Japanese

Our Japanese program has a long and rich tradition, and it is recognized today for the world-class quality of its faculty and degree programs. Our department’s close links with other departments on campus create opportunities for students to undertake cross-disciplinary studies, including with the Department of Linguistics, the Jackson School of International Studies and the Foster School of Business (where options include a Certificate of International Studies in Business).

Photo by Tom Vining on Unsplash

Program Overview

Degree availability: Minor, B.A, M.A, Ph.D in Japanese

Years offered: 4 years

Contact: asianll@uw.edu

UW Classical Japanese Program

Course Information

Course Catalog

 Language Courses

  • JAPAN 401, 402, 403 Fourth Year Japanese
  • JAPAN 411 Practical Japanese Through Dramas
  • JAPAN 412 Virtual Tokyo
  • JAPAN 413 Japanese Conversation Through Movies
  • JAPAN 418 Advanced Japanese Through Content (prerequisite: minimum grade of 2.5 in JAPAN 303 or JAPAN 334) (NOTE: Can be repeated for credit.)
  • JAPAN 431, 432, 433 Readings in Modern Japanese Literature (May be taken in any order; prerequisite: JAPAN 303)
  • JAPAN 445 Foreign Study: Fourth-Year Japanese (prerequisite: JAPAN 303)
  • JAPAN 451, JAPAN 453 Fifth Year Japanese
  • JAPAN 452 Project Work in Advanced Japanese
  • JAPAN 471 Introduction to Classical Japanese (prerequisite: 2.5 in JAPAN 303 or JAPAN 334)
  • JAPAN 472 Readings in Classical Japanese Literature (prerequisite: JAPAN 471)

Linguistics, Literature, and/or Culture Courses:

  • JAPAN 321 Survey of Japanese Literature I
  • JAPAN 322 Survey of Japanese Literature II
  • JAPAN 325 Introduction to Japanese Film
  • JAPAN 343 Language in Society
  • JAPAN 344 Foreign Language Teaching in the Japanese Context
  • JAPAN 395 Linguistics or Literature, Foreign Study
  • JAPAN 360 Special Topics in Japanese Culture
  • JAPAN 361 Special Topics in Japanese Film
  • JAPAN 380 Modernism, Avant-Garde, Contemporary and Pop Art and Culture
  • JAPAN 434 Undergraduate seminar in premodern Japanese literature
  • JAPAN 435 Undergraduate seminar in modern Japanese literature
  • JAPAN 441 Acquisition of a Second or Foreign Language
  • JAPAN 442 Japanese Syntax and Semantics
  • JAPAN 443 Topics in Sociolinguistics
  • JAPAN 460 Advanced Study in Japanese Literature

Advanced class

  • JAPAN 434 Undergraduate Seminar in Premodern Japanese Literature (prereq: JAPAN 321)
  • JAPAN 435 Undergraduate Seminar in Modern Japanese Literature (prereq: JAPAN 322 or JAPAN 360)
  • JAPAN 460 Advanced Study in Japanese Literature (prereq: JAPAN 322 or JAPAN 360)
  • JAPAN 461 Advanced Study in Japanese Cinema and Media (prereq: JAPAN 325 or JAPAN 361)
  • JAPAN 441 Acquisition of a Second or Foreign Language (prereq: JAPAN 203 or above AND either JAPAN 343, JAPAN 344, ASIAN 401, CHIN 342, LING 2XX, or LING 3XX)
  • JAPAN 442 Japanese Syntax and Semantics (prereq: either LING 200 or LING 400; recommended: LING 461; at least two years of coursework in Japanese.)
  • JAPAN 443 Topics in Sociolinguistics (prereq: JAPAN 313 or above AND either JAPAN 342, JAPAN 343, JAPAN 344JAPAN 440, or JAPAN 441)
"Learning languages is awesome...because it feels like you can connect to people better that way. Because if you go to Japan and you walk up to some shop owner (and say in English) 'Hey, how are you doing?'.
They're just like, oh... But if you, if you start speaking to them in Japanese, then just their eyes open up... they just become so much more welcoming. They're like, 'oh, let me show you this! You should go there. '
...it's super worthwhile to learn a language." - UW Japanese Language Student

Faculty's Recent Research Highlights

Publications

Atkins, Paul. “What is the Japanese ‘wabi-sabi’ aesthetic actually about? ‘Miserable tea’ and loneliness, for starters.” The Conversation, March 12, 2024.

Jesty, Justin. Art and Engagement in Early Postwar Japan. Cornell University Press, 2018

Ohta, Amy Snyder (2017). Conceptualizing and teaching Japanese addressee honorifics as expressing modes of self: From SCOBA development to instructional implementation. Language & Sociocultural Theory, 4(2), 187-218.

Tsujihara, R. (2022). Teaching the Japanese Aspectual form Teiru using Concept-Based Language Instruction (C-BLI) in an Intact Beginning-Level Classroom. Language and Sociocultural Theory, 9(1), 91-121.

Global

  • Used by 125,635,690 people (as L1: 123,640,190; as L2: 1,995,500).
  • While it is the official language of Japan, there are considerable populations of Japanese speakers in over 53 countries.

Learning

  • Ranks 4th for most-learned foreign language in U.S. higher education.

Culture & Diplomacy

  • Japan is ranked as having the 4th highest GDP in the world.
  • In addition to the four large islands, Japan includes over 14,000 smaller islands.
  • As a country, Japan ranks 11th for population size.

Airplane IconTravel & Career

  • Opens doors for careers in diplomacy, international relations, science, journalism, and global corporations.

Discover More

Visit the Japanese Program Website

  • Woman in Kimono holding an Umbrella,

    Woman in Kimono holding an Umbrella

  • Shibuya Intersection,

    Shibuya Intersection

  • Japanese garden, pond and temple,

    Japanese garden, pond and temple

  • Sky-Tree Tower, Tokyo, Japan,

    Sky-Tree Tower, Tokyo, Japan