A cinema in Ponto-cho (a neighborhood in Kyoto) displays old movie posters outside. The building itself is of a more traditional style—something for which Ponto-cho is famous. (Photo courtesy of sejunco on Flickr. CC-BY-NC-SA.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Ian Condry
MIT Course Number
21G.065 / 21A.142 / 21G.593
As Taught In
Fall 2013
Level
Undergraduate / Graduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course surveys both cinematic and literary representations of diverse eras and aspects of Japanese culture such as the classical era, the samurai age, wartime Japan and the atomic bombings, social change in the postwar period, and the appropriation of foreign cultural themes, with an emphasis on the modern period. Directors include Akira Kurosawa and Hiroshi Teshigahara. Authors include Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima. Films shown have subtitles in English. Taught in English.
