• 22-24 October 2004: The University of Washington hosted the 13th annual meeting of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies. The topic of the 3-day meeting was "Landscapes: Imagined and Remembered." The complete schedule, with abstracts, is still available online.


• AJLS 2005, "Reading Material: The Production of Narratives, Genres and Literary Identities," was held 7-9 October 2005 at Dartmouth College.

• Two new readings lists are available through this website. The first is a reading list of critical works on modern Japanese literature in English. The second is a reading list of modern Japanese literary works based on Professor Kôno Kensuke's list for his students at Nihon University. The list is in three parts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) and contains links to sources for the texts, including Aozora Bunko, Amazon, JSTOR. Some translations are also available to UW students directly as PDF files.

The JAPAN 320 series provides a survey of Japanese literature from the earliest times to the present.

321 focuses on various themes and genres from the Kojiki (712) up to the late medieval period.
322 focuses on the literature and culture of the Edo period (1600-1868).
323 focuses on the literature of modern Japan (1868-present).

All classes are taught using English translations and require no Japanese language ability. Though it is recommended that they be taken in order, that is not a requirement.

The JAPAN 360 course focuses on a specific topic in Japanese literature and culture. The topic changes each time the course is taught.

All classes are taught using English translations and require no Japanese language ability. Past topics include:

Winter 2003: Representations of Ethnic Minorities in Japanese Literature and Film
Winter 2005: Citizen, Subject, Traitor: The Paradox of National(ist) Literature

JAPAN 430 series courses are fourth year Japanese language courses with a focus on reading. JAPAN 313 (or its equivalent) is a prerequisite for this class. The series need not be taken sequentially.

All classes are taught using short fiction in the original Japanese. The courses need not be taken in order.

The syllabi for the courses offered in Spring 2003 and Spring 2004 are available online.

JAPAN 460 courses are fourth year Japanese langauge courses that focus on reading texts on various aspects of Japanese culture, including film, anime, art, and other socio-cultural phenomena.

All classes are taught using short fiction in the original Japanese. We recommend that the courses be taken in order as content grows increasingly difficult each term.

Past topics include:

JAPAN 470 series courses are fourth year Japanese language courses with a focus on classical Japanese literature and grammar. JAPAN 313 (or its equivalent) is a prerequisite for JAPAN 471; JAPAN 471 is a prerequisite for JAPAN 472; JAPAN 472 is a prerequisite for JAPAN 473.

The JAPAN 470 courses must be taken in sequence.

JAPAN 505 is a course on kambun. This is a graduate reading course that provides an introduction to kambun, a method of reading classical Chinese as classical Japanese. Prerequisites for the course are: for graduate students, JAPAN 471 (or its equivalent); for undergraduate students, JAPAN 472 (or its equivalent) and permission of the instructor.

All readings are in Japanese.

JAPAN 530 series courses are graduate seminars on modern Japanese literature. They require a high level of Japanese language ability. All classes are taught using texts in the original Japanese. In some cases the class will be conducted in Japanese. They do not have to be taken in order.

The focus of the seminars changes each time they are taught. Past topics include:

Fall 2002: The Early Akutagawa Prizes
Fall 2003: Meiji Literature
Winter 2004: Banned Books
Spring 2004: Ozaki Kôyô's Konjiki yasha

JAPAN 570 series courses are graduate seminars on classical Japanese literature. They require a high level of Japanese language ability, including classical Japanese grammar. JAPAN 473 (or its equivalent) is a prerequisite for these courses. They do not have to be taken in order.

All classes are taught using texts in the original Japanese. The focus of the seminars changes each time they are taught. Past topics include:

JAPAN 590 courses are graduate seminars focused on a specific topic in modern or classical Japanese literature. They require a high level of Japanese language ability. If the seminar is on a classical topic, classical Japanese grammar (JAPAN 473 or its equivalent) is a prerequisite for this class.

All classes are taught using texts in the original Japanese. We recommend that the courses be taken in order as content grows increasingly difficult each term.

Past topics include:

• Requirements for the BA, MA, and Ph.D. in Japanese Literature at the University of Washington.

• Two readings lists are available through this website. The first is a reading list of critical works on modern Japanese literature in English. The second is a reading list of modern Japanese literary works based on Professor Kôno Kensuke's list for his students at Nihon University. The list is in three parts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) and contains links to sources for the texts, including Aozora Bunko, Amazon, JSTOR. Some translations are also available to UW students directly as PDF files.

• The East Asian Library maintains a Japan Studies page with many useful links.