Catalog Search Results
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Investigate the Meiji Restoration: the start of the third major period of Japanese globalization, defined by a vibrant synthesis of tradition and modernity. From the abolition of the samurai class to the creation of a new educational system to the restructuring of land ownership, how did Japan achieve revolutionary change through a smooth political transition?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Take a fresh approach to the story of early 20th-century Japan. Rather than a review of major events, focus instead on the ideologies of three individuals whose competing views shaped Japan's actions on the eve of World War II: Nitobe Inazo and Shidehara Kijuro, both proponents of democracy and international cooperation; and Ishiwara Kanji, a die-hard militarist.
Publisher
Ideas Roadshow
Pub. Date
2021.
Language
English
Description
Historian of science Michael Gordin highlights three often unappreciated problems associated with Karl Popper's "falsification criterion". Each one of his concerns is then discussed and debated by theoretical physicists Nima Arkani-Hamed, Artur Ekert and Scott Tremaine.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Japanese gardens are popular tourist destinations, cultural treasures, and even UNESCO heritage sites. Here, consider the splendor and harmony of some of Japan's most important gardens (including tea gardens, rock gardens, and strolling gardens) as part of a history of aesthetics and also as expressions of religious and cultural ideals.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Explore two major forms of Japanese theater: Noh (the high classical form) and Kabuki (the more popular form). In looking at two important theatrical works (Atsumori, rich in lofty ideals and elegant aesthetics, and The Scarlet Princess of Edo, full of crude decadence and mayhem), you'll uncover what these traditions share, and what they make their own.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
What makes 1989 the turning point for contemporary Japan? Explore four pivotal moments from that year whose repercussions are still being felt in the Japan of the 21st century: the death of Hirohito, China's Tiananmen Square Massacre, the bursting of the Japanese real estate bubble, and a dramatic stock market crash.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Turn away from the court in Kyoto to the countryside, where political infighting led to the rise of Japan's first shogunate ("warrior dynasty") and the emergence of the samurai. You'll also explore the rise of warrior culture through the lines of The Tale of the Heike, an epic ballad spread by wandering minstrels.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Journey through Japan's first period of isolation (from the 800s to the 1300s) and the rise of the Heian court, ancient Japan's cultured and exclusive aristocracy. Along the way, you'll meet the powerful Fujiwara family and unpack how the novel The Tale of Genji reveals the court's penchant for scandal and intrigue.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Professor Ravina adds more depth to your understanding of Japan's warrior ethos, bushido ("the way of the warrior"). As you look at historical snapshots, such as a samurai's petulant memoir and the vendetta of the 47 ronin, you'll discover the deep nostalgia that lies at the heart of this misunderstood aspect of Japanese culture. Bushido is full of a longing for a lost age.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Get an engaging introduction to ancient Japanese myths, collectively known as Shinto ("Way of the Gods"). Focusing on the oldest written compilation of Japanese oral tradition, the Kojiki, you'll examine fascinating stories about gods and heroes, the origins of the universe, the Rock Cave of Heaven, rival clans, and more.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
How did the decline of the court and the rise of the warrior class shape the evolution of Buddhist aesthetic, spiritual, and philosophical concepts? Find out in this illuminating episode, which covers the massive growth of Pure Land Buddhism (the dominant form in Japan today) and the two main schools of Zen Buddhism.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
There's so much more to Japanese cuisine than just sushi. Move beyond the basics and plunge into the enormous diversity and complexity of Japan's culture of food. How do foods like soba noodles, tempura, and yakitori (and the rituals of eating them) reflect the waves of globalization and isolation you've explored in previous episodes?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Samurai culture was not fixed but constantly adapting to larger social and cultural changes. Central to these changes was the Ashikaga dynasty. As you'll learn, political turmoil under the Ashikaga led to the samurai defining themselves with a culture of extreme loyalty and a new sense of valor, independent of imperial court culture.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Journey through some of the best-known styles and voices of Japanese poetry. You'll start with the oldest surviving Japanese poems and follow the development of tanka, the classical five-line form, and renga, a single poem written by multiple poets. We conclude with the master poet Basho and the emergence of haiku, now Japan's most famous and popular form of poetry.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
How has Japanese culture been shaped by powerful cycles of globalization and isolation? When was the earliest human habitation of Japan, and what are the origins of its rich culture? These and other probing questions are the perfect starting points for dispelling common Western misconceptions about this great island nation.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Japan's second great wave of globalization, the subject of this episode, stretched from the 1300s to the early 1600s. It's a fascinating period that includes competition with China's Ming dynasty; the new influence of the West (which brought with it guns and Christianity); and the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan's most powerful warlord.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Katsushika Hokusai, the renowned Japanese artist, is the perfect entryway into the history of both Japanese wood-block prints and late Tokugawa society. Among the topics covered are ukiyo-e ("floating world") pictures; Hokusai's iconic masterpiece, The Great Wave off Kanagawa; his encyclopedic collection of manga ("sketches"); and more.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Make sense of one of the world's most complex writing systems, and discover how spoken Japanese reflects a long-standing concern with order, hierarchy, and consensus. Why is social context so important when speaking Japanese? And what are the linguistic consequences of adopting Chinese characters in Japanese writing?
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