天美影视

Welcome to Department of Japanese Language and Literature- Characteristics of Department of Japanese Language and Literature

On the other side of words there is a subject who utters the words (speaks/writes). To take words as the subject is also to face the "other" on the other side of the words through the words.
It could be said that the essence of learning in Department of Japanese Language and Literature is to learn the skills to communicate with the unknown "other" on the other side of the text, by studying texts written in Japanese, from the past to the present.
In order to perceive the "other" not simply as a landscape or a foreign object, but as an independent personality in itself, it is essential to have the imagination to empathize with the mind of the "other." Literature contains a mysterious mechanism that allows us to penetrate into the mind of the "other" and to look at our own existence through the eyes of the "other."
According to psychologist Alison Kovnick, there is a symmetry between children's ability to infer the intentional states of others' minds and their ability to infer their own intentional states of minds. In other words, if a person cannot fully grasp the intentions and mental states of others, he or she cannot fully understand their own intentions and mental states either.
Studying Japanese literature is not about learning about past cultures, history, or languages that exist elsewhere and are separate from yourself; it is an endeavor equivalent to facing yourself, the person living your one and only life, through the circuit of language, and thinking about your own existence.
Department of Japanese Language and Literature at our university is the perfect learning environment to inquire into one's own existence.

1. People who can discover problems on their own, work enthusiastically to solve them, and experience the joy of solving problems with their own hands. In short, the goal of Department of Japanese Language and Literature is to send out into society attractive individuals who have acquired such abilities.

Of course, the curriculum of Department of Japanese Language and Literature focuses on Japanese literature, Japanese linguistics, and Chinese literature, which is closely related to them, but the procedures of identifying problems, searching for solutions and examining their effectiveness, and examining and verifying the conclusions reached are not methods unique to the study of Japanese literature, Japanese linguistics, Chinese literature, etc. These methods should have some significance in interpreting the various phenomena in human society, as well as related disciplines. As the famous Swiss linguist Saussure revealed, cultural phenomena occurring in human society in general and the language spoken by humans are more than just closely and inseparably related.
In order to achieve the above goals, Department of Japanese Language and Literature has designed a curriculum that places emphasis on seminars. Seminars are subjects that students must take an active role in, unlike lectures where the teacher speaks unilaterally from the podium.
Specifically, students will investigate and research a problem that they have set based on their own interests, and based on the results of their research, all participants will discuss the meaning of the problem presented, the validity of the research methods used to reach the report, and the validity of the conclusions. In the process, the thinking of not only the presenters but all participants will be relativized, objective, deepened, and broadened. You may be surprised to learn that completely opposite conclusions can be reached despite the same conditions and information, and you may come across a new discovery that you would not have noticed if you were thinking alone. By repeating this process, you will acquire the joy of self-discovery and self-solving of problems.
In the actual curriculum, students are required to take one seminar in their second year and one in their third year, but of course, if they are motivated, they can take more. This curriculum design that places emphasis on seminars is attracting attention as a unique feature not found at other universities.

2. The research situation surrounding Japanese literature, Japanese language studies, and Chinese literature is developing at a remarkable pace. In particular, mutual intrusions with surrounding disciplines are steadily expanding, particularly in areas such as research methods and problem setting, and the borderless nature of academic fields is expected to continue in the future.

In light of this situation, Department of Japanese Language and Literature is not limited to the narrow framework of traditional Japanese literature, Japanese language studies, and Chinese literature, but is instead focusing on establishing and developing a wide range of courses. Examples of this include summer intensive lectures in which leading researchers are invited from outside the university to teach, and courses on cultural representation.
Regarding the way in which students study such diverse curricula, in principle we respect the autonomy of students and, with the exception of a few subjects, do not impose restrictions on compulsory study. This corresponds to the educational policy mentioned above, which is to encourage students to discover problems on their own, enthusiastically tackle the problem-solving process, and solve the problems with their own hands.
So, explore the curriculum of Department of Japanese Language and Literature freely and find the questions that are important to you. All of us in the Department of Department of Japanese Language and Literature are here to help you.