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Preview[2016／Topics in Modern Japanese Political History／KINMONTH, Earl]

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Course Information

Year

2016

School

School of International Liberal Studies

Course Title

Topics in Modern Japanese Political History

Instructor

KINMONTH, Earl

Term/Day/Period

Category

Advanced Subjects

Eligible Year

2nd year and above

Credits

4

Classroom

Campus

waseda

Course Key

210GO40700

Course Class Code

51

Main Language

English

Syllabus Information

Subtitle

The Political History of Japan and the Politics of Its Interpretation

Course Outline

The first goal of this course is to provide students who have already completed introductory-level study of Japanese history an opportunity to engage in more specialized reading and discussion. The course will cover selected topics in from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present but the primary emphasis will be on the 1930s and 1940s or the period of militarism and fascism in Japan. Students will examine in detail a number of major political developments from this period and polish their critical skills by reviewing important works of scholarship. The ultimate goal for each student will be to research and write a paper on a specific aspect of Japanese political history or thought in the time span covered by this course.

The second goal of this course is to give students an understanding of how the writing of history is always shaped by the contemporary circumstances of those who produce historical narratives or incorporate arguments and lessons allegedly drawn from history into their thought and writings. By understanding how and why authors have created different historical narratives of the same periods and events, students will gain the skills needed to see the manipulation of the past in the on going present.

The two-thirds of this course is an overview of modern Japanese history from the fall of the Tokugawa regime (1867) through the end of the American occupation of Japan (1952) with an emphasis on the 1930s and 1940s.

The second third of this course is devoted to student presentations and reports on selected subjects, particularly issues from the 1930s and 1940s that directly impact on contemporary Japanese politics and foreign relations.

Objectives

It is expected students will acquire a basic knowledge of Japanese political history from the early 19th century through the end of the 20th century.

It is expected that students will learn the political background to some of the major areas of controversy in Japanese history, especially those that cause friction with other countries and those that contribute to a negative image of Japan in foreign news media.

It is expected that by doing presentations students will learn basic skills for finding and selecting historical materials and for presenting historical controversies in lecture format.

Assigned work before/after class

Students should read the Pyle textbook and review the associated lecture slides before each each topic is presented. It is expected that 60-90 minutes will be required for each topic. Students may also wish to print a copy of the lecture slides and refer to it during lecture especially if they do not have near native capability in English.

Students should review their notes and the lecture slides after each topic. Any unclear points should be raised at the beginning of the next course meeting. It is expected that 60-90 minutes will be required for each topic.

Course Schedule

NOTE: This schedule assumes two consecutive class periods. Generally the lecture portion of each meeting will run 150 minutes with a 15 minute break at the end of the first period. The last 20-30 minutes will be used for consultation, questions not directly related to the lecture, and supplementary video materials. Adjustments will be made depending on the number of students making presentations.

(BR) Basic (required) reading
(SR) Supplementary Reading
(TBA) To Be Added or Announced

Week 1
(1-2) Course Introduction - The Politics of Japanese Political History
(BR) None
(SR) None

Week 2
(1-2) The Pre-Modern Background of Modern Japanese Politics - How Feudal Was "Feudal" Japan
(SR) Pyle, pp. 1-75.

Week 3
(1-2) The Meiji Restoration and Its Interpretation
(SR) Pyle, pp. 77-131.
(RR) Maruis B. Jansen, "Meiji Restoration." In The Cambridge History of Japan (CHJ). Volume 5. Edited by Marius B. Jansen (Cambridge, 1989).
(RR) Kenneth B. Pyle, "Meiji Conservatism." In CHJ. Vol. 5 (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 674-720.

Week 4
(1-2) Between Meiji and Militarism - Was "Taisho Democracy" Democratic?
(SR) Pyle, pp. 159-80.
(RR) Taiichiro Mitani, "The Establishment of Party Cabinets, 1898-1932." In CHJ, Vol. 6 edited by Peter Duus, (Cambridge, 1988), pp. 55-96.

Week 5
(1) Political Cross Currents in the 1930 - Militarism, Fascism, and Socialism
(SR) Pyle, 181-213.
(2) The Peculiarities of Japanese Fascism and Its Interpretation
(RR) Peter Duus & Daniel I. Okimoto. "Fascism and the History of Pre-War Japan: The Failure of a Concept." Journal of Asian Studies 34.1 (Nov. 1979): 65-76.
(RR) E. Bruce Reynolds, "Peculiar Characteristics: The Japanese Political System in The Fascist Era." In Japan in the Fascist Era. Edited by E. Bruce Reynolds, (Palgrave, 2004), pp. 154-197.

Week 6
(1) Military Politics: Rational and Romantic
(RR) James B. Crowley, "Japanese Army Factionalism in the Early 1930s." Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 21.3 (May 1962): 309-26.
(2) The Politics of Conscription and Enlistment
(RR) TBA

Week 7
(1) A New Heaven on Earth: Manchuria, The Plan Rational State
(RR) "Colonizing Manchuria: The Making of an Imperial Myth," in Mirror of Modernity: Invented Traditions of Modern Japan, ed., Stephen Vlastos. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
(2) Japanese Colonial Policy in Japanese Domestic Politics
(RR) TBA

Week 8
(1) Bureaucrats as Political Actors: Marxist Confucian Technocrats Renovate Japan
(RR) Robert M. Spaulding, Jr., "The Bureaucracy as a Political Force, 1920-1945." In Dilemmas of Growth in Prewar Japan, Edited by James W. Morely. (Princeton, 1971), pp. 33-80.
(RR) Roger H. Brown "Shepherds of the People: Yasuoka Masahiro and the New Bureaucrats in Early Showa Japan" The Journal of Japanese Studies, Volume 35, Number 2, Summer 2009, pp. 285-319.
(RR) Peter Duus & Irwin Scheiner, "Socialism, Liberalism, and Marxism, 1901-1931." In CHJ Vol. 5 (Cambridge, 1989), 147-206.
(2) Visionary Intellectuals and a New Order for Japan and Asia
(RR) James B. Crowley, "Intellectuals as Visionaries of the New Asian Order," in Dilemmas of Growth in Prewar Japan. Edited by James W. Morley. (Princeton, 1971), pp. 319-373.
(RR) Miles Fletcher, "Intellectuals and Fascism in Early Showa Japan," Journal of Asian Studies 39:1 (1979 November): 39-63.

Week 9
(1) The Political Thought of Maruyama Masao - A Pathology of Fascism or An Apologia for the Fascists?
(RR) Maruyama Masao, "The Ideology and Dynamics of Japanese Fascism." In Thought and Behaviour in Modern Japanese Politics. Translated by Ivan Morris, et al. (Oxford, 1963).
(2) The Politics of History Education and Writing in Postwar Japan
(RR) Kinmonth, "The Mouse That Roared."

Week 10
(1) Emperor Hirohito, General McArthur, and the Politics of Victor's Justice
(RR) TBA
(SR) Richard Minear, Victor's Justice: The Tokyo War Crimes Trial (Michigan Classics in Japanese Studies).
(2) Yasukuni Shrine in Japanese Domestic Politics and International Relations
(RR) TBA

Week 11
(1)  Research methodology and sources for presentations
(2)  Software and hardware for making presentations

Week 12
(1) Student Presentations
(2) Student Presentations

Week 13
(1) Student Presentations
(2) Student Presentations

Week 14
(1) Student Presentations
(2) Student Presentations

Week 15
(1) Student Presentations
(2) Student Presentations

Textbooks

There is no required textbook for this course. Required readings will be placed on reserve or will be available from the instructor. The lectures are loosely tied to Kenneth Pyle, The Making of Modern Japan, but purchase of this book is not necessary.

Reference

Kenneth B. Pyle. The Making of Modern Japan. 2nd Ed. (NY: D.C. Heath & Co., 1996).

Andrew Gordon, A History of Modern Japan. 2nd Ed. (NY. Oxford University Press, 2009).

Peter Duus, Modern Japan. 2nd Ed. (NY Houghton Mifflin, 1998).

Students may use other introductory survey texts but should consult with the instructor before so doing.

Evaluation

Essay xamination (80%) or report (80%) or presentation(80%), active participation (20%).　　"Active participation" will be explained in the first lecture.

Note / URL

1. The Waseda Course N@vi system will NOT be used. Instead, students should refer to http://www2.gol.com/users/ehk/waseda/history4 or http://ehk.servebeer.com/waseda/history4.

2.The language of instruction is English. Occasional video materials may have Japanese language narration that the instructor will translate or summarize.

3. Material from the previous offering of this course is available on the web site maintained by the instructor. http://www2.gol.com/users/ehk/waseda/history4

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