Japanese Literature and Cinema
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this survey of Japanese film and literature across the classical era, the samurai age, wartime Japan and the atomic bombings, and postwar social change, with emphasis on the modern period. Students study directors including Akira Kurosawa and Hiroshi Teshigahara alongside authors such as Kobo Abe and Yukio Mishima, examining how each medium handles the same historical material and the appropriation of foreign cultural themes. Films are shown with English subtitles and the course is taught in English. Materials include the syllabus, readings, and screening list as published by MIT, free to access under an open license. No certificate is offered, but the full course structure and assignments are available for self-study.