KCJS East Asian Studies K3993 Post-War Japanese Cinema and Visual Culture Focus: Three Directors: Mizoguchi, Ozu, Kurosawa

*Draft syllabus: please note that changes will be made and that the final draft of the syllabus (handed out in class) will supersede this one*

Professor Julie Nelson Davis University of Pennsylvania e-mail: [email protected] Office hours: TBA

Contact information: E-mail messages will be answered as promptly as possible. Please bring questions about course content and papers to class.

Course description: This course takes a closer look at three of the most important and influential postwar directors in Japanese cinema: Mizoguchi Kenji, Ozu Yasujirō, and Kurosawa Akira. All three are unified in using the medium to investigate essential questions regarding the human condition, but in their approaches to the lived experience they vary greatly. How they employ the visual experience of cinema to express the human condition and the perception of truth, history, beauty, and death will be among the themes of this course.

Many approaches may be taken to the study of Japanese cinema, including studying its relationship to literature and to the history of film worldwide. Here, we will consider the film as part of the continuum of visual representation, asking how the visual constitution influences, impresses and persuades the viewer of its message, and how that relates to other art forms, such as painting and photography. Modern concepts of "art," "history," and the film in the post- colonial world are also important issues for discussion.

Required Texts: As available

Donald Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa (University of California Press; Third Edition, With a New Epilogue edition, 1999). ISBN: ISBN-10: 0520220374; ISBN-13: 978-0520220379

Other required readings available on our Courseworks site.

Course structure: Lecture and discussion. Each week we will view a film; students are requested to view the film before the Thursday discussion session each week. We are working to make the films available to stream, but if this is not possible, we will arrange for students to be able to borrow the films or to see them at a screening.

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Student responsibilities:

1. Attendance and participation in class: 20% Lectures are organized to build upon the readings. Students are required to do all assigned readings in advance, about 30-40 pages of assigned reading per week. Marks will be kept on attendance, taken at the beginning of class, and on participation, recorded after class.

Missing two lectures without an appropriate reason will automatically drop your attendance grade by one full letter grade; egregious tardiness (three or more) will yield the same penalty. Four unexcused absences from lectures or recitations over the semester will result in the participation grade turning to zero. I reserve the right to give pop quizzes or assign additional work if people are coming to class unprepared.

2. Leading discussion: 20%

Each student will be assigned to participate on one discussion team, on one of the films by Ozu, Mizoguchi, or Kurosawa, for our Thursday discussion session.

Each panel should begin with general questions or points (ex., What did you find most interesting? What was most striking sequence?) then move to the more specific (ex., How does mise-en-scène work in the film? How does the music underscore the tension between the characters?). Try to move beyond the investigation of the narrative and into cinematic analysis. More guidance will be given in class.

For those in the audience: attendance will be taken on panel days -- please do your peers the service of being prepared and present on panel days! Your participation is vital (and part of the overall participation grade).

3. Response papers: 30% Three response papers, one each on our three main directors. In these short papers, students will reflect on themes they find of interest in the films we have viewed in class, e.g., cinematic techniques, characterization, literary adaptation, the status of the individual, etc. Paper length: approximately 2 pages, double-spaced. Submitted by email.

4. Final paper or project: 30% A longer paper on a topic of your choice as related to the material covered in class, due on the last day of class. I would also be open to proposals for non-paper based projects, such as a website, photography project, or an iMovie inspired by the course. You must meet with me to discuss your project and submit a "project contract" two weeks in advance; this should include a paragraph-long description and a bibliography of at least five sources (beyond the materials used in class). Note: Wikipedia and many other websites are not always reliable sources; please check if you are uncertain.

Final papers should be about 5 pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins + illustrations and bibliography. Projects should also include at least a 3-page analysis + work. Submitted by email.

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Policies: Late or missed assignments will not be accepted without legitimate documentation of severe illness, family emergency, or other emergency situations. Assignments turned in after the due date will receive a penalty in the assignment grade of at least 1/3 of a letter grade per day; the extent of the penalty will depend upon the degree of lateness and circumstances, and will be determined by Prof. Davis.

All course requirements must be completed for credit to be awarded. Improvement over the semester will be taken into consideration.

Religious events, emergency, and illness policies: Please let me know in advance if you will be participating in any religious events that will mean you will miss class. I will be glad to make alternate arrangements. I will also make exceptions for severe illness, significant family events, or other emergency situations. **If you are sick enough that you should stay in bed, please do so! (Let me know by e-mail.)**

Use of technology in the classroom: Turn off your cellphone. Using a laptop in the classroom may be distracting to others as well as to yourself. Numerous studies have found that people concentrate better and are more fully engaged in discussions when they are not using laptops or other technology. Thus, use of laptops and other electronic devices is restricted in this classroom. Exceptions will be made for those with a documented need, and in all cases checking email, chatting, surfing the Internet, and other such activities are banned. Students who do engage in these practices will receive a penalty.

Finally, I take the principles of academic integrity very seriously, and I expect the same from students. This means I will not tolerate cheating or plagiarism or other unethical practices — all work submitted must be your own!

Course Schedule and Readings:

Section I: Imagining History for the Present

9/9-9/11 Kurosawa Akira 黒澤明 Rashōmon 羅生門, 1950 (88 minutes) Tuesday: Introduction to Rashōmon Thursday: Panel 1 & discussion

Text: Richie, "Rashōmon," in The Films of Akira Kurosawa, 70-80 Courseworks: Akutagawa, "Rashōmon" and "In a Grove" McDonald, "The Dialectic of Light and Darkness in Kurosawa's Rashomon"

9/16-9/18 Tuesday and Thursday: Kurosawa documentary (in class)

9/23 HOLIDAY

9/25 Discussion of Kurosawa documentary and related materials

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9/30-10/2 Mizoguchi Kenji 溝口健二 The Life of Oharu (Saikaku ichidai onna) 西鶴一代女, 1952 (133 minutes)

Courseworks: Morris, trans.; Saikaku, "The Woman Who Loved Love"

10/7-10/9 Mizoguchi, Ugetsu (Ugetsu monogatari) 雨月物語, 1953 (96 minutes)

Courseworks: Ehrlich, "The Artist's Desire: Reflections on the Films of Mizoguchi Kenji" McDonald, "Atmosphere and Thematic Conflict in Mizoguchi's Ugetsu"

*Mizoguchi response paper due 10/10 by email*

Section II: Life in the Present 10/14-16 Ozu Yasujirō 小津安二郎 Late Spring (Banshun) 晩春, 1949 (108 minutes)

Courseworks: Richie, "Introduction," "Biographical Filmography" (excerpt), "Late Spring" Geist, "Playing with Space: Ozu and Two-Dimensional Design in Japan"

10/21-23 Ozu, Early Summer (Bakushū) 麦秋, 1951 (124 minutes)

Courseworks: Geist, "The Role of Marriage in the Films of Yasujiro Ozu" Phillips, “Pictures of the past in the present: modernity, femininity and stardom in the postwar films of Ozu Yasujirō”

**Critical analysis paper due 10/24 by email**

10/28-30 Ozu, Tokyo Story (Tokyo monogatari) 東京物語, 1953 (136 minutes)

Courseworks: McDonald, "A Basic Narrative Mode in Yasujirō Ozu's Tokyo Story" Geist, "Narrative Strategies in Ozu's Late Films"

*Ozu response paper due 10/31 by email*

FALL BREAK!

11/11-13 Kurosawa, Stray Dog (Nora Inu) 野良犬, 1949 (122 minutes) Required: Text: Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa, "Stray Dog," Courseworks: Schrader, “Notes on Film Noir”

11/18-11/20 Kurosawa, To Live (Ikiru) 生きる, 1952 (143 minutes)

Text: Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa, "Ikiru," Courseworks: Desser, "Ikiru: Narration as a Moral Act"

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Section III: Tough Guys and Gals 11/25-27 Kurosawa, Seven Samurai 七人の侍, 1954 (207 minutes)

Text: Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa, on Seven Samurai Courseworks: Tada, "The Destiny of Samurai Films," East-West Film Journal Desser, "Toward a Structural Analysis of the Postwar Samurai Film"

*Kurosawa response paper due by email 11/28

12/2-12/4 Itami Jūzō 伊丹十三 Tampopo たんぽぽ 1985 (114 minutes)

Courseworks: Schilling, “Juzo Itami” Degli-Esposti, “Introduction” Bruns, “Refiguring Pleasure: Itami and the Postmodern Japanese Film”

12/9-11 Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎駿 Mononokehime (Princess Mononoke) もののけ姫 1997 (134 minutes)

Courseworks: Napier, “Confronting Master Narratives”

*Final paper / project due 12/12