“On Tōkaidō Highway,” ca. 1872. This image is in the public domain.
Instructor(s)
Prof. Hiromu Nagahara
MIT Course Number
21H.155
As Taught In
Spring 2017
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course surveys Japanese history from the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603 to the present and explores the local and global nature of modernity in Japan. It highlights key themes, including the emergence of a modern nation-state, the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire, the development of mass consumer culture and the middle class, and the continued importance of historical memory in Japan today.