ASIA 4490
Japanese Culture and Society (Study Abroad Edition)
(To be taken with HIST 4490: Premodern Japan; HIST 4490: Modern Japan)
May 2013
Masako N. Racel, Instructor
Office: Social Science 4098
(770) 423-6715
email: ksuhistory@hotmail.com
website: http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~mracel/
Prerequisite: None
Course Description: This course offers a unique educational opportunity to get in-depth understanding of Japanese
society though study of its history and culture. We will visit some of the most important historic sites such as Tokyo,
Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Hakata, and Nagasaki. The course is designed to help students understand the connections
between history and contemporary Japanese society. The course emphasizes Japan's interactions with outside world
and how the indigenous and foreign elements were combined to create the basis of Japanese society. In addition to
studying history, students will have an opportunity to interact with Japanese people though school visits and
possibly home-stay. The excursion will include Tokyo National Museum, Ghibli Museum (famous for anime);
Mount Hiei, Golden and Silver Pavillion, Nara Park, Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
and much more.
Course Objectives:
This study abroad course introduces students to the intercultural contexts of Japan through guided experiential
learning. Through their coursework and participation in the experience abroad, students will:





gain a general knowledge of Japan.
understand some of the most important issues that contemporary Japanese society is facing.
learn to act and behave in a manner that is appropriate within the local culture and respectful of
differences thereby enhancing their intercultural communication and adjustment skills
gain an understanding of how the United States is perceived in Japan.
and analyze processes of globalization and its impact on Japan.
Textbooks:
Chie Nakane, Japanese Society. University of California Press, 1972.
ISBN-10: 0520021541
Jeff Kingston, Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010, 2nd edition, Pearson, 2011 ISBN-10: 1408234513
Other reading materials and supplemental materials will be provided through your instructor’s website,
http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~mracel/ or
Many of the materials provided through the website will require the Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be
downloaded for free from www.adobe.com To obtain the password for protected documents, visit WebCT Vista:
http://vista.kennesaw.edu/ Only registered students will be able to access the WebCT site.
Communication Method: Most communication for the course will be conducted by email before, during, and after
the trip. All trip coordination during the Japan visit will occur by email to the team by 10:30 pm in the evening. It
is therefore, strongly suggested that students to bring own communication devise such as small laptop computer or
tablet computer (most hotels will have laptop rental for about 1000 yen per day, but keep in mind it runs Japanese
software and you may have hard time using it.) Hotel rooms will have a network connection.
During the trip, all students are required to be in their hotel room by 10:30 pm. Your instructor will call your
room around 10:30, and you are expected to be there.
For safety, all students are required to rent a cell phone to use in Japan from PicCell wireless for $19.95, including
shipping and activation fee. We have a special deal with PicCell wireless and this will allow the program
participants to communicate with each other while we are in Japan at no additional cost. It is encouraged that all
students give their Japanese cell phone number to designated contacts in the US prior to leaving since incoming
calls are free (But it will cost a lot to call the U.S from this phone). The website to order is:
https://www.piccellwireless.com/latest/order/service_order.php?service_id=3110
Please wait to order your cell phone until after the first day of class. You must order by ___________ to get this
special rate.
Students are required to provide their own photos, email addresses, US and Japanese cell phone numbers. Your
instructor will create and distribute the list to all participants to carry so that we can communicate easily
Mandatory Advisement: All students must have an advisement session prior to beginning the course program on
_________________.
Honor Students: Students using this study abroad for honors credit will be required to take a “leadership” position
on the trip. A leadership position will involve managing groups of people in terms of their location, coordinating the
trip excursions, and acting as a “go-to” person for the trip leader.
GPA requirement: Students need to have a GPA of 2.0 or greater when applying for admission into the program.
Students cannot be on academic probation at the time of application. Students that do not have a GPA of 2.0 or
greater at the end of the Spring 2013 semester will be dropped from the trip without a refund of study abroad fees,
as it University policy.
Language Training: You do not need to know or speak Japanese well to attend this trip, but all students are
strongly encouraged to learn a few basic Japanese phrases (Your instructor provide you some lessons on this). You
may want to utilize Japanese Language program available at KSU's language lab or free audio software such as
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/Languages/Japanese/Pimsleur-Japanese-16-Lessons-for-the-ReliefEffort/40902 If you do not speak Japanese, buy a pocket sized Japanese phrase book, or a portable translation
devise.
Study Abroad Fees: All study abroad fees for the trip must be paid in full no later than March 15, 2013 in order to
participate in this program. The University has a no-refund policy for study abroad fees so that your instructor can
purchase non-refundable airline tickets and train passes as well as book discounted room blocks for students.
Students must register for the classes in March during the early registration period for summer semester, and pay
tuition separately from Study Abroad fee. Students must send a PDF file of a screen capture of the Banner payment
window showing payment no later than March 15, 2013.
Scholarship: All study abroad students should apply for trip scholarships through the International Programs
Office prior to February 15, 2013 date.
Passport and VISA. No visa is required for American citizens visiting Japan, but you must have a valid passport.
For safety purposes, make copies of your passport; send one to your instructor, keep one at your home, and keep one
in your luggage.
Photos and Privacy issue: Please do not post pictures on internet (including Face Book) that contain individuals
other than yourself without obtaining written permission.
15-Minute Zone: During weeknights while the class is staying at the regularly designated hotel, all students not
participating in a leader-escorted mini-excursion IS REQUIRED to remain within walking distance of the central
point designated. This is likely the main railway station near the hotel. Walking distance is defined as an area in
which the student can walk within 15 minutes, No transportation can be utilized (train, bus, cab, etc.)
Grading: The following grading system will be used to determine your final grade
A= 90.00% or higher B=89.99-80.00% C=79.99-70.00% D=69.99-60.00% F=Below 60%
For ASIA 4490: Study Abroad, Japan (3 credits)
Attendance and Participation (40%): Class attendance is mandatory. Students are required to attend all predeparture classes, lectures and field trips, and post trip sessions in order to receive the full credit. If you find
yourself in a situation that forces you to miss a class [i.e. unexpected emergency], contact your instructor before the
class to be missed. Merit of your situation will be evaluated by your instructor whether or not any penalty will be
imposed. If you fail to notify your instructor before the class to be missed, it will incur at least 10 points penalty
even if you had a genuine emergency. If you miss a class without providing any explanations within 48 hours (this
mostly applies to sessions in the U.S), it will result in deduction of 20 points from your attendance grade per missed
class. During the trip, repeated failures to meet at designated times/places will also negatively affect your grade in
this section.
Introductory Assignment and Presentation (5%): Separate guideline will be distributed.
Trip Diary (30%): You will be required to submit a trip diary that details the activities that you undertook for each
day along with narrative text and digital pictures. It is expected that you will generate a one-page single spaced
journal entry for each day that includes what you have done and what you have learned. You should also include a
page that consists of at least ten pictures for each day. You should work on the dairy every night and review the
photos while it is still fresh in your memory. Please use a service from UPS store (? need to check) to produce
bound copy of your diary. The trip diary is due on July 1.
Post-Trip Essay (15%) and Presentation (10%): Based on the observations in your travel diary, your experiences
while in Japan, and the readings, videos, and discussions in the course, written a reflective essay discussing how this
trip helped (or did not help) you understand Japanese culture and society. In what aspects do you see continuity of
Japanese culture? Do you think this trip changes you in some ways? Do you think you gained intercultural
sensibility?
Academic Honesty: Students are expected to be familiar and to comply with the regulations regarding academic
honesty as described in the Kennesaw State University Catalog.
No student shall receive, attempt to receive, knowingly give or attempt to give unauthorized assistance in
the preparation of any work required to be submitted for credit (including examinations, laboratory reports,
essays, themes, term papers, etc.). Unless specifically authorized, the presence and/or use of electronic
devices during an examination, quiz, or other class assignment is considered cheating. Engaging in any
behavior that a professor prohibits as academic misconduct in the syllabus or in class discussion is cheating.
When direct quotations are used, they should be indicated, and when the ideas, theories, data, figures,
graphs, programs, electronic based information or illustrations of someone other than the student are
incorporated into a paper or used in a project, they should be duly acknowledged. No student may submit
the same, or substantially the same, paper or other assignment for credit in more than one class without the
prior permission of the current professor(s). (from Section II-A of the KSU Student Code of Conduct, as
modified for Fall semester 2011)
Students found violating any of these policies (especially plagiarism and cheating) WILL AUTOMATICALLY
FAIL this course and be turned over to the appropriate school authorities for further prosecution. There will be no
exceptions. If you need help in adding citations, speak to your instructor about the proper way to document
your work.
Copyright: All the material covered in this class, including lectures, is copyrighted. Except as permitted under the
United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or
stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publishers and in the case of
discussions, the instructor, Masako N. Racel.
Tentative Schedule (Subject to change):
Pre-Departure Sessions (18 contact hours)
DATE
Location
Activities
Assignments
TBA
Email


1st assignment will be announced
via email

TBA
KSU


Orientation / Introduction
Students' Presentation about
themselves.
Review of the student handbook
Program administration,
communications, lodging, public
transportation, health/safety,
passports/visas,
program rules/behavioral
expectations, group dynamics
academic expectations, crosscultural adaptation, cultural
differences, and other daily living
concerns
What to bring; what not to bring
Quiz on Nakane's Japanese Society
Japanese language, geography, and
people
Discussion on Nakane's Japanese
Society
Overview of Japanese History part I
(pre-history to formation of state)
Q and A about the trip
Quiz 1 (based on last lecture and
reading materials)
Overview of Japanese history, Part
II (Age of aristocracy)
Q and A about the trip

Quiz 2 (based on last lecture and
reading materials)
Overview of Japanese history, Part
III (Age of Warriors)
Q and A



Quiz 3
Overview of Japanese history, Part
IV (Modern Japan)
Q and A

Quiz 4





TBA
KSU





TBA
KSU




TBA
KSU



TBA
TBA
KSU
KSU












Prepare information sheet
and Powerpoint presentation
Start reading Nakane Chie's
Japanese Society
Read Nakane Chie's
Japanese Society
Read Paul Varley's Japanese
Culture, Chapters 1-3
Read Stephen Addiss's How
to look at Japanese Art, Intro,
Chapters 1-2
Obtain necessary
documentations for your
prescription drugs
Review the materials and
prepare for a quiz
Read Paul Varley's Japanese
Culture, Chapters 4-5
Read Stephen Addiss's How
to look at Japanese Art,
Chapters 3-4.
Review the materials and
prepare for a quiz
Read Paul Varley's Japanese
Culture, Chapters 6-8
Read Stephen Addiss's How
to look at Japanese Art,
Chapters 5-6
Review the materials and
prepare for a quiz
Read Paul Varley's Japanese
Culture, Chapters 9-10
Read selections from Kokutai
no Hongi
Review the materials and
Accommoda
tion –Night
None
Hours
Exp
Lec
None
3
None
3
None
3
None
3
None
3
None
3

Discussion of contemporary
Japanese society, pacifism,
consumerism, women's issue,
population, US-Japanese relations
etc. Q and A

prepare for a quiz
Read Jeff Kingston, Japan in
Transformation, Chapters
1,2, 4, 5, 6.7, 8
In Japan
Location
Activities
May 9
(Thur)
Atlanta

May
10
(Fri)
May
11
(Sat)
May
12
(Sun)
Tokyo
 Arrival (Tokyo Narita Airport)
 Activate JR Pass
 In -Country Orientation
 Tokyo National Museum
http://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en
May
13
(Mon)
Kamakura
May
14
(Tue)
Tokyo
Tokyo
Nagoya
Lecture /
Discussion Topics
Short Reading
Assignments
to be
completed
Accommo
dation –
Night
Credit Hours
Exp
Lec
Departure

Tokyo Metropolitan
Archeological Center
http://museum.tachikawaonline.jp/35_m
aizo/
 Ghibri Museum
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/
 Engakuji Temple
http://www.engakuji.or.jp/haikan/#haika
nryou
 Kenchoji Temple
http://www.kenchoji.com/
 Minamoto Yoritomo’s Tomb
 Tsurugaoka Hachimangu
http://www.hachimangu.or.jp/
 Kotoku-in (Great Buddha)
http://www.kotoku-in.jp/
 Hase-Dera (if time allows)
http://www.hasedera.jp/index2.html
 Travel from Tokyo to Osaka via
Shinkansen (late afternoon-night)
 Aichi University
http://www.aichi-u.ac.jp/profile/06.html
Tokyo







Overview of
Japanese
history
Lecture on
Jomon Era at
Archeological
Center
Late Heian
Era
Kamakura
Shogunate
Japanese
Buddhism
(mostly Zen)
May
15
(Wed)
Nagoya
 Meiji Mura
http://meijimura.com/


TBA
Probably on
US-Japan
Relation
Contemporary
Japanese
society
Meiji Era
Modernization
May
Nagoya


HIstory of

Toyota Commemorative Museum
From The
Tale of Heike
(story of
Minamoto no
Yoritomo,
Yoshitsune
and Shizuka
Gozen)
1
Tokyo
3
Tokyo
4
1
Osaka
5
1
Osaka
Mori Ogai
“Under
Reconstructio
n”
Story of Three
6
Osaka
4
1
Osaka
5
1
16
(Thur)
May
17
(Fri)
Kyoto
May
18
(Sat)
Kyoto (Uji)
May
19
(Sun)
May
20
(Mon)
Kansai Area
Kyoto
of Industry and Technology
http://www.tcmit.org/english/index.html
 Tokugawa Museum
http://www.tokugawa-artmuseum.jp/english/index.html
 Nagoya Castle (if time allows)
http://www.nagoyajo.city.nagoya.jp/13_
english/index.html
 Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion)
http://www.ymorimoto.com/kyoto_isan/kinkaku.html
 Chion-in
http://www.chion-in.or.jp/e/
 Kiyomizu Dera
http://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/
Others sites to be determined: We will
have 1-day bus pass that allows us to
visit many different sites )
 Byodo-in (Uji)
http://byodo-in.com/
 Tale of Genji Museum (Uji)
http://www.uji-genji.jp/en/
 Fushimi Inari Shrine
http://www.inari.jp/
 Free day (Students will be divided
into groups depending upon where
do would like to go)
 Mount Hiei /Enryakuji Temple
http://www.hieizan.or.jp/
 Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
http://www.ymorimoto.com/kyoto_isan/ginkaku.html
Nagoya
Region and its
importance in
Japanese
history (esp,
Sengoku and
Meiji Era)

Historical
Importance of
Kyoto

Heian period
–Fujiwara
Family
dominance
Inari (fox)
veneration

May
22
(Wed)
Nara
Nara
 Heijokyo
http://www.nabunken.go.jp/heijo/museu
m/index.html
 Todaiji (Great Buddha)
http://www.todaiji.or.jp/
 Kasuga Taisha
http://www.kasugataisha.or.jp/
 Kofukuji (tresure house, if time
allows)
http://www.kohfukuji.com/
 Horyuji
http://www.horyuji.or.jp/access.htm
 Fuginoki Kofun and Museum
http://www4.kcn.ne.jp/~ikarui/spot2/huzinokikohunn.html
Selections
from the Tale
of Genji
Osaka
5
1
Osaka
4
1
Osaka
4
2
Osaka
4
1
Osaka
3
1
Osaka




May
21
(Tue)
Unifiers of
Japan (Oda
Nobunaga,






Japanese
BuddhismTendai sect
Heian Period
Sengoku
Period (Oda
Nobunaga)
Muromachi
Period;
Japanese
aesthetics
(wabi/sabi)
Nara Period
Nara
Buddhism
Heian Period
Shinto
Selections
from the Book
of Tea,
Okakura
Tenshin
Kofun Period
Asuka Period
(Formation of
Japanese
State)
Shotoku
Taishi’s
Seventeen
Article
Constitution
 Leave for Hiroshima
 Miyajima
http://visit-miyajimajapan.com/flash/english/welcome.html
 Seinan Gakuin University
http://www.seinan-gu.ac.jp/eng/
May
23
(Thur)
Hiroshima
May
24
(Fri)
Hakata
May
25
(Sat)
May
26
(Sun)
Hakata

Yoshinogari
May
27
(Mon)
Nagasaki
May
28
(Tue)
Nagasaki
 Leave for Yoshinogari
 Yoshinogari Park
http://www.yoshinogari.jp/en/
 Leave for Nagasaki
 Glover Garden
http://www.gojapango.com/travel/nagas
aki_glover_garden.htm
 Oura Catholic Church
http://blowinthewind.net/tensyu/btensyu
-ohura.htm
 Confucius Temple
http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~kousibyo/index.
html
 China Town /Chinese Quarter
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/to
jinyasiki/bunkazai/bunkazai.html
 Dejima
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/d
ejima2/
 Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/p
eace/japanese/abm/index.html
 Urakami Church
http://www.mapple.net/spots/G0420007
3901.htm
 Leave for Tokyo at noon
May
29
(Wed)
May
30
(Thur)
Tokyo

Free Day in Tokyo
Tokyo


Departure
Return to Atlanta




Late Heian
Period
Genpei Wars
Selection
from the Tale
of Heike
Hiroshima
3
Hakatahomestay
Mongolian
Invasion
History of
Japanese
Christianity
1
6
Hakatahomestay
Free day with Host family





Late Yayoi
Period
Legendary
Yamataikoku
Nagasaki
History
(Christianity,
Dutch and
Chinese
Quarter, PreMeiji
European
establishments
, Meiji Era,
and Atom
Bomb.)
WWII
History of
Japanese
Christianity
Selection
from literature
that deals
with WWII
/Atom Bomb
Nagasaki
3
1
Nagasaki
6
1
Tokyo
3
Tokyo
Post-Trip Sessions
TBA
KSU



Overview of Japanese history based
on where we visited
Students presentations
Reflective Discussion
Diary and
Reflective Essay
Due
4

Discussion on Research paper
TBA
HIST 4490
Assignment Due
HIST 4490
Research Paper
Due
TBA
Total Lecture Hours: 48 Hours
Total Field Trip Hours: 56 hours (= 28hours)
Total =76 hours
ASIA 4900 Japanese Culture and Society
Statement of Acknowledgment and Understanding
I have read and understand all the rules and conditions presented in this document. I further understand that it is my
responsibility to read the entire document and ask questions of the instructor to clarify any points that I do not
understand or that are not clear upon reading. Once this statement has been signed and returned to the instructor it is
implied that I understand the contents as they appear and are interpreted by the Instructor, and thus waive any
opportunity to ask for clarification or challenge anything presented in the proceeding pages of this document.
Interpretation of the contents is solely up to the instructor and is not open to debate at any time with the student. My
signature on this document is required in order to qualify to take any exam in this course. Failure to return a signed
and unaltered copy of this document to the instructor before the first exam will result in the Instructor’s refusal to
allow me to take the exam.
I have read all of the items contained in the entire syllabus and have asked for clarification from the Instructor on
any points upon which I needed further clarification.
Printed Name:
________________________________________
Signature:
________________________________________
Date:
____________