* JAPN 1100a, Elementary Japanese I  Staff

Introductory course for students with no previous background in Japanese. Development of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including hiragana, katakana, and kanji characters. Introduction to Japanese culture and society. Individual tutorial sessions to improve oral communication skills.  L1  RP  1½ Course cr
HTBA

* JAPN 1300a, Intermediate Japanese I  Saori Nozaki

JAPN 1300 is continuation of JAPN 1200, focusing on building communicative competence in modern Japanese through further development of the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—along with intercultural competence. Students learn to engage effectively in a range of exchanges related to personal interests, daily routines, school life, and community contexts. In addition to regular class meetings, individual tutorial sessions provide opportunities to further develop speaking skills. 4 synchronous days and 1 asynchronous day per week. Prerequisite: JAPN 1200 or equivalent.  L3  RP  1½ Course cr
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* JAPN 1500a, Advanced Japanese I: Japanese Language through Contemporary Life in Japan  Mika Yamaguchi

JAPN 1500 is to build communicative competence in modern Japanese through continued development of the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—along with intercultural competence. Using texts and multimodal materials, students explore a range of topics related to contemporary life in Japan. Coursework provides sustained opportunities to strengthen language proficiency while deepening understanding of everyday practices and perspectives in Japan. This course is conducted entirely in Japanese. JAPN 1400 or equivalent. 1 credit for Yale College students  L5  RP
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* JAPN 1560a, Advanced Japanese III: Japanese Language through Social Issues in Japan  Hiroyo Nishimura

JAPN 1560 is designed to help students develop well-balanced functional proficiency across the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Through a wide range of interactive activities, students actively engage in both formal and informal communication on diverse social issues in Japan. The course also strengthens sociolinguistic awareness, enabling students to interpret nuance and select appropriate registers across contexts. Course materials provide sustained opportunities to deepen understanding of contemporary Japanese society and multiple perspectives on social issues. The course is conducted entirely in Japanese. Prerequisites: JAPN 1500 or JAPN 1510 or equivalent.  L5  RP
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* JAPN 1600a, Reading Stories in Modern Japanese  Luciana Sanga

Spanning texts from the end of the Nineteenth Century to the present day, this course bridges the gap between reading Japanese literature in a language class environment and reading Japanese literature with fluency for academic purposes and indeed, for pleasure. Students learn best practices for carefully reading and translating texts in Japanese, such as how to pay attention to aspects of form and style, the effective use of physical and digital dictionaries, and how to understand editorial annotations and translator notes. As students continue to build reading competencies and speed, they also encounter different approaches to literary works: methods of close-reading, the importance of historical context, bibliographic methods, and the relevance of author biography. Readings are in Japanese with discussion in English. L5 Japanese or equivalent 
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

* JAPN 1700a and JAPN 5700a, Introduction to Literary Japanese  Yoshitaka Yamamoto

Introduction to the grammar and style of the premodern literary language (bungotai). We will read Taketori monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, ca. 909), the oldest surviving work of prose fiction in Japanese, with a view toward understanding how literary texts were created, preserved, and disseminated in premodern Japan and East Asia. Prerequisite: JAPN 1510 or equivalent.  L5
TTh 9am-10:15am