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TELEVISION

Understanding Japan: A Cultural History - Season 1

Series: Understanding Japan: A Cultural History

4.6

(71)

Episodes

Rating

TVPG

Year

2015

Language

English

Publisher

The Great Courses

About

Japan's extraordinary 2,000-year-old civilization has grown through periods of engagement and isolation into a society responsible for immeasurable influences on the rest of the world. These 24 fascinating episodes, produced in partnership with the Smithsonian, offer an unforgettable tour of Japanese history, life, art, and culture.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. Japan: A Globally Engaged Island Nation

34m

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.

2. Understanding Japan through Ancient Myths

30m

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.

3. The Emergence of the Ritsuryo State

30m

In the late 500s, Japan began an unprecedented project of state building that evolved into the highly centralized, emperor-led Ritsuryo state. As you examine the state's laws and accomplishments, you'll uncover how this political centralization was actually inspired by, and responded to, the emergence of powerful states in China and Korea.

4. Aspects of the Japanese Language

33m

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?

5. Early Japanese Buddhism

31m

Professor Ravina explains why Buddhism was so appealing in ancient Japan. He reveals three key observations about the religion's earliest form (including its spread with direct support from Japanese rulers) and discusses the two main strands of Japanese Buddhism: the more esoteric tradition of Shingon and the more accessible Pure Land.

6. Heian Court Culture

28m

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.

7. The Rise of the Samurai

29m

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.

8. Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism

30m

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.

9. Samurai Culture in the Ashikaga Period

29m

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.

10. Japan at Home and Abroad, 1300 - 1600

30m

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.

Extended Details

SeriesUnderstanding Japan: A Cultural History

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great CoursesDirector

The Great CoursesProducer

Mark J. RavinaActor