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2024　History C

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Academic unit or major
Humanities and social science courses
Instructor(s)
Sawai Isami 
Class Format
Lecture     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
-
Group
-
Course number
LAH.H305
Credits
2
Academic year
2024
Offered quarter
3Q
Syllabus updated
2024/4/3
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
Japanese
Access Index

Course description and aims

Political and Diplomatic History of Japan (1912-1945):
This course aims to provide basic historical knowledge, introduce cutting-edge research in Japanese and overseas academia, and deliver various interesting aspects of historical understanding of politics and diplomacy in Tokugawa and Meiji Japan. In particular, this course will not measure the difference between Western “models” and Japan’s situation (as seen in the past studies of democracy and fascism). Rather, it will emphasize the trial and error process of political actors at that time as well as path dependency behind it. This process can be found in the following three areas; Japan’s foreign relations (understanding of international order as well as international law), domestic politics (parliament, party, army, bureaucrat), and empire building (centre–periphery relations within empire, viewpoint from colonies).

Student learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the historical background of contemporary society by gaining knowledge of politics and foreign relations of modern Japan.
2) Learn how to express their own opinions in an appropriate way through submitting reaction papers after each class.
3) Establish an intellectual basis in order to work together with a variety of people in this globalizing world by comprehending diverse aspects of history.

Keywords

History, Japanese History, Political and Diplomatic History, Taishō, Shōwa, Asia-Pacific War

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills ✔ Intercultural skills ✔ Communication skills ✔ Critical thinking skills Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Lecture-style with PPT slides. At the end of each class, students are required to submit reaction papers that include their questions, feedbacks, and opinions about the lecture. If needed, the lecturer will provide additional explanations and answers to these reactions at the beginning of the next class. This mutual communication will enable students to deepen their understanding of the class.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Introduction Explain the course description, learning outcomes, reference books, assessment criteria and others.
Class 2 Japan and the World War I Discuss the Japanese diplomacy from the Russo Japanese war to the middle of the WWI, especially focusing on the relations with Britain and the US over China.
Class 3 “Democracy” and the Taishō political crisis Review the start of party politics in the rise of the mass after the Taishō political crisis and the end of the Katsura-Saionji era.
Class 4 The formation and destruction of the “normalcy in the constitutional government” Grasp the “Normalcy in the constitutional government”, in which Seiyūkai and Minseitō take turns to be responsible for the government, being destructed by the negative aspects of parties that was emphasized by the media and opposition.
Class 5 Japan, China, and the “New Diplomacy” Grasp the Japanese diplomacy after the WWI, in which another type of justice was sought despite the seek for the “new diplomacy” in the Western powers
Class 6 From the Mukden incident to the Second Sino-Japanese war Investigate why and how the political situation after the Mukden incident was proceeded in the middle of the uncontrollable military action on the spot.
Class 7 Domestic politics in the 1930s Investigate the process of establishing Imperial Rule Assistance Association after the chaos of the revision of party politics and the Konoe new movement.
Class 8 Pan-Asianism and the Japanese diplomacy after the withdrawal from the League of Nations Analyze the Japanese diplomacy with the League of Nations after its withdrawal and its pursue for the new order on the basis of Pan-Asianism.
Class 9 From total war system to the post-war Japan Discuss the continuity between the total war system and the post-war and contemporary Japanese society, including social insurance and education system.
Class 10 Asia-Pacific War/ History of war experience and memory Discuss the political process from the opening to the end of the Asia-Pacific war, as well as how the war memory had been accepted until today’s society.
Class 11 Politics within imperial Japan in the Taishō and pre-war Shōwa era Deepen the transformation of politics within imperial Japan from the Taishõ period to the end of the war, especially in relation to the establishment of the Manchukuo and total war system.
Class 12 Gender and Taishō and pre-war Shōwa Japan Investigate the logic behind the transformation of women’s movement in Japan, from the women’s suffrage movement to the rise of women’s position through the cooperation with the war after 1937.
Class 13 Discussion/ End-of-term exam Discuss some questions about the content of this course/ Conduct end-of-term exam in order to check students’ understanding level.
Class 14 Feedback of the end-of-term exam/ Summary of the course Feedback the end-of-term exam/ Summarize the Japanese foreign relations, domestic politics, and empire building from the Taihō to pre-war Shōwa period

Out-of-Class Study Time (Preparation and Review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to reference books and other course materials.

Textbook(s)

No textbook

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Reference Books on the entire course are as follows (no need to purchase)
1. Kaoru Iokibe and Sochi Naraoka, Nikon Seiji Gaikō Shi [Political and Diplomatic History of Japan], Tokyo: Hōsō Daigaku Kyōiku Shuppankai, 2019
2. Yuichiro Shimizu, Kazuhiro Takii, and Ryota Murai, Nihon Seiji Shi [Political History of Japan], Tokyo: Yūhikaku, 2020
3. Yuichi Sasaki, Kindai Nikon Gaikō Shi [Diplomatic History of Modern Japan], Tokyo: Chūō Kōron Shinsha, 2022
Other books will also be introduced during the lecture if needed

Assessment criteria and methods

End-of-term exam 80% (closed-book, essay-style), Reaction papers 20%

Related courses

  • History A
  • History B
  • LAH.S414 ： Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences14:History

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

It is desirable to have prior knowledge of junior high or high school level of Japanese history. Nevertheless, the lecturer will proceed the course along with providing basic knowledge of Japanese history during the lectures.

Contact information (e-mail and phone)    Notice : Please replace from "[at]" to "@"(half-width character).

i.sawai[at]ila.titech.ac.jp

Office hours

Students can contact the lecturer in advance.

Other

Should the number of applicants for this course exceed the limit, a lottery system will be used to determine which students are admitted. Be sure to attend the first class.

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