Lights: A Creative Writing Seminar Conducted in English

Location: Tokyo, Japan Hosted by: The Film Academy at Magic Hour Dates: January 1st—January 24th Instruction: Professor Morgan Schulz, Various Guest Lecturers

Perhaps no modern world city offers the feast to the senses of Tokyo, by day and by night. And so, where better to inspire engaging, authentic, and imaginative writing…

With the city of Tokyo as our classroom, we’ll consider such writers as Kobo Abe, Haruki Murakami, and more recently Banana Yoshimoto who continue Japan’s long- standing literary tradition dating back to The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book. We will dive into writing centered in and around the place Tokyo (to include Western voices), immersing in narratives infused with Japanese identity, history, culture, and belief. You will become acquainted with and haunt familiar landmarks through these works around Tokyo, a city so labyrinthine that street names do not function as meeting points; rather, people arrange to meet at landmarks such as the dog statue at the Hachiya exit of Shibuya station. Or, at the beginning of Takeshita Street in the west-side of Harajuku. Or by exit B2 at Omotosando Hill or even at a particular Lawson’s, 7-11, or the northern base of Roppongi Hills Tower itself!

To further expand your purview of Tokyo, we will also consider a few principle Japanese films as well as works from the ever-expanding Japanese popular culture (this is now deemed a “soft export” by the Japanese government) in the form of anime and . Finally, you will be actively engaged in a culture program that will serve as an experiential foundation to integrate in your work. Ultimately, through study, experience, and imagination, you will write your own sense of the place and character of Tokyo: its mystery, its secrets, its nightmares and dreams.

The culture program includes a four-night stay at a seaside retreat, survival Japanese language training, a visit to the largest Buddha in Japan, a Matsuri performance with taiko drumming and a barbecue to follow, a trip to Studio Ghibli, live Sumo action, and more.

Requirements: A) Journal/Writer’s Notebook: As we “tour” the physical and literary/artistic landscapes, I will offer a variety of prompts to initiate your journal responses. However, the journal is the essential tool and key to you painting your own portrait of Tokyo in words. You first and foremost must employ the 5 W’s and 5 Senses, recording your observations fully. In addition, for each work considered in the course, you will dissect that work on the page as well as allow for illicit meanderings sparked by that work. We will conduct “field” exercises where you will engage Tokyo’s hidden treasures, landmarks, and streets as seen through the double lens of a particular writer or artist. Whatever you note in your journal, you must reflect on and respond to, elaborating and probing your own observations. Some observations may, in elaboration, take the shape of poems, bits of essays and fiction, and even dramatic dialogues. If you elect to include photographs or sketches in your journal (for music as well), you must also dissect your subject in words employing the 5 W’s and 5 Senses. I will conference with you, discussing and reviewing your journal. The journal is an outgrowth of the fertile bed of your imagination and ultimately your keepsake and memento of your journey to Tokyo. 20% of your grade B) Two Writing Assignments: one personal/expository essay from your fieldwork (first draft), in which you write to the “place” of Tokyo you envision or would imagine, walking its streets, taking its trains, and gazing at its skyline. This piece will be built around a “meeting point” of your choosing. You will write reportage set at this meeting point as well as research the history of the place, what was there before, its history in relation to Tokyo and so on. Your second piece will be a “travelogue” through the sights and sounds of Tokyo, by train and by foot, or even ferry. You will integrate at least three of the texts considered in the course as well as adopt a particular “voice” you would establish for your narrator/protagonist. Both of these pieces must first be in the form of personal and journalistic essay. You will partner up and exchange your work with classmates in a mini-workshop format. I will play an active role in these workshops. Of these assignments, you may select one as the basis for your final project. 40% of your grade C) Final Piece (due Not Later Than January 19): You will expand one of your two writing assignments (or in a new direction with my approval) as your cumulative work. Your goal: to envision and produce a substantial piece of creative writing that is at once authentic and original as your portrait of “Tokyo.” Emailed to me: [email protected]. 20% of your grade

D) Final Reflective Essay on your total culture and in-country experience due at course end (January 24) by email to me: [email protected]. 10% of your grade

E) Exemplary conduct, enthusiasm, and participation in the entirety of your time in Tokyo. 10% of your grade Texts: Works by but not limited to: Basho, Hayao Miyazaki (Nausicaa), Kobo Abe, Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto, Peter Carey, Keiji Nakazawa (), Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Ryu Murakami, Donald Richie, Angela Carter