Every natural disaster starts with a natural event like a storm or an earthquake, but such events only become disasters when they adversely impact people. In the last 400 years, Japan has suffered from a wide variety of earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and other forces of nature. This course uses in-depth readings and discussions to explore the historical impacts of natural disasters in Japan from the 1605 tsunami earthquake to the Triple Disaster of 2011, from the massive 1792 eruption of Mt Unzen to the smaller but still fatal eruption of Mt Ontake in 2014. We will examine the consequences of events throughout early modern and modern Japanese history to determine how Japanese society, culture, and politics adapted and responded to being in one of the world's most disaster-prone locations. We will think about how industrialization helped Japanese people control the natural world, but also how it sometimes increased the damage caused by natural forces. In-depth readings and discussions. Assignments include a semester-long research project on a topic of your choice. May be taken for credit toward the Japanese major or minor.
History 299.