Course Description

We experience the journey of time and space through the twelve animals of the eastern zodiac (Junishi: 十二支) studying traditional culture, modern civilization, and tales in Japan. For instance, mouse was quite popular in pre-modern Japan and people loved this small animal, lived together and got many environmental information through its life signs. Dragon was a kind of the holy and natural spirit in the Japanese cultural tradition. In this class we try to be free from the anthropocentric view of culture in the modern world.