From Samurai to Soldiers: Japan at War (History 377-01)
TTH 2:15–4:05 | Mears Cottage, Room 202
Christopher M. Mayo | Grinnell College | Spring 2014 Syllabus
CONTACT INFORMATION
Christopher M. Mayo
Office: 318 Mears Cottage (M 2:15–3:15, T 4:15–5:15, or by appointment)
Campus Phone: (641) 269-4477
Fax: (641) 269-4733
Email: [email protected] (I will respond within 24 hours on weekdays)
Website: www.christopher-mayo.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This seminar explores Japan's modern history from the perspective of warfare,
beginning with conflicts involving armies of samurai in the late 1800s, and ending
with the flights of kamikaze pilots during WWII. Our common readings,
discussions, and presentations in the first half of the course will provide us an
opportunity to discuss recent scholarship on Japan at war, and they will familiarize
you with some of the primary sources that are available in English. The first half of
the semester is structured to provide you with the foundation and inspiration to
craft your own original work of scholarship through a focus on how researchers
have used sources to construct historical arguments. The second half will be
devoted to the completion of your individual project. By the end of the term, you
will have a better understanding of why Japan went to war, what it gained, what it
lost, and how the country was affected by the experience.
GRADING
Your grade in this course will be determined in the following manner:
50%
Research Project
20%
Participation and Attendance
20%
Short Papers
10%
Note-taking
In this course, "C" work is satisfactory: it fulfills the requirements in a manner
that demonstrates competency and adequate understanding of the material. "B"
work is good: it shows some insight into the material and develops a clear
argument. "A" work is excellent: it demonstrates originality, well-developed
analyses, and skillful articulation of your thoughts.
Research Project (50%)
The research project will be 20–25 pages (or the equivalent amount of scholarly
production for an app, website, documentary, or other project with the approval
of the instructor) and will be submitted in stages.
1. In the initial project proposal (1–2 pages / 3%), imagine that you are
submitting it to a fellowship committee at Grinnell in order to receive
additional funding to do the research. Make sure to describe the question
you hope to answer and clearly state the significance of your intellectual
contribution.
2. In the outline and bibliography (2–3 pages / 7%), set up the framework for
your argument and mention evidence from primary and secondary
sources that you plan to use in each section.
3. The first draft of your project (at least 10–12 pages / 10%) should contain
a complete bibliography, your main argument, and some analysis of the
source materials.
4. The final project (20–25 pages / 30%) will be written as if you were going
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to submit it as an article in an undergraduate research journal
(https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/arc/academic-affairs/map/pub_links).
Participation and Attendance (20%)
Arriving on time to each class, carefully reading and reflecting on assignments,
and actively engaging in discussions will create a rich environment of meaningful
intellectual exchange with your fellow students. Failure to adequately prepare and
attend classes diminishes the experience not only for you but also for the rest of
us.
I encourage students who plan to observe holy days that coincide with class
meetings or assignment due dates to consult with me in the first three weeks of
classes so that we may reach a mutual understanding of how you can meet the
terms of your religious observance and also the requirements for this course. If
there are absences for family, school, or sports events that you have planned for
the semester, please let me know in advance so that we can make arrangements.
For any absence, you may submit a short essay (2–3 pages) analyzing the material
you missed for that day in order to receive the participation points. This may be
submitted by the last day of the course.
Short Papers (20%)
You will have two short papers (3–4 pages / 10%) due during the semester. The
aim in these papers is to synthesize the knowledge you have gained and to
present it in a clear, concise manner for your reader.
• PAPER #1: Let's imagine that the Scarlet and Black (or BS, if you'd prefer)
wants you to write an article in the newspaper providing your fellow
students with the historical context for an upcoming movie screening of
The Last Samurai at Harris Center.
• PAPER #2: Let's imagine that the Faulconer Gallery has an exhibition of
1930s war photography from around the world and they have asked you
to write a short essay for visitors to explain why Japan went to war in
Asia.
10% Note-taking
The foundation of intellectual inquiry is found in reading and note-taking. The
ability to concisely summarize and evaluate content is a difficult skill to master,
and practicing it together will help improve the quality of your work in the
course. By 9:00 AM on the day of each class meeting you will be expected to
have written for one of the reading assignments: (1) a summary of it; (2) an
explanation of its strengths; and (3) identification of any weaknesses. The notes
you write (3–6 sentences total / 350 words or less) will go into a notebook within
Evernote to form part of our shared knowledge base. I will post bibliographies,
reading notes, and other materials in the notebook as well. By the end of the
semester, we will have created a rich resource that you can take with you for
future use.
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OUR CONTRACT
Me
You should expect me to provide a collaborative classroom environment in which
we discuss our ideas and challenge one another to think more deeply about the
material covered in this course—each class ought to be a thought-provoking,
rewarding experience for all of us. I will also clearly explain my expectations for
discussions and assignments, follow the rubric explained above when assigning
grades, and regularly inform you about your progress in the course. Finally, I take
the security and privacy of your information very seriously, and comments on
your work or grades will be communicated to you via your encrypted folder in
SpiderOak (explained in class). I consider this to be "our" course, and if you feel
that I can improve my teaching of it, please do not hesitate to make suggestions
at any time using the anonymous survey provided through SurveyMonkey
(explained in class).
You
If you feel that you cannot fulfill the requirements of this syllabus for any reason,
please contact me in advance. Grinnell College makes reasonable
accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Please provide
documentation identifying any special needs to the Dean for Student Academic
Support and Advising (Joyce Stern) and notify me within the first few days of the
course.
The work you submit must be your own. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and it
will result in your immediate referral to the Subcommittee on Academic Honesty
of the Committee on Academic Standing. For more information, see the relevant
section of the Student Handbook for policies on academic honesty.
Assignments must be submitted on time. Please note that late assignments will
automatically lose one letter grade. However, you can elect to request one 48hour deadline extension during the semester for any of your assignments. I would
recommend that you avoid doing this unless absolutely necessary, because you
can do it only once.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Required texts are available in the Grinnell College Bookstore for purchase, and
will be on reserve at Burling Library.
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph Williams. The Craft of Research.
3rd ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0226065663.
Cook, Haruko Taya and Theodore F. Cook. Japan at War: An Oral History. London:
Phoenix Press, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-1565840393.
RECOMMENDED GENERAL READINGS
We will focus primarily on Japan's wars and completing your research projects. For
this reason, it will be essential that you have a solid understanding of the national
and international context for your modern Japan before the first class meeting in
January. Please choose one or more of the textbooks below and read the relevant
chapters in order to gain the historical background you will need to be successful in
the course. Careful reading of the notes and bibliographies will help you to begin
constructing a bibliography and gathering necessary materials!
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Gordon, Andrew. A Modern History of Japan from Tokugawa Times to the Present. 3rd
ed. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. ISBN-13: 9780199930159.
Huffman, James. Japan in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
ISBN-13: 978-0195368086
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0674009912
CLASS MEETINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK 1: Samurai Ideals and the Imperial Institution in Modern Japan
Tue, Jan 21: Inventing or Discovering Bushidō?
• Friday, Karl. "Bushidō or Bull? A Medieval Historian's Perspective on the
Imperial Army and the Japanese Warrior Tradition." The History Teacher 27, no.
3 (May 1994): 339–349. (Available in Evernote)
• Hurst, G. Cameron III. "Death, Honor, and Loyalty: The Bushidō Ideal."
Philosophy East & West 40, no. 4 (1990): 511–527. (Available in Evernote)
• Nitobe, Inazo. "Preface," "Bushido as an Ethical System," and "Sources of
Bushido." In Bushido: Samurai Ethics and the Soul of Japan, v–20. Mineola, NY:
Dover Publications, Inc., 1904. (Available in Evernote)
Thu, Jan 23: Propaganda and Public Support for Militarism
• Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. "The Militarization of Cherry Blossoms: Cherry
Blossoms as the Souls of Fallen Soldiers." In Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and
Nationalisms, 102–124. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002. (Available in
Evernote)
• Victoria, Brian Daizen. "Zen as a Cult of Death in the Wartime Writings of
D.T. Suzuki 死の信仰としての禅 鈴木大拙、戦時下の著述." The AsiaPacific Journal: Japan Focus 11, no. 30, issue 4 (August 5, 2013).
http://www.japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/3973#sthash.dMxNVL3W.dpuf.
(Available in Evernote)
WEEK 2: Revolutions and Rebellions (1868 and 1877)
Tue, Jan 28: Narrating Revolution
• Wilson, George. "Plotting Bakumatsu History: A Fourfold Narrative." In
Patriots and Redeemers in Japan: Motives in the Meiji Restoration, 43–75. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1992. (Available in Evernote)
• Totman, Conrad. "Recapitulation and Analysis." In The Collapse of the Tokugawa
Bakufu, 1862–1868, 445–481. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1980.
(Available in Evernote)
• Dower, John. "Throwing Off Asia I: Woodblock Prints of Domestic
'Westernization' (1868–1912)." MIT Visualizing Cultures.
http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/throwing_off_asia_01/index.html
Thu, Jan 30: Historicizing the "Last Samurai"
• Yates, Charles L. "Saigō Takamori in the Emergence of Meiji Japan." Modern
Asian Studies 28, no. 3 (July 1994): 449–474. (Available in Evernote)
• Ravina, Mark J. "The Apocryphal Suicide of Saigō Takamori: Samurai,
Seppuku, and the Politics of Legend." The Journal of Asian Studies 69, no 3
(August 2010): 691–721. (Available in Evernote)
• Short paper #1 due by 5:00 PM on Fri, Jan 31.
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WEEK 3: The Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)
Tue, Feb 4: The Spoils of War
• Lone, Stewart. "The Profits of War: The Conflict with China 1894–95 and
Beyond." In Provincial Life and the Military in Imperial Japan: The Phantom
Samurai, 24–43. New York: Routledge, 2010. (Available in Evernote)
• Paine, S.C.M. "The Reversal in the Far Eastern Balance of Power." In The SinoJapanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy, 1–20. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003. (Available in Evernote)
• Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph Williams. "From Topics to
Questions." The Craft of Research. Third Edition, 35–50. Chicago: Chicago
University Press, 2008.
Thu, Feb 6: Presenting the War to a Domestic and International Audience
• Dower, John W. "Throwing Off Asia II: Woodblock Prints of the SinoJapanese War (1894–95)." MIT Visualizing Cultures.
http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/throwing_off_asia_02/index.html
• Howland, Douglas. "Japan's Civilized War: International Law as Diplomacy in
the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)." Journal of the History of International Law 9
(2007): 179–201. (Available in Evernote)
• "From Questions to a Problem." The Craft of Research, 51–67.
WEEK 4: The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
Tue, Feb 11: Sacrificing for the State
• Partner, Simon. "Peasants into Citizens? The Meiji Village in the RussoJapanese War." Monumenta Nipponica 62, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 179–209.
(Available in Evernote)
• Shimazu, Naoko. "Introduction" and "A Society in Conflict." In Japanese Society
at War: Death, Memory and the Russo-Japanese War, 1–54. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2009. (Available in Evernote)
Thu, Feb 13: Contrasting Popular Perceptions and Reality
• Dower, John. "Visualizing the Russo-Japanese War." MIT Visualizing Cultures.
March 5, 2012, 1:09:07. http://video.mit.edu/watch/john-dower-visualizing-therusso-japanese-war-3512-11920/
• Dower, John W. "Throwing Off Asia III: Woodblock Prints of the RussoJapanese War (1904–05)." MIT Visualizing Cultures.
http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/throwing_off_asia_03/index.html
• Lone, Stewart. "The Costs of War: The Conflict with Russia 1904–05." In
Provincial Life and the Military in Imperial Japan: The Phantom Samurai, 44–62.
New York: Routledge, 2010. (Available in Evernote)
• Initial project proposal due by 5:00 PM on Fri, Feb 18.
WEEK 5: Pan Asianism, Militarism, and the Road to War in East Asia
Tue, Feb 18: Pan Asianism, Racism, and Security
• Dower, John W. Yellow Promise / Yellow Peril: Foreign Postcards of the
Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) ." MIT Visualizing Cultures.
http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/yellow_promise_yellow_peril/index.html
• Hotta, Eri. "From Internationalism to Pan-Asianism." In Pan-Asianism and
Japan's War 1931–1945, 75–106. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. (Available
in Evernote)
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Thu, Feb 20: Militarism in Media and Propaganda
• Mangan, J.A. and Komagome Takeshi. "Militarism, Sacrifice and Emperor
Worship: The Expendable Male Body in Fascist Japanese Martial Culture." In
Superman Supreme: Fascist Body as Political Icon—Global Fascism, 181–204.
Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2000. (Available in Evernote)
• Melzer, Juergen Paul. "'We Must Learn From Germany': Gliders and Model
Airplanes as Tools for Japan's Mass Mobilization." Contemporary Japan 26, no.
1 (2014): 1–27. (Available in Evernote)
WEEK 6: War from 1931–1945 (I)
Tue, Feb 25: Waging War in East Asia
• Cook, Haruko Taya and Theodore F. Cook. "Battle Lines in China," and
"Toward a New Order." In Japan at War: An Oral History, 1–68.
• Earhart, David C. "Men of the Imperial Forces." In Certain Victory: Images of
World War II in the Japanese Media, 69–106. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2008.
(Available in Evernote)
Thu, Feb 27: Women and the War
• Earhart, David C. "Warrior Wives." In Certain Victory: Images of World War II in
the Japanese Media, 147–181. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2008. (Available in
Evernote)
• Garon, Sheldon. "Integrating Women into Public Life: Women's Groups and
the State." In Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life, 115–145.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.
• "Life Goes On." In Japan at War: An Oral History, 177–187.
WEEK 7: War from 1931–1945 (II)
Tue, Mar 4: War in the Pacific
• "December 8, 1941," "Greater East Asia," "The Emperor's Warriors," and
"Demons from the East." In Japan at War: An Oral History, 69–168.
Thu, Mar 6: Images of Enemies
• Dower, John. "Know Your Enemy." In War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the
Pacific War, 15–32. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. (Available in Evernote)
• YouTube. "Know Your Enemy, Japan." 59:20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBIfnPyK4rw
• Outline and bibliography due by 5:00 PM on Fri, Mar 7.
WEEK 8: Defeat
Tue, Mar 11: Experiencing Defeat
• "The Slaughter of an Army," "Sunken Fleet," "'Special Attack,'" "The Burning
Skies," and "A Terrible New Weapon." In Japan at War: An Oral History, 259–
336; 343–353; 382–399.
Thu, Mar 13: Ending the War
• Bernstein, Barton. "Introducing the Interpretive Problems of Japan's 1945
Surrender: A Historiographical Essay on Recent Literature in the West." In
The End of the Pacific War: Reappraisals. Edited by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, 9–64.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007. (Available in Evernote)
• "Making Good Arguments: An Overview." The Craft of Research, 108–119.
• Short paper #2 due by 5:00 PM on Fri, Mar 14.
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---------- SPRING BREAK (March 15 – March 30) ---------WEEK 9: Evidence and Arguments
Tue, Apr 1: Brainstorming and Outlining
• "Making Claims." The Craft of Research, 120–15.
Thu, Apr 3: Dealing with Different Types of Evidence
• "Assembling Reasons and Evidence." The Craft of Research, 130–138.
WEEK 10: Engaging with Sources
Tue, Apr 8: Initial Presentations
• "Acknowledgments and Responses." The Craft of Research, 139–151.
Thu, Apr 10: Individual Meetings (No Class Meeting)
WEEK 11: Drafting
Tue, Apr 15: Peer Comments
• "Planning" and "Drafting Your Report." The Craft of Research, 177–202.
• "Warrants." The Craft of Research, 152–170.
Thu, Apr 17: Individual Meetings (No Class Meeting)
• Rough draft (at least ½ of your project) due by 5:00 PM on Fri, Apr 18.
WEEK 12: Revising
Tue, Apr 22: Peer Comments
• "Revising Your Organization and Argument" and "Communicating Evidence
Visually." The Craft of Research, 203–231.
Thu, Apr 24: Individual Meetings (No Class Meeting)
WEEK 13: Style
Tue, Apr 29: Presentations
• "Introductions and Conclusions." The Craft of Research, 232–248.
Thu, May 1: Peer Comments
• "Revising Style: Telling Your Story Clearly." The Craft of Research, 249–270.
WEEK 14: Proofreading
Tue, May 6: No class meeting.
Thu, May 8: No class meeting.
• All work due by 5:00 PM on Fri, May 9.