JPN 399 Sp St MEDIEVAL JAPAN (“MONKS AND MONKEYS”)

A survey of Japanese literature of the Medieval Period (1185-1600). 

The clash between the rival Minamoto and Taira warrior clans in the 1180s spelled the end of the idyllic court culture of the Heian period.  From them on Japan would be ruled by shoguns and dominated by samurai.  In fact, Japan was rarely at peace from the 12th century through the 16th.  The chaos and hardship of life in this period was reflected in the ascendance of Buddhism, with its offer of solace and understanding, as well as in a longing for the lost glories of Heian.  At the same time the breakdown of the old order created room for new perspectives.

This course will examine the literature and culture of this tumultuous period.  We will trace the survival of classical literary forms, while at the same time we will witness the emergence of new kinds of cultural production driven by both the warrior class and the peasantry.  We will examine the primacy of the Buddhist outlook while seeing it subverted by playful intrusions from the social margins.  Throughout the course we will be emphasizing the multimedia nature of much of medieval culture – the union of the written word with visual, musical, and performative traditions.

We will look at  texts ranging from war-chronicles such as The Tale of the Heike to nō dramas and kyōgen comedies, from narrative picture scrolls to Zen poetry, from folk-tales to aristocratic diaries. 

Poster