Fall 2006
C301 (21418) City as Labyrinth - Tokyo
TR 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. WH109

Instructor: Sumie Jones
Office: Memorial West 209
Tel: 856-1403


The modern metropolis began to develop during the eighteenth century. The arts and literature depicted the grandeur, as well as the ills, of modem politics and bourgeois/capitalist economy that characterized large cities. The city became the object of ambition and longing while oppressing individuals to the point of erasing their sense of individuality. Thus, twentieth- and twenty-first-century arts have created non-heroes and anti-heroes who wander through the streets and alleys in search of lost connections, meanings, and purposes, in short, identity. Experimental mysteries often feature a detective who ultimately finds that he/she is in search of himself/ herself.

The course will study the city of Tokyo as it represents the complex, dehumanizing and yet enticing nature of a contemporary metropolis. Lectures will survey the formation and development of Tokyo out of the early modem Edo, already the world's largest city. The readings will show that, as the city realizes its maximum potential by scientific and technological advancements, the individual falls increasingly in danger of being swallowed up by the force of the city. Thus, fictionalized Tokyo turns into a distopia. In the process of seeking the object of one's love or any possible truth, one wanders in the maze of Tokyo's streets to come face to face with oneself. Our readings will include: Hayashi Fumiko's Diary of a Vagabond (1928), Abe Kobo's novel The Face of Another (1964) with a film version by Teshigahara Hiroshi (1966), Abe Kobo's novel The Box Man (1973), Endo Shusaku's Scandal (1986), Murakami Haruki's South of the Border, West of the Sun, (1992), Kurosawa Kiyoshi's film Cure (1997), Otomo Katsuhiro's Metropolis (2001) based on Tezuka Osamu's comic book (1949), Miyazaki Hayao's animated film Spirited Away (2003), Kon Satoshi's animated film Tokyo Godfathers (2003).

For a comparative perspective, the class will study some short selections from western examples including: Fritz Lang's film Metropolis, 1927), Roland Barthes' essay, Empire of Signs (1970), Paul Auster's novel, City of Glass (1985), and Woody Allen's film, Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).

Assignments will include a verbal presentation, a midterm and a final examinations in addition to two short essays.

No knowledge of Japanese language or culture is expected but some experience in writing about literature and/or film will be useful.

Enrollment limit: 20

The course fills A & H and CSA requirements.