Japan 402: Japanese Literature
Description: This course aims to develop advanced proficiency through introducing various aspects of modern Japanese literature, including short stories and significant works by authors of the modern period. Taught in Japanese.
Course Reflective Narrative
Japanese Literature 402 is all about learning key literary figures in Japanese literature and their works. Because the class is taught in Japanese and its subject matter is closely tied to Japanese culture the class fulfilled both MLO one and two. We spent a lot of time reading and writing poems in this class. First learning about the classical style of Japanese poetry and the different parts that come together to create them made it fun for us to create our own Japanese style poems. By going through the creative process and keeping in mind the rules for creating Japanese poems it really helped us to understand how deep and meaningful the original text were. Learning about the history of the authors we were reading also gave us insight into what they were thinking when they were creating. The authors who came from troubled backgrounds often wrote dark stories with unhappy endings. Those who had lived if not an easy life but a good one often wrote happy tales filled with love and compassion. By studying the authors and not just their text, we had a much simpler time analyzing their works and gained a deeper comprehension of the messages behind the prose. Below is the final paper I wrote in the class about Miazawa Kenji's short story about two hunters in the woods.