Modern Japan: 1868 to Present
MIT OpenCourseWare presents a survey of Japanese history running from the Tokugawa shogunate's founding in 1603 to the present day. The course traces the emergence of a modern nation-state, the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire, the growth of mass consumer culture and the middle class, and the way historical memory continues to shape Japan today. Materials include the full syllabus, lecture topics, readings, and assignments used in MIT's classroom version of the course, free to access through OCW. The course is structured around key turning points, from the Meiji Restoration through imperial expansion, wartime defeat, postwar recovery, and contemporary debates over how the past is remembered. No enrollment or certificate is offered, but all course materials are open for self-study.