CULTURA E LETTERATURA GIAPPONESE I

Knowledge and Understanding: Students will know the main productions of the long history of the Japanese literature, from the origins to the thresholds of modernity. The course will dwell on the evolution of classical Japanese literature throughout the most representative works. It will deal with the three main productive fields: theatre, poetry and prose, with many parallels and comparisons with history of art, religion, and society. Students will thus gain a wide picture on classical, medieval and premodern literature, and will be able to cope with this from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding: The uniqueness of Japanese literature will endow the students with original critical categories and with a specific terminology that every one of them can apply to several other fields of study. By reading texts, in translation and in Japanese, students will see concretely how original and unique this production is. The continuous parallels with art and society will give them a clear outlook on the ancient world, enabling them to cope with different cultural milieus, individuals and texts.

Making Judgment: By studying the evolution of Japanese literature, the student will familiarize with other cultures. By studying the various literary productions of ancient Japan, which have no counterpart in the Italian panorama, the student will have the great chance to think of diversity from a new and non-ethnocentric perspective.

Communication Skills: Students will develop communication skills through new critical categories and a specific terminology. Mandatory condition in order to pass the exam will be the acquisition of the ability to express in details and correctly the main subjects of the course. A continuous and fruitful dialogue between students and teacher will be stimulated in class apropos of subjects previously examined and on how to translate correctly excerpts and passages from original literary sources.

Learning Skills: Students will organize their own schedule and study time. Several texts should be consulted; these, in their turn, will develop not only self-discipline in studying, but also capacity of choosing a research topic according to personal interests. The necessary autonomous engagement and the commitment required will represent the chance to continue their personal education process.

Frontal teaching

The first course in Japanese Culture and Literature aims at presenting the Japanese literary history from its earliest testimonies, written in Chinese, to the second half of the nineteenth century. The course will dwell on a very long time span, more than one-thousand years, from Nara (710-784) to Edo period (1603-1867), and intends to present some of the most representative productions of each period. The course will be divided into three sub-sections: the first concerning ancient Japan – Nara and Heian periods –, the second will be on the medieval literary productions – from Kamakura to Muromachi periods – while the third and last on the Edo period. The course will provide information on literature, religion, art, and history.

Muccioli Marcello, La letteratura giapponese (edited by Orsi Maria Teresa), Roma, L'asino d'oro, 2015. (Chapters 1-26)

In order to take the examination, every student has to read at least five translations.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.