Japn 340

Ronald Loftus

rloftus@willamette.edu

Office: Walton Hall 147

Phone/Voice Mail: 6275

The Japanese Cinema

Fall 2024

This course has an Interpreting Texts MOI attached to it therefore the following here are the Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)for this course. In this course, students will:

1. Understand film and its role in society by becoming exposed to the theoretical and disciplinary tools involved in the analysis of films;

2. Appreciate the significance of the triangular relationship between director/auteur or screenwriter, the film itself, and the audience who views it;

3. Understand that films may embody cultural values of particular time and place, and that these values may be different from those of the "entertainment model "that dominates the mainstream Hollywood distribution system.

Please NOTE: For every class hour, there is an expectation of 2-3 hours work outside of class. Since our class meets twice a week for 90 on the WISE site, and alsothe online materials related to the films--mostly biographical background on the directors and critical reviews of the films-that are linked directly from this syllabus.

As an instructor, I am committed to creating a climate of mutual respect and encouraging full participation by students in my classes. My goal is to create a learning environment that is equitable, inclusive and welcoming. If there are elements of the instruction or design of this course that create any barriers to your full participation or completion of assignments, please come and tlk to me and share your concerns. Students with disabilities are also encouraged to contact the Accessible Education Services office in Matthews 103 at 503-370-6737 or disb-info@willamette.edu to discuss a range of options to removing barriers in the course, including accommodations.

Also, Plagiarism--which is passing someone else's words or ideas off as your own without proper attribution, is a serious matter. The university has a policy which you can read here. Please be careful and mindful when you write.

Content and Approach:

This course will offer a survey of some of the major Japanese films and film directors from the "golden age" of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s to the present. Works by directors such as Ozu Yasujiro, Mizoguchi Kenji, Naruse Mikio, and Kurosawa Akira will be screened in order to give students an appreciation for some of the classic works of Japanese cinema. Contemporary films and anime will be examined as well. One could desgin a course on Japaense film differently but given that this is the only course of its kind offerend on this campus, the decision to do a roughly chronlogical survery of some of the greatest examples of Japanese filmmaking makes sense.

What do we need to do? We need to view the films in the assigned time slots, and come to class prepared to discuss the films. We will also periodically be submitting brief film critiques or "commentaries" on the Forum Section of WISE as indicated. Obviously, this is a Film Studies course at an academic institution so it is about carefully watching films and reflecting seriously on them. Not all films will have the sole purpose of entertaining contemporary viewers so expect the experience of watching some of these films be challenging at times. It may feel like work, and that is as it should be. On the other hand, I think the films we will be watching are all great films and each has something powerful to offer us. At the end of the course, you should come asway with a sense of how classical Japanese film has operated as a discourse, and what Japanese films may have to say to us and to teach us. Isn't that a very worthwhile goal?

Film showings will be Tuesday evenings in the Film Studies Room, Ford Hall 122.

Credit Hour Policy:

Given the readings, the Posting of comments for each film on WISE Forum, the film watching itself and the essay writing, expect to spend 6-9 hours of week outside of class working on this course.

Course Requirements:

1. Regular Attendance (no more than 2-3 absences)

2. Participation in class discussions

3. Do the readings as assigned; many PDFs are available on WISE, Resources, sometimes in Folders by author name: Yoshimoto, Prince, Bock.

4. View the films as scheduled

5. Take leadership responsibilities for film discussions as assigned (small groups of students each week)

6. Complete the "Short Commentaries" or critiques on the "Forum" section WISE due regularly on most of the films

7. Complete four (4) main short papers for the class, and one more impressionistic one as assigned; Due Feb. 14, March 8, April 10, April 17 (Seven Samurai) and May 5.

For the most part, these papers will be evaluated on the basis of:

1) their Organization and Clarity (i.e., strong Introduction with a claim/thesis statement, effective arguments in the Body of the paper, and a Conclusion that reinforces the thesis or claim spelled out in the Introduction);

2) their effective use/analysis of materials from the readings and the films--e.g., dialogue, key scenes, filmic techniques employed, etc; and

3) their general Flow and Coherence--good, crisp, clear, efficient prose.

Readings:

1. Selected Articles, Handouts and Online Materials linked from Syllabus

2. Numerous PDFs on WISE prviding analysis/discussion points for each film and/or director.

Useful Blog:

http://filmstudiesforfree.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-japanese-cinema.html

Good websites to know about:

http://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/content.php?pid=318348&sid=2605375

http://us.imdb.com/

http://kinemaclub.org/ (Kinema Club)

Jan. 17

Introduction to Course and Materials

Ideas: How to "Read" a Film ; Appraoches to Analyzing Film

See some useful Glossaries of Terms and Relevant Film Vocabulary

Read Burch-1 and Burch-2 PDF on WISE

(Students sign-up to present main ideas from either

--Burch 1.pdf

--Burth 2.pdf; OR

--If you are highly motivated ,there is Harry Harootunian's reflection on Burch's project in the form is his review essay of Burch in PDF

Introduction to Japanese Film Studies

Jan. 19

Introduction to Japanese Film Studies, Discussion of Noel Burch Readings

An Article about Noel Burch's Book PDF; available on WISE as well (filmburch.pdf)

Discuss Burch 1 and Burch 2 PDFs on WISE

See capsule summaries Burch Pages 1 and 2

For next class:

Prepare Yoshimoto Intro I.pdf (pp. 8-23 should suffice) on WISE

I. Classical Japanese Cinema: Mizoguchi, Ozu, Early Kurosawa

Jan. 24

Read and Discuss Yoshimoto Intro I PDF on WISE

Introduction to Classical Japanese Cinema: Mizoguchi Kenji's Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)

Discuss Yoshimoto Intro I.pdf (pp. 8-23)

Summarize key facts about Mizoguchi from webpages

Read and Prepare "Bock.Mizoguchi.pdf" and "Lopate Ugetsu.pdf"on WISE for next class

Film Showing Tuesday Evening Jan. 24

Film Showing: Ugetsu Monogatari (96 minutes)

ugetsuposter

Read and Prepare "Bock.Mizoguchi.pdf" and "Lopate Ugetsu.pdf"on WISE for after we view the film

Ugestsu Review Keiko McDonald

Jan. 26

Discussion of Ugetsu Mongatari: Film and PDFs

Discuss "Bock.Mizoguchi.pdf" and "Lopate Ugetsu.pdf"on WISE

Demonstrate How to Post on Wise, Forum Section

Jan. 31

Finish Discussion of Mizoguchi as necessary

Brief Bio of Ozu;

Also, Introduction to Ozu Yasujiro; See his Grave Marker Mu in Kamakura

View exceprts from Wim Wender's Tokyoga

"If in our century something sacred still existed… if there were something like a sacred treasure of the cinema, then for me that would have to be the work of the Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu." (See more here )

Prepare 2 WISE PDFs:

1. J340 Desser. pdf

2. J340 Geist.pdf

Video on the town of Ononomich, in Hiroshima, Japan.

Jan. 31 Evening Film Showing Tokyo Story

(1953, 136 minutes)

Main Page for Ozu's Tokyo Story

More on Tokyo Story

Discuss the Two PDFs,

1. Desser, J340 Desser.pdf, "Intro: A Filmaker for All Seasons," and

2. J340 Geist.pdf, "Buddhism in Tokyo Story

See Ian Buruma on Ozu

Feb. 2

Very interesting site on Tokyo Story

Discussion of Ozu and Tokyo Story

Ozu-san website; see also this Ozu site

Prompt for paper on Ozu'sTokyo Story

Post short commentary on the Forum section of WISE on Tokyo Story

Se also "Bock Ozu.pdf on WISE"

Discuss ideas for the First paper on Ozu/Mizoguchi due Feb. 14

See Film Review

Obituaries for hara Setsuko:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/25/setsuko-hara

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2258-ozu-and-setsuko-hara

Feb. 7

From Kurosawa's Drunken Angel to Stray Dog

Introduction to Kurosawa Akira;

See Zhang Yimou Appreciation

View Excerpts from Sanshiro Sugata?

Kurosawa's Drunken Angel (1948)

(102 minutes)

Three PDFs to Read:

Prince, "Willpower.pdf mainly pp. 78-90

2. "Angel.pdf" and

3. "Yoshimoto Drunken Angel.pdf"

Feb. 7 Evening Film Showing Kurosawa's Drunken Angel (1948)

Discuss:

1. Prince, "Willpower.pdf mainly pp. 78-90.

2. "Angel.pdf" and

3. "Yoshimoto Drunken Angel.pdf"

Post Short Commentary for Drunken Angel on Forum section of WISE

Feb. 9

Discussion: Drunken Angel

Feb. 14 Stray Dog	Stray Dog (1949) (122 minutes)	Read PDF "Yoshimoto Stray Dog.pdf" on WISE Also Read PDF "Prince Ch. 3Willpower.pdf" up to pp. 90-99 on WISE Hand in 3-5 page paper on Ozu'sTokyo Story
Feb. 14 Evening Film Showing,Stray Dog (1949)		Post Short Commentary on Forum section of WISEfor Stray Dog
Feb. 16	Discussion,Stray Dog (1949) and Early Kurosawa Films	Discusss PDF "Yoshimoto Stray Dog.pdf" on WISE Also Read PDF "Prince Ch. 3 Willpower.pdf"up to p. 100 on WISE
II. "New Wavwe Cinema" of the 1960s Feb. 21	Introduction *Naruse Mikiso, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs* (1960)**

Feb. 21 Evening Film Showing: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Naruse Mikiso, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)

woman

Read 4 PDFs after viewing the film:

1. "Russell.Naruse.pdf,"

2."Bock Naruse,"

3."Mellen Naruse"

4. Lopate.Naruse.pdf"

Post Short Commentary on Forum section of WISE for When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Feb. 23

Discuss When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Discuss the above PDFs:

"Russell.Naruse.pdf,"

"Bock Naruse.pdf,"

"Lopate.Naruse.pdf," and

"Mellen Naruse.pdf" on WISE

Feb. 28 Evening Film Showing: Harakiri (1962) (133 minutes)

Discuss/Assign 2nd paper on early Kurosawa films

Finish Discussing When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Introduction to Kobayashi Masaki and Harakiri (1962) (133 minutes)

(http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Jo-Ku/Kobayashi-Masaki.html)

Two PDFs to read for Thursday:

1. "J340 Mellen.Harakiri.pdf" and

2. "Bock Kobayashi"

Nice Roger Ebert Review

More Reviews of Harakiri

Post Short Commentary on Forum section of WISE fo Harakiri

March 2	*Discuss* *Harakiri*	Discuss the 2 PDFs from WISE: "J340 Mellen.Harakiri.pdf" and In the Audie Bock Readings folder, "Bock Kobayashi"
March 7	Final Comments Harakiri; Introduce Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950, 88 minutes)	Students sign up for Discussion of PDFs listed below Kurosawa's Rashomon
III. Two Great Kurosawa Films: Rashomon and Ikiru March 7: Evening Film Showing: Rashomon (1950) Nobody has ever filmed forests like Kurosawa. Shooting directly into the sun to make the camera lens flare, probing the filaments of shadows in trees and glades, rendering dense thickets as poetic metaphors for the laws of desire and karma that entrap human beings, and, above all, executing hypnotic camera movements across the uneven forest floor, Kurosawa created in Rashomon the most flamboyant and insistently visual film that anyone had seen in decades. (Prince, Criterion Collection Essay)	Rashomon	Sign up for Two PDF Readings: 1. "Yoshimoto Rashomon.pdf"and 2. "Prince Experiments.pdf" on WISE, mainly pp. 127-135. also, if interested, an essay on "Into the Woods" Or, Review by Stanley Solomon Review Short post on WISE, Forum Section, for Rashomon
March 9 Discussion of Rashomon	Discussion of Rashomon Existential humanism inspires the best pictures. The great art-house films of the '50s — which people still talk [and write] about...in critical texts — still serve as hallmarks of what great film art can be. Films from directors as diverse as Kurosawa, Alain Resnais, Antonioni, Bergman, and Wajda, are born of a grappling with the same issues of meaning and purpose that [the existentialist writers raised].	Discuss the 2 PDFs 1. "Yoshimoto Rashomon.pdf"and 2. "Prince Experiments.pdf" on WISE, mainly pp. 127-135. also, if interested, an essay on "Into the Woods" Or, see Review by Stanley Solomon Review
March 14 Introduction to Ikiru (To Live) Match 14 Evening: Film Showing Ikiru (To Live, 143 minutes) (1952) 3-4 page paper on early Kurosawa films due (Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, Rashomon, and/or Kobayashi's Harakiri)	IKIRU: Intro (143 minutes))	(Donald Richie on Ikiru) Read 2 PDFs: 1."Yoshimoto.Ikiru.pdf" and 2. "Prince Ch. 3 Willpower.pdf" pp. 100-113 on WISE Short Commentary on WISE for Ikiru
March 16	Discussion: Ikiru

March 21

Finish Ikiru discussion

Introduction to Japanese Anime

Nausicaa page on Miyazaki Web

IV: Two Classic Anime by Miyazaki Hayao: Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke

March 21 Film Showing, Nauscicaa, Valley of the Wind

Film showing: Nauscicaa, Valley of the Wind (117 minutes)

Related film by Dir. Miyazaki Hayao

My Neighbor Totoro

Totoro Review by Roger Ebert

March 23

Discussion: Nausicaa

Yahoo's anime site

www resources

Spring Break March 27-31

No Classes

April 4

Watch Some Excerpts from Grave of the Fireflies?

Introduce Princess Mononoke

My Gateway Mononoke Page

3 April 4 Evening Film showing: Princess Mononoke (134 minutes0

Some Review Excerpts

April 6

Discussion: Princess Mononoke

Download pdf version of Susan Napier (napier.pdf) article from the "Resourcess" section on WISE,

or

Or, Read an Online version: "ConfrontingMaster Narratives" by Susan Napier

Click here for synopsis of article.

Prompt for Paper #3

April 11 V. One of Kurosawa's Greatest: SEVEN SAMURAI This film is so brilliant on so many levels I'm really unsure where to begin this review. I suppose I should say that this is the best movie I have ever seen in my life....[T]his movie is the most detailed, the most brilliant, and most complex I have ever witnessed. I don't know if it is possible to make a better movie than this...	THE SEVEN SAMURAI : Begin Film Showing in Class Sml B-17?	Read PDFs on WISE: "Yoshimoto Seven Samurai.pdf" (concentrate on pp. 239-245) and Prince "Ch. 6 Jidaigeki.pdf"
April 11 Evening Film Showing (note--the Seven Samurai is roughly 3.5 hours!)	View Seven Samurai (1954 207 minutes) "Kurosawa's point is that ambiguity, vanity, subjectivity, and self-interest are unavoidable facts of human existence, and that certainty, selflessness and objectivity are unattainable. All that people can do is their best, or what they feel is their best. They must assert themselves in action as best as they can, realizing that it is both impossible to know if the action is really best and to know anything about human experience except what they 'know' in their own subjective perceptions."	View Seven Samurai. See the characters. See also some plot synopsis. Review here. Read "Yoshimoto Seven Samurai.pdf" (concentrate on pp. 239-245) and "Prince "Ch. 6 Jidaigeki.pdf" on WISE
April 13	Discuss The Seven Samurai; Review	More Reviews of Seven Samurai Discuss "Yoshimoto Seven Samurai.pdf" and "Prince Ch.6 Jidaigeki.pdf" from WISE
April 18	Finish Discussion of Seven Samurai Director Frank Capra wrote that only the morally courageous are worthy of speaking to their fellow human beings for two hours in the dark. Kurosawa possessed this courage. His cinema is deeply formalistic, yet those forms are simply his means to an end that he regarded as paramount. That end is the recognition of common humanity and of common suffering. Few filmmakers had the drive, the overpowering sense of responsibility, and the gifts necessary to take viewers on this journey. Kurosawa did and, in doing so, he showed what cinema might yet accomplish. Stephen Prince, The Warrior's Camera, p. 358. Introduce After Life(1998, 119 mins) --a film by Kore-eda Hirokazu	One short reading, a Sidney Lumet tribute to the Seven Samurai: "J340 Lumet7sam.pdf" Kurosawa 3-4 page paper on the two anime films and the Napier article
VI. Final Unit: Two more ContemporyFilms April 18 Film Showing After life	More After Life Reviews
April 20	Discussion, Afterlife	Short post on Forum section of WISE on Afterlife

April 25 Departures (2008, 113 minutes)

Film Showing,Departures by Yojiro Takita(2008)

Poetry, to paraphrase Wittgenstein, uses the language of prose yet offering no concrete or fixed meanings.

It is always floating. So it is with Departures, this extraordinary new film by Yojiro Takita that yields no simple message but rather offers, as the films of Ozu did fifty years before, a kind of quiet and transcendental yarn that you can decode in many ways. [From the Review linked on the right.}

See Review here.

Some of my thoughts on Departures.

Another Review of Okuribito

April 25 Film Showing Departures

April 27 Last Class

Discuss After life and Departures

Short post on Forum Section of WISE for Departures

Japn 340

Ronald Loftus

rloftus@willamette.edu

Office: Walton Hall 147

Phone/Voice Mail: 6275

The Japanese Cinema

Fall 2024

Also, Plagiarism--which is passing someone else's words or ideas off as your own without proper attribution, is a serious matter. The university has a policy which you can read here. Please be careful and mindful when you write.

Content and Approach:

Film showings will be Tuesday evenings in the Film Studies Room, Ford Hall 122.

Course Requirements:

1. Regular Attendance (no more than 2-3 absences)

2. Participation in class discussions

3. Do the readings as assigned; many PDFs are available on WISE, Resources, sometimes in Folders by author name: Yoshimoto, Prince, Bock.

4. View the films as scheduled

5. Take leadership responsibilities for film discussions as assigned (small groups of students each week)

6. Complete the "Short Commentaries" or critiques on the "Forum" section WISE due regularly on most of the films

7. Complete four (4) main short papers for the class, and one more impressionistic one as assigned; Due Feb. 14, March 8, April 10, April 17 (Seven Samurai) and May 5.

For the most part, these papers will be evaluated on the basis of:

1) their Organization and Clarity (i.e., strong Introduction with a claim/thesis statement, effective arguments in the Body of the paper, and a Conclusion that reinforces the thesis or claim spelled out in the Introduction);

2) their effective use/analysis of materials from the readings and the films--e.g., dialogue, key scenes, filmic techniques employed, etc; and

3) their general Flow and Coherence--good, crisp, clear, efficient prose.

Readings:

1. Selected Articles, Handouts and Online Materials linked from Syllabus

2. Numerous PDFs on WISE prviding analysis/discussion points for each film and/or director.

http://filmstudiesforfree.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-japanese-cinema.html

Good websites to know about:

http://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/content.php?pid=318348&sid=2605375

http://us.imdb.com/

http://kinemaclub.org/ (Kinema Club)

Jan. 17

Introduction to Course and Materials

Ideas: How to "Read" a Film; Appraoches to Analyzing Film

See some useful Glossaries of Terms and Relevant Film Vocabulary

Read Burch-1 and Burch-2 PDF on WISE

Introduction to Japanese Film Studies

Jan. 19

Introduction to Japanese Film Studies, Discussion of Noel Burch Readings

An Article about Noel Burch's Book PDF; available on WISE as well (filmburch.pdf)

Discuss Burch 1 and Burch 2 PDFs on WISE

See capsule summaries Burch Pages 1 and 2

I. Classical Japanese Cinema: Mizoguchi, Ozu, Early Kurosawa

Jan. 24

Read and Discuss Yoshimoto Intro I PDF on WISE

Introduction to Classical Japanese Cinema: Mizoguchi Kenji's Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)

Discuss Yoshimoto Intro I.pdf (pp. 8-23)

Summarize key facts about Mizoguchi from webpages

Read and Prepare "Bock.Mizoguchi.pdf" and "Lopate Ugetsu.pdf"on WISE for next class

Film Showing Tuesday Evening Jan. 24

Film Showing: Ugetsu Monogatari (96 minutes)

Jan. 26

Discussion of Ugetsu Mongatari: Film and PDFs

Discuss "Bock.Mizoguchi.pdf" and "Lopate Ugetsu.pdf"on WISE

Demonstrate How to Post on Wise, Forum Section

Jan. 31

Finish Discussion of Mizoguchi as necessary

Brief Bio of Ozu;

Also, Introduction to Ozu Yasujiro; See his Grave Marker Mu in Kamakura

View exceprts from Wim Wender's Tokyoga

"If in our century something sacred still existed… if there were something like a sacred treasure of the cinema, then for me that would have to be the work of the Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu." (See more here)

Prepare 2 WISE PDFs:

1. J340 Desser. pdf

2. J340 Geist.pdf

Video on the town of Ononomich, in Hiroshima, Japan.

Jan. 31 Evening Film Showing Tokyo Story

(1953, 136 minutes)

Main Page for Ozu's Tokyo Story

More on Tokyo Story

Feb. 2

Discussion of Ozu and Tokyo Story

More on Tokyo Story

Ozu-san website; see also this Ozu site

Prompt for paper on Ozu'sTokyo Story

Post short commentary on the Forum section of WISE on Tokyo Story

See Film Review

Obituaries for hara Setsuko:

Feb. 7

From Kurosawa's Drunken Angel to Stray Dog

Introduction to Kurosawa Akira;

See Zhang Yimou Appreciation

Ideas: How to "Read" a Film ; Appraoches to Analyzing Film

"If in our century something sacred still existed… if there were something like a sacred treasure of the cinema, then for me that would have to be the work of the Japanese director, Yasujiro Ozu." (See more here )