The Japanese Section at Washington University has more than 30 years of history. The Department Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures is diverse and dynamic, offering the BA and MA degrees in Japanese Language and Literature and the Ph.D. in Japanese and Comparative Literature. Additionally, through the East Asian Studies Program we offer an  MA degree in East Asian Studies.  The faculty in our Japanese Section includes three in the professorial ranks ( Rebecca Copeland, Marvin Marcus, and Jamie Newhard), one visiting lecturer (William Puck Brecher) and four full-time lecturers (Hiroo Aridome, Shino Hayashi, Ginger Marcus, and Kayo Niimi). While our graduate programs focus on literature, every Ph.D. candidate has the opportunity to receive training in language teaching. Ours is a challenging language program with five years of modern Japanese and a year of classical Japanese. In addition, undergraduate students are encouraged to study in our study abroad programs at Waseda University or The Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies.  Graduate students may participate in our exchange program with Tsukuba University and are encouraged to study at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama.  Our students compare favorably with students at other centers for Japanese studies (see East Asian Studies Newsletter for details).

The Japanese program enables undergraduate majors to attain a high level of proficiency in Japanese in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, a solid foundation in cultural and literary knowledge about Japan, and the cultural skills needed to communicate effectively in the Japanese setting.  In addition to the on-campus sequence of language courses, we encourage students to participate in summer, semester, or academic year programs in Japan (especially the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies [KCJS], of which Washington University is a consortium member) and to enroll in courses within and beyond the Department to enhance their cultural knowledge.  Students who graduate with a major in Japanese language and literature should expect to have achieved a high level of linguistic competency, a general knowledge of Japanese civilization, its cultural history, and its contemporary society and circumstance.  Students should also have acquired a familiarity with, and appreciation of, the landmarks of Japanese literature, arts, and culture.