The department offers diverse and well-balanced courses to help the students acquire a thorough knowledge of Japanese literature and the Japanese language, with the aim of enriching their understanding and discernment. It is anticipated that the students' will be able to apply broad and flexible perspectives in undertaking their chosen course of study. During their four years in the Department, they are encouraged to increase their awareness of the nature of their own cultural and historical backgrounds (in the case of overseas students, by comparing their own literature and language to ours). To this end, the courses offered cover different fields of study with regard to period and genre. In addition to general introductions to Japanese literature, courses range from earliest poetry and prose, from Heian and Kamakura writing to the popular literature of the Edo period, and further to the modern canon of the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods; while Japanese linguistics is approached through a general introduction to the field, consolidated by courses in such subjects as phonetics, vocabulary and etymology, and grammar. (Courses on Chinese literature and the Chinese language, deeply related to the Japanese, are also available.)



During the 1st and 2nd years, classes are designed to develop the students' basic understanding of each subject; during the 3rd and 4th years, they are required to acquire a more specialized understanding and interpretation of their chosen academic field. The senior seminars, in which small groups of students study a subject of their own choice under the supervision of the teaching staff, offer many opportunities for students to work closely with the teaching staff and to learn the basics of academic research methodology. Graduates of the department have contributed to society not only as company employees, but also as teachers, librarians and public servants. We are also proud that some of them go on to pursue post-graduate study in the Department.