will explore a number of contemporary Japan’s remaining issues, such as international security, ageing society, energy policy, disaster preparedness, the crisis of capitalism, SNS, gender, and AI.
Suggested reading:
Dusinberre Martin. Hard Times in the Hometown: A History of Community Survival in Modern Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2012.
George Timothy S. and Gerteis Christopher. “Beyond the Bubble, Beyond Fukushima: Reconsidering the History of Postwar Japan.” Accessed November 5, 2018. https://apjjf.org/2014/12/8/Timothy-S.-George/4080/article.html.

【成績評価方法・基準 / Evaluation】

【テキスト / Textbooks】

【参考文献 / Readings】

【履修にあたって求められる能力 / Abilities Required to Take the Course】

You are expected to attend all lectures and seminars for the course. You should notify your lecturer or the Faculty Office in advance if you are unable to attend seminars for good reason. All absences are noted on your records.

【学生が準備すべき機器等 / Equipment, etc., that Students Should Prepare】

【その他 / Others】

https://researchmap.jp/20030707?lang=en

【注意事項 / Notice】

・F科目上級（外国語による総合系科目）
・他に特別外国人学生が履修
・この授業は英語で実施する
・履修者はTOEIC®L&R 700点相当以上の英語力を有していることを前提に授業を実施する
・2016年度以降入学者：多彩な学び
・2015年度以前入学者：主題別A