Japan’s extraordinary culture is like no other in the world. The 2,000-year-old civilization grew through periods of seclusion and assimilation to cultivate a society responsible for immeasurable influences on the rest of the world. What makes Japan so distinctive?

The answer is more than just spiritual beliefs or culinary tastes. It’s the ongoing clash between tradition and modernity; a conflict shaped by Japan’s long history of engagement and isolation.

We’re all aware of Japan’s pivotal role in global economics and technological innovation. We know that the future of the West (and the entire world) is inextricably linked with the island nation’s successes and failures. But Japanese culture—its codes, mores, rituals, and values—still remains mysterious to many of us. And that’s unfortunate, because to truly understand Japan’s influence on the world stage, one needs to understand Japan’s culture—on its own terms.

Only by looking at Japan’s politics, spirituality, cuisine, literature, art, and philosophy in the context of larger historical forces can we reach an informed grasp of Japanese culture. One that dispels prevalent myths and misconceptions we in the West have. One that puts Japan—not other nations—at the center of the story. And one that reveals how this incredible country transformed into the 21st-century superpower it is today.

In an exciting partnership with the Smithsonian, The Great Courses presents Understanding Japan: A Cultural History —24 lectures that offer an unforgettable tour of Japanese life and culture. Delivered by renowned Japan scholar and award-winning professor Mark J. Ravina of Emory University, it’s a chance to access an extraordinary culture that is sometimes overlooked or misrepresented in broader surveys of world history. Professor Ravina, with the expert collaboration of the Smithsonian’s resources, and brings you a grand portrait of Japan, one that reaches from its ancient roots as an archipelago of warring islands to its current status as a geopolitical giant. Here for your enjoyment is a dazzling historical adventure with something to inform and delight everyone, and you’ll come away from it with a richer appreciation of Japanese culture.

Lectures

1. Japan—A Globally Engaged Island Nation
2. Understanding Japan through Ancient Myths
3. The Emergence of the Ritsuryō State
4. Aspects of the Japanese Language
5. Early Japanese Buddhism
6. Heian Court Culture
7. The Rise of the Samurai
8. Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism
9. Samurai Culture in the Ashikaga Period
10. Japan at Home and Abroad, 1300–1600
11. Japan’s Isolation in the Tokugawa Period
12. Japanese Theater—Noh and Kabuki
13. The Importance of Japanese Gardens
14. The Meaning of Bushidō in a Time of Peace
15. Japanese Poetry—The Road to Haiku
16. Hokusai and the Art of Wood-Block Prints
17. The Meiji Restoration
18. Three Visions of Prewar Japan
19. War without a Master Plan—Japan, 1931–1945
20. Japanese Family Life
21. Japanese Foodways
22. Japan’s Economic Miracle
23. Kurosawa and Ozu—Two Giants of Film
24. The Making of Contemporary Japan