Japanese Studies Courses

Students taking lower-division language courses are required to participate in the Japanese Conversation Tutor Program in which they meet once a week (one hour) in a group session with a Japanese speaking tutor. Students taking upper-division language courses are required to participate in the Japanese Writing Center in which they individually meet once a week (thirty minutes) with a Japanese writing tutor.

Lower-division Courses

JAPN 101: First Semester Japanese
This course will introduce basic Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and writing systems (katakana and hiragana), together with some relevant aspects of Japanese culture. It will focus on developing communicative conversational skills.

JAPN 102: Second Semester Japanese
Prerequisite: Japanese 101 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 101. Some basic kanji will be introduced. The course will focus on developing communicative conversational skills, and reading and writing skills.

JAPN 201: Third Semester Japanese
Prerequisite: Japanese 102 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 102. The student will learn more about Japanese grammar, vocabulary, conversation, kanji, and culture.   The course will focus on the development of skills in oral communication, reading, and writing in Japanese.

JAPN 202: Fourth Semester Japanese
Prerequisite: Japanese 201 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 201. This course will provide extensive practice for conversation, reading, and writing for advancement to the intermediate level of Japanese. A movie making project is included.

JAPN 191: Business Japanese 1
This course will introduce basic Japanese business communication and the Japanese writing systems (katakana and hiragana). The course is designed for beginners, so no prerequisite is required. It will focus on developing conversational skills in business contexts and on understanding Japanese business customs, manners, and structures.

JAPN 192: Business Japanese 2
Prerequisite: Japanese 191 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 191. Kanji typically used for Japanese business will be introduced.

JAPN 193: Business Japanese 3
Prerequisite: Japanese 192 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 192. This course will focus on developing business communication skills with relation to Japanese business customs, manners, and structures.

Upper-division Courses

JAPN 310: Zen and the Art of Japanese Calligraphy
 Prerequisite: none. The course aims to develop classical Japanese calligraphy skills and to engender a deeper appreciation of the calligraphic arts and of the role of Zen philosophy in Japanese culture. Appreciation of the form and beauty of the characters also makes them easier to remember. The course will provide a hands-on tutorial of basic brush strokes and painting techniques.

JAPN 301: Intermediate Japanese
Prerequisite: Japanese 202 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 202. This course will prepare Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and kanji for the advanced level of Japanese and will provide extensive practice for listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It will include authentic materials through the Internet with dictionary help and will develop cultural awareness of Japan. A course project involves writing a speech. Students can earn extra credit delivering their speeches at the Annual Japanese Speech Contest run by the Japanese American Association of Northern California and the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco (optional but fun).

JAPN 302: Advanced Japanese
Prerequisite: Japanese 301 or equivalent competence as determined by the Department's placement test. Continuation of Japanese 301. This course will expand grammar, vocabulary, and kanji and will provide extensive practice for listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This course will include various authentic materials through the Internet (newspapers, advertisements, blogs, Wikipedia, surveys, etc.) with dictionary help, will discuss the materials in Japanese, and will deepen cultural knowledge about Japan. A course project involves writing a research paper about Japanese culture.

JAPN 350: Japanese Culture
Prerequisite: none. This course introduces selected aspects of traditional and early-modern Japanese culture from the late fourteenth to the early twentieth centuries, including martial arts, tea drinking, the world of fashion, Japanese cuisine, and the graphic arts of tattoo and crests.  It is taught in English.

JAPN 351: Contemporary Japanese Culture
Prerequisite: none. This course introduces selected aspects of Japanese visual and performing arts of the past 60 years.  Areas of major emphasis include post-World War II music, dance, play, film, and anime. It is taught in English.

JAPN 355: Japanese Literature in Translation
Prerequisite: none. This course will introduce the classics of Japanese literature as well as works by the Nobel laureates. The course is taught in English.

JAPN 357: Naturalism in Japanese Literature
Prerequisite: none. This course examines the Naturalist literary movement in Japan by tracing its roots in French and American fiction of the period ca. 1880-1920. The course is taught in English.

JAPN 360: Japanese Calligraphy and Ink Painting
Prerequisite: Japanese 310. The course is designed for experienced beginners, and provides a hands-on tutorial on the gyosho (semi-cursive) style of Japanese calligraphy and on basic sumi-e (ink painting) techniques. I will also introduce the history of Japanese painting, including various styles, schools, trends, and individual artists.

JAPN/HIST 383: Modern Japanese since Perry
This course surveys Japan's history after 1868, emphasizing its rapid modernization and its rise to great power status.

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JAPN/HIST 387: History of U.S.- Japan Relations
This course considers a broad variety of political, social, economic, and cultural issues concerning America's relationship with Japan, beginning with Commodore Perry's visit in 1853 and including contemporary economic and security concerns.

JAPN/HIST 390: Traditional Japan to 1868
This course narrates the development of Japan’s history from Neolithic times to the middle of the 19^th century, but will emphasize the emergence and development of the aristocratic Heian era (710-1185) and the samurai-dominated eras of feudalism under the Shoguns (1185-1868). 

JAPN/THRS 368: Japanese Religion and Society
This course surveys nearly 2000 years of the religious traditions, heritage, and culture of the Japanese people. We will explore key texts, charismatic leaders, and periods of conflict and stability in our goal to understand both historical and contemporary religious and spiritual examples within Japan and abroad.

JAPN/THRS 370: Zen Buddhism
Prerequisites: THRS 366 or THRS 379 or JAPN 310. This course examines the origins, teachings, and practices of Zen Buddhism, from ancient China to contemporary East Asia and North America. It emphasizes both academic and participatory understanding of this tradition.

JAPN 410: Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
Prerequisite: Japanese 202 (or equivalent competence). This course aims to develop linguistic knowledge about the Japanese language. The course will focus on understanding the Japanese language in terms of history, lexicon, phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. Such linguistic training also provides essential background for teaching Japanese.

Language Courses for the Asian Pacific Studies MA (MAPS) Program

The MAPS courses, Japanese 610, 611, and 612 correspond to undergraduate courses, Japanese 101, 102, and 201 respectively. Students in the MAPS program have the option to take either Japanese 610, 611, and 612 or Japanese 101, 102, and 201.

(c) Noriko Nagata -- Pictures 1 & 2: Calligraphy class (Prof. Nagata and her students), USF;  Picture 3: 2008 Annual Japanese Speech Contest at the Consulate General of Japan, SF;  Picture 4: 2009 Annual Japanese Speech Contest at the Consulate General of Japan, SF;  Picture 5: Bizenyaki event, USF;  Pictures 6 & 7: Okou event, USF;  Picture 8: “White On Rice”, Actor Hiroshi Watanabe, Director David  Boyle, Prof. Nagata, USF;  Picture 9: Shoogi event, Japantown, SF;  Picture 10: Kimono event, USF;  Picture 11: Halloween Party, ACV (Anime, Comic, Video) Club, USF;  Picture 12: Noh event