Japanese

This course is taught by three instructors, Takahashi, Nakato, and Kajiwara, in an omnibus format. 
 

Takahashi's class introduces the themes, 'Japanese culture around oneself' and 'language.' This covers topics such as 'temples and shrines in Kyoto;' 'food culture,' 'Japanese houses; 'Japanese people and animals,' etc. In the 'language' section, students learn about 'onomatopoeia,' 'kanji, tongue twisters, and proverbs,' as well as 'Folktales,'  aiming to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and language.　

Nakato's class focuses on 'Japanese makeup culture and color sense' and 'Japanese innovation and pop culture,' deepening one's understanding of Japanese culture through a comparison of past and present. 

Kajiwara's section revolves around the instructor's own experience revolving around 'Japanese rice,' 'the charm of the countryside,' and 'hot springs.' Additionally, the class aims to enhance understanding of Japanese culture through comparisons with other countries.

Students will use brushes, washi paper, mineral pigments, and gold leaf used in Japanese paintings, as well as the brushes and glue used for mounting, and finish their works. You can learn about the texture of paints and base materials, the fun and difficulty of classical techniques, and the structure of works, which cannot be learned just by looking at art works at galleries and museums. 
In the first half of the class, students will complete ink reproductions of classic Japanese paintings. In the second half, you will complete your original work on a fan using various paints used in Japanese paintings. Let's have fun learning together and creating works that are full of originality using variety of Japanese painting materials.

This course critiques materials and texts from Edo period, deepening one's understanding of literature from an academic and professional perspective. The course covers the philological ideas of document criticism, textual criticism, and content criticism, then reads Edo period literature, including Sosume Natsume.

This course focuses on acquiring the ability to speak using grammar and vocabulary at the low- intermediate level. The course instructs on:

• Listening and understanding of a topic and relationship between two speakers;
• Understanding the intention behind indirect language;
• Understanding the difference between how to speak in formal and casual situations;
• Summarizing main points after listening to a long talk; and,
• Researching and conducting a presentation on a topic of interest. 

Through movies and other visual materials, this course examines important issues in modern society from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Each lecture features guest speakers who work in the field of making films, videos, and broadcasting. The course reviews specific production methods and a future vision of movies in class discussions. 

This advanced Japanese course is designed to teach more advanced grammar patterns. A theme concerning Japanese culture and society is chosen for each course and students are split into groups to engage in activities, discussion, and group work concerning the selected topic. The goal of the class is for students to widen their perspectives and deepen their knowledge regarding various issues related to Japan and Japanese society. The program offers various theme courses and students may take multiple sections.

This course seeks to understand psychological knowledge and ways of thinking related to educational settings. It instructs on basic theories and phenomena in developmental psychology, learning psychology, cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, etc., in relation to issues facing school education.

This course covers basic abilities in simple conversation and reading/writing needed for everyday life in Japan. 

Eligibility: A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N5 in the JLPT).  

Learning Objectives: A2.1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.

 ・ Talk about familiar topics, express what one wants to express, and interact with others using known expressions.

 ・ Increase the number of expressions one can use by modifying expressions and combinations one already knows.

 ・ Combine simple sentences and phrases to write about familiar topics. 

Since ancient times, people have traveled to sacred places in search of sacred power, listened to the legends of these places and the miraculous experiences of the gods and Buddha. Particularly in the Middle Ages, engi-e, paintings of the origins and history of a temple or shrine, which glorified miraculous experiences and visualized the stories of the gods and Buddha; and pilgrimage mandalas, which skillfully depicted the past and present of sacred places, were actively produced, and were sometimes displayed in front of people. This course discusses religious paintings such as engi-e and pilgrimage mandalas, as well as related stories and legends, to decipher the beliefs in sacred places and the stories that support them. The course aims to acquire the ability to read narrative pictures while exploring the origins of power spots that attract even modern people and the spiritual culture of the Japanese people, and examining methods of picturing sacred places and the specific aspects of faith.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of Japanese linguistics. Starting with the position of Japanese linguistics within linguistics, the course introduces knowledge from a variety of fields, from phonetics and phonology to sociolinguistics, and develops the ability to analyze Japanese from a linguistic perspective.