For Japanese students, Japanese history prior to entering university is one of those rote memorization subjects. Tests tend to have just one correct answer.
In contrast, when learning Japanese History at the university, there is no single piece of information that the entire class must memorize. It is my hope that, through four years of classes, each student will pursue a research topic that matches their own interests, learn how to conduct research using historical documents appropriate to their chosen topic, and write a graduation thesis as a culmination of the findings they have acquired through criticism and original interpretation of historical documents. The goal of the University is to foster global talent, and when it comes to Japanese History, I believe there is no better what to do this than having students master research in Japan.
When declaring my major and course as a third year student, I wrote down the following reasons.
--The following words from Herbert Norman serve as my reason. History is a delicate, complex subject, and always leads to pitfalls when not handled properly. Therefore, it is very important that citizens have a correct and intellectual understanding of the history of their own country. (Complete Works of Herbert Norman. Volume 4. Iwanami Shoten, 1978).
I hope students interested in creating Japanese History together in this land of Tsukuba will knock on the door of this course.
Modern Japanese History/The History of Thought/Historiography Professor Toru Nakanome
Example of Subjects
Introduction to Japanese History
Japanese Historiography
Special Lecture on Japanese History
Japanese History Seminar
Japanese History Practicum
Japanese History Research
Course Introduction
Systematic study of Japanese history
Classes in this course are designed to provide a systematic study of Japanese history. After first acquiring basic knowledge with the “Introduction” class, students will learn how to interpret historical documents in Historiography. Based on this understanding, students will then be exposed to specialized research methods in the Special Lecture, then work on reading historical documents themselves in the Seminar. Students will then write a graduation thesis based on this step-by-step learning process.
Senior Graduation Thesis
Position of Official Monks in the Ritsuryo System
Control of Ancient Tohoku and the Eastern Lands
9th-Century Trade Management and Chinese Goods
Hiroyuki Kato's Nationalist Ideology
Tetsujiro Inoue's Theory of National Morality After the Russo-Japanese War
Regional Political Structure During the Taisho/Early Showa Period
Post-War Reform of the Department of the Imperial Household
I’m sure many of you think of history as one of those subjects involving mostly rote memorization. Part of the reason for this is because History as a subject on entrance exams requires a great deal of memorization. However, studying Japanese history at the University is not about memorizing historical names and events.
History is a discipline that interprets events of the past. Those studying history consider the background, meaning, and aftermath of a historical event, based on reading historical documents. The knowledge acquired up until high school are dots, and University-level history means connecting those dots. Even today, history textbooks continue to undergo revision. This, perhaps, is an indication that what is written in textbooks is just one interpretation, and that there are no absolutes in the interpretation of history, even today. Students at university will go from a single interpretation of Japanese history that they must memorize to learning how to read historical documents and construct an interpretation of Japanese history for themselves.
In history, students are asked to collect and interpret historical documents, then analyze history in a logical way. Logic must be carefully constructed and refined to a level where "it can only be interpreted this way", rather than "it could also be interpreted this way". This may feel tough, but I believe the ability to examine and argue with historical documents directly is a skill that will be of use regardless of what career path you choose. The magic of studying Japanese History at University lies in the fun of interpreting for yourself the historical events learned in high school.
