2023 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Special Lecture:Emperor of the Edo perio
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Tomoko Satake
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Mon (W3-207(W323)) / 5-6 Thu (W3-207(W323))
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.H320
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2023
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 8, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course, we will examine what kind of existence the emperor and the court of the Edo period were, what their jobs were, and why the emperor and the court emerged politically at the end of the Edo period. We will also consider what kind of city Kyoto was in the Edo period, where the emperor and court nobles lived.
In order to understand the symbolic emperor system of today, it is meaningful to learn about the emperors of the Edo period. In modern society, by using the emperor as a keyword that everyone knows, we would like you to realize that by studying history, you can train your perspective to understand the present from the events of the past.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course,students will be able to:
Among the emperors that have existed since ancient times, learning about the emperors of the Edo period deepens our understanding of the modern symbolic emperor system.
Keywords
emperor, the imperial court, aristocratic society, Imperial succession issue, Kyoto, The restoration works on Emperor Tombs
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Lectures will proceed by distributing resumes and explaining them.
I will introduce the images in power point as appropriate.
Attendance is taken in every class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | History of Research on Emperors and the Imperial Court in the Edo Period | Understand the significance of learning about the emperor of the Edo period. |
| Class 2 | Edo period emperor and court | Understand the structure of the Imperial Court in the Edo period. |
| Class 3 | Court noble society in the Edo period | Understand the structure of court noble society in the Edo period. |
| Class 4 | Work of the emperor | By learning about the work of the emperor in the Edo period, we will understand the rituals performed by the modern emperor. |
| Class 5 | Emperor of the early Edo period | Understand the position of the emperor in the shogunate system. |
| Class 6 | Emperor of the middle Edo period | Emperor of the middle Edo period |
| Class 7 | Imperial Succession in the Edo Period and Miyake and Monzeki Temples | Understand the issue of succession to the throne in the Edo period. |
| Class 8 | Kyoto in the Edo period | Understand the roots of the tourist city of Kyoto. |
| Class 9 | The Imperial Court and Court noble town in the Edo period | Understand the residences of the emperors and court nobles of the Edo period. |
| Class 10 | Late Edo period emperor | Understand the process by which the authority of the emperor and the imperial court emerged during the Edo period. |
| Class 11 | The restoration works on Emperor Tombs at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate | Understand the restoration work of successive emperors' tombs carried out at the end of the Edo period. |
| Class 12 | Bakumatsu Emperor | Understand the political rise of the emperor at the end of the Edo period. |
| Class 13 | Birth of the modern emperor system | Understand the difference between the emperor of the Edo period and the modern emperor. |
| Class 14 | Summary, final exam | At the beginning of the session, a 30-minute overview of the class will be given. After that, the final exam (60 minutes) will be conducted. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to course material.
Textbook(s)
None required.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
・Joji Fujii, "Emperor's History 5 Emperor and Tenkajin" Kodansha Academic Bunko, 2018.
・Satoru Fujita, "Emperor's History 6 Emperors of the Edo Period" Kodansha Academic Bunko, 2018.
・Yasuaki Watabe, Tairo Abe, Kenichi Suzuki, Katsuyuki Matsuzawa, "History of Emperors 10: Emperors and Performing Arts," Kodansha Academic Bunko, 2018.
・Course materials are provided during class.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students will be evaluated based on their impressions of each class, their participation in the class（40%）, and achievement of the final exam (60%)
Related courses
- LAH.H105 ： History A
- LAH.H218 ： Special Lecture:Early modern history of Japan
Prerequisites
No prerequisites