Elementally Japan

Exploring Japanese culture, past and present, through the window of the elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Course materials include popular literature and media on animism and the five elements, onmyōdō (yin-yang schools and traditions); scholarly publications on the themes listed next; and historical materials including Shingon ritual texts and commentaries, Tendai medical (some illustrated) works on the body, generative and reproductive modalities, and medieval and Edo-period mortuary records. Themes include the symbolism and history of elemental frameworks (Buddhist and Chinese), animism and ki (Chinese: qi; energy), festivals and funerals, natural and human-made disasters, environmental sustainability and stewardship, and more.

Introductory or upper-level undergraduate course.