Japanese Studies at UNL

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Author

03/09/2023 Added

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Information about the Japanese Studies program in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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[00:00:00.358](gentle music)
[00:00:01.191]Japanese is one of the fastest-growing
[00:00:03.000]foreign languages studied in the United States.
[00:00:06.870]Besides being the native language
[00:00:08.670]of 120 million Japanese people,
[00:00:11.670]it is recognized as one of the major languages
[00:00:14.520]of commerce and culture in Asia.
[00:00:19.050]This language also offers the key to an ancient culture
[00:00:22.800]that produced the first novel and many other innovations.
[00:00:27.330]Learning the Japanese language is essential
[00:00:29.430]to understanding the Japanese people, culture and business.
[00:00:34.770]With the Japanese language program
[00:00:36.450]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:00:39.210]you can begin to learn more about the world of Japan.
[00:00:42.960]In this video, we would like to show how unique
[00:00:45.990]and dynamic this program is, along with ways
[00:00:48.840]to get involved with it at the university,
[00:00:51.270]in and out of the classroom.
[00:00:53.820]To start, let's talk about the structure
[00:00:55.367]of the Japanese program
[00:00:57.300]and what you can expect from your courses.
[00:00:59.850]UNL's classes are going
[00:01:01.560]to be a couple of different levels
[00:01:03.960]and then we're also gonna talk through the minor as we go.
[00:01:06.810]So in order to get a Japanese minor at UNL,
[00:01:08.580]you need to have 12 credit hours
[00:01:11.940]of 300 or 400 level Japanese classes.
[00:01:15.570]However, in order to get into those classes,
[00:01:17.640]there are a couple prerequisites
[00:01:19.740]and most people do not come in
[00:01:21.750]with those already completed from high school,
[00:01:24.090]just due to the facts that there's not
[00:01:25.500]many Japanese programs offered in high school.
[00:01:28.050]But hopefully, it will continue to spread
[00:01:29.730]as a language learned in the US.
[00:01:31.740]So Japanese 101 and 102, what you're gonna start with.
[00:01:34.830]You're gonna start with Japanese 101 in the Fall
[00:01:37.230]and go on to Japanese 102 in the Spring.
[00:01:43.140]Both of these courses actually follow the same structure.
[00:01:46.770]So there is introductory speaking, listening and writing.
[00:01:50.280]Your essays are gonna be written in traditional paper
[00:01:53.160]and you're just gonna start to learn
[00:01:54.360]how to write those characters.
[00:01:56.100]So they're pretty short essays, 250 character only.
[00:01:59.760]You're gonna have some hiragana and katakana
[00:02:01.680]that you learned very intensely
[00:02:03.330]at the beginning of Japanese 101.
[00:02:04.860]Obviously, that's super necessary
[00:02:06.660]to your continued Japanese learning
[00:02:08.910]and I highly recommend that you just dive fully into that.
[00:02:13.410]Additionally, you work on some common conjugations,
[00:02:16.020]some common grammar patterns
[00:02:17.820]and just set the grounds for your speaking ability.
[00:02:20.970]And there are some really fun skit presentations
[00:02:23.280]that, personally, were my favorite part of those courses.
[00:02:26.760]Then moving up to your second year of Japanese,
[00:02:28.740]you've got Japanese 201, 203, 202 and 204.
[00:02:32.910]So 201 and 202 are taken together in the Fall
[00:02:36.000]and then 203 and 204 are taken together in the Spring.
[00:02:39.180]Previously, you've had a 50-minute class
[00:02:41.670]every day of the week for Japanese 101 and 102.
[00:02:45.210]Now you are taking three 50-minute classes
[00:02:47.460]for Japanese 201 or 203
[00:02:49.770]and then two-hour-and-15-minute classes
[00:02:52.200]for Japanese 202 and 204.
[00:02:54.900]There's still a meeting every day a week,
[00:02:56.460]but you've got that short days, a couple of of longer days
[00:02:59.610]to focus more on digging in.
[00:03:01.890]There is also more of a focus on culture than before.
[00:03:04.500]You're gonna learn more culturally than you have
[00:03:07.050]and pay more attention to understanding
[00:03:09.660]some more nuances in Japanese communication.
[00:03:12.240]There's more sophisticated use of grammar and vocabulary,
[00:03:15.960]but there's still lots of fun presentations
[00:03:18.570]and I would still say that it's a very fun class to take.
[00:03:21.600]Then moving up, there's Japanese 301 and 302,
[00:03:24.240]which we are all taking at the moment.
[00:03:26.670]There's definitely much more of a focus
[00:03:28.110]on writing in these classes.
[00:03:29.250]You jump up to writing 2,000 character essays,
[00:03:31.800]which can be a bit daunting
[00:03:33.030]and a bit of a challenge for students,
[00:03:35.040]but it definitely does improve your ability
[00:03:36.990]to communicate in written Japanese.
[00:03:39.750]You learn a lot more complex and nuanced grammar
[00:03:42.330]where the meaning changes
[00:03:44.700]and there's more implied by what you're saying
[00:03:47.970]and then there is more cultural research
[00:03:50.400]placed with the students.
[00:03:52.020]So you do a lot of exploratory research on your own.
[00:03:55.830]Your essays tend to be written about Japanese culture
[00:03:58.140]in a way that they weren't before.
[00:04:00.030]And then moving along from that,
[00:04:01.500]you'll have Japanese 303 and 304,
[00:04:04.140]which I cannot personally speak to and none of us can
[00:04:06.900]as we actually haven't gotten up to that level yet.
[00:04:09.210]But I would assume that there will be more of a focus
[00:04:11.310]on that writing, that nuance in communication
[00:04:14.910]and better communication style.
[00:04:17.280]UNL also offer business Japanese
[00:04:20.700]as well as a Japanese culture course
[00:04:22.680]where you can study Japanese film.
[00:04:25.650]Both of these electives can help you get
[00:04:27.180]towards those credit hours.
[00:04:28.410]But if you just wanna stay in the smaller courses,
[00:04:32.130]you'll have your Japanese 301 and 302, 303 and 304
[00:04:35.640]to get yourself through with the minor.
[00:04:37.800]So those are Japanese classes
[00:04:39.660]and the minors that you can get at UNL.
[00:04:44.970]For those studying Japanese
[00:04:46.770]and for those who are interested in getting involved
[00:04:49.110]without taking the classes,
[00:04:51.030]there are a number of resources available
[00:04:53.040]to keep you engaged on campus.
[00:04:55.380]The Kawasaki Reading Room, located on the third floor
[00:04:58.740]of the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center,
[00:05:01.560]is the best spot to meet other students interested
[00:05:04.440]in Japanese language and culture.
[00:05:06.870]Housed inside this space is a collection
[00:05:09.270]of Japanese language books, magazines and manga
[00:05:12.810]that students can read in the room
[00:05:14.970]or checkout and take home.
[00:05:17.280]They even have a selection of Japanese language films
[00:05:20.040]and TV series for students to check out.
[00:05:24.000]The space is used for many fun events
[00:05:26.010]throughout the semester.
[00:05:27.330]Many of them focused on specific Japanese holidays.
[00:05:31.200]Most recently, they held a mini Setsubun Festival
[00:05:35.520]in which students were invited to participate
[00:05:37.590]in a mamemaki ritual.
[00:05:40.920]This ritual involves people throwing roasted soybeans at oni
[00:05:44.790]while shouting, "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi."
[00:05:48.810]Doing so drives the evil spirits away
[00:05:51.030]and brings in good fortune.
[00:05:53.250]Additionally, a sushi station was set up
[00:05:56.130]and students could make make their own sushi roll.
[00:05:59.220]The Kawasaki Reading Room also holds Tea Time Fridays
[00:06:02.970]where they serve traditional teas
[00:06:04.590]and snacks over the lunch hours.
[00:06:08.490]In addition to these events,
[00:06:10.080]there is a weekly Japanese conversation table
[00:06:13.170]where students can practice their Japanese.
[00:06:15.990]People of all majors and skill levels come
[00:06:18.270]and each week has a different theme.
[00:06:20.790]We interviewed a few students to get a glimpse
[00:06:22.890]of what is at the heart of the Japanese conversation table.
[00:06:27.194](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:06:29.788](female student speaking in Japanese)
[00:06:32.311](male student speaking in Japanese)
[00:06:34.252](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:06:38.796](female student speaking in Japanese)
[00:06:53.206](male student speaking in Japanese)
[00:07:01.996](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:07:06.866](female student speaking in Japanese)
[00:07:18.926](male student speaking in Japanese)
[00:07:24.810]Along with these groups, there are clubs on campus
[00:07:27.870]that meet regularly, such as the Anime Club
[00:07:30.690]to discuss specific aspects of Japanese culture.
[00:07:33.870]UNL's Anime Club provides a fun and welcoming environment
[00:07:37.200]for people to socialize and watch anime,
[00:07:39.990]play video games and card games
[00:07:42.180]and meet new people with similar interests.
[00:07:44.640]Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend.
[00:07:47.040]While these resources will help you stay involved on campus,
[00:07:50.520]the most important thing is to develop
[00:07:52.350]strong relationships with your instructors.
[00:07:55.200]We asked two of UNL's Japanese instructors,
[00:07:58.650]Honda Masaya and Kondo Ayaka,
[00:08:01.680]as well as professor and head of the Japanese Department,
[00:08:04.890]Amano Ikuho, to share a little bit about themselves.
[00:08:09.028](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:08:12.798](Kondo Ayaka speaking in Japanese)
[00:08:20.117](Amano Ikuho speaking in Japanese)
[00:08:26.417](Honda Masaya speaking in Japanese)
[00:08:32.937](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:08:38.563](Kondo Ayaka speaking in Japanese)
[00:08:58.809](Honda Masaya speaking in Japanese)
[00:10:07.037](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:10:11.594](Kondo Ayaka speaking in Japanese)
[00:10:38.131](Amano Ikuho speaking in Japanese)
[00:10:56.245](Honda Masaya speaking in Japanese)
[00:11:36.263](narrator speaking in Japanese)
[00:11:40.918](Kondo Ayaka speaking in Japanese)
[00:12:06.500](Amano Ikuho speaking in Japanese)
[00:12:28.314](Honda Masaya speaking in Japanese)
[00:13:42.020]We also asked some students
[00:13:43.560]currently enrolled in Japanese 302
[00:13:46.050]to share a little bit about themselves.
[00:13:48.360]Let's meet some students.
[00:13:49.604](bright music)
[00:13:51.840]Hi, everyone, my name is Alice Young.
[00:13:54.000]I am a psychology major and I'm on the pre-med track
[00:13:58.260]and then I'm also minoring in Japanese
[00:14:00.360]and Spanish and Asian studies.
[00:14:02.790]So I'm actually really interested in the study of Japanese,
[00:14:06.990]hopefully, to actually further my ability
[00:14:08.880]to communicate with patients,
[00:14:10.980]especially as some of the places
[00:14:12.930]where I'd like to go to med school
[00:14:14.550]are predominantly of the Japanese population.
[00:14:17.700]I'm also just really excited to learn the language
[00:14:19.890]and I think the culture is super cool.
[00:14:22.380]So I've really been enjoying it.
[00:14:23.970]It's my third year of Japanese now
[00:14:25.920]and I have learned a few favorites over the years
[00:14:28.140]and stuff that I already knew beforehand.
[00:14:30.750]So my favorite snack is, for sure, chocogummies.
[00:14:33.300]They're these little chocolate-covered green grape gummies
[00:14:37.230]and they are amazing, so addictive
[00:14:39.210]and I probably eat way more of them than I should.
[00:14:42.600]My favorite movie is Ponyo.
[00:14:44.910]My uncle actually bought it for me a few years
[00:14:46.710]before I started studying Japanese and it's just adorable.
[00:14:50.928]Studio Ghibli has a very distinct way
[00:14:54.390]that they make their films and the distinct atmosphere
[00:14:57.390]in the films and I just absolutely adore this one.
[00:15:00.240]And then my favorite paper that I've ever worked on
[00:15:02.370]for Japanese is a paper I wrote about Ken Watanabe.
[00:15:05.520]Obviously, a very famous Japanese actor.
[00:15:07.920]He's super prominent in Japan itself
[00:15:10.440]and he's gained prominence in the US through his films
[00:15:12.780]like The Last Samurai and the King and I.
[00:15:15.360]But what a lot of people don't know
[00:15:16.710]is that he actually runs this cafe right now
[00:15:19.740]to help victims of the 3/11 event
[00:15:21.690]and to help boost the community
[00:15:23.730]and he's made this community center
[00:15:25.260]that everyone feels safe coming to
[00:15:26.760]and it was just such a fun essay to research
[00:15:29.640]and I learned so much more than I thought that I would
[00:15:31.770]and I just love getting to learn
[00:15:33.180]about those different cultural aspects
[00:15:34.830]that I think we don't think about enough
[00:15:36.360]in our study of languages.
[00:15:38.250]So nice to meet everyone.
[00:15:40.807]Hello, everyone.
[00:15:42.000]My name is Gabe Payson and I'm a third year student
[00:15:44.340]in UNL's Japanese program,
[00:15:46.590]a mathematics major with a minor in Japanese.
[00:15:49.320]I actually started learning Japanese
[00:15:50.700]in high school with my younger sister.
[00:15:52.530]We were both homeschooled.
[00:15:54.390]I had to pick a favorite sweet snack,
[00:15:56.010]it'd probably be a slice of fresh butter pecan pie
[00:15:58.620]made by my dad.
[00:16:00.060]Always a nostalgic taste around Fall.
[00:16:03.210]Not a big movie guy.
[00:16:04.560]My favorite anime probably has to be Machikado Mazoku,
[00:16:08.040]translating roughly to Demon Girl Next Door
[00:16:10.440]or literally Street Corner Demon.
[00:16:12.750]It's a very cute subversion of the classic,
[00:16:14.640]magical girl trope, very heartwarming at that.
[00:16:18.270]As for my favorite essay I've written,
[00:16:20.190]I'd probably have to go with the one on Japanese mythology,
[00:16:22.920]specifically, the origins of the Shinto gods.
[00:16:26.490]It was highly difficult and there were many
[00:16:28.890]obscure kanji and variations,
[00:16:31.667]but I got to read a bunch of fascinating mythology,
[00:16:34.980]broadened my perspective on Japanese tradition and culture,
[00:16:37.860]something I hope I can continue even into the future.
[00:16:42.685](female speaking in Japanese)
[00:16:44.460]Hello, everyone. My name is Liliana Guzman
[00:16:47.610]and I am a fourth year student here at UNL.
[00:16:51.210]My majors are English and Studio Art.
[00:16:54.000]I have an emphasis in sculpture
[00:16:56.460]and my minor, of course, is in Japanese language.
[00:16:59.790]My favorite food is mango.
[00:17:01.980]My favorite movie is a French animated film
[00:17:04.650]called Fantastic Planet
[00:17:06.930]and my favorite sakubun or essay
[00:17:08.910]that I've written for Japanese
[00:17:10.680]is about Japan and it's LGBTQ workforce.
[00:17:14.370]The photo on the left is of me with one of my sculptures
[00:17:17.820]and the photo on the right was taken
[00:17:19.680]all the way back in 2016 when I was able to go to Japan
[00:17:23.730]and hang out with a deer in Nara Deer Park.
[00:17:27.244](Liliana speaking in Japanese)
[00:17:29.564](Wes speaking in Japanese)
[00:17:31.200]My name is Wes Gorans.
[00:17:33.210]I'm a third year Japanese student at UNL.
[00:17:35.670]I'm also a graduate student.
[00:17:38.550]Currently, I am studying English.
[00:17:40.980]During my undergraduate period, I was a film studies major.
[00:17:45.870]My favorite snack is cake.
[00:17:48.600]I could eat any kind of cake.
[00:17:50.070]I enjoy baking cakes as well.
[00:17:52.200]The picture next to this is me with a Victoria sponge
[00:17:56.790]that I made not too long ago.
[00:17:59.370]My favorite movie, Uncut Gems.
[00:18:02.160]It's a movie that came out in 2019, has Adam Sandler in it.
[00:18:06.810]He's usually pretty funny. This movie's not that funny.
[00:18:11.070]It's a little more tense and serious,
[00:18:15.270]but I like it quite a bit.
[00:18:18.120]My favorite writing that I did for Japanese class
[00:18:22.530]was a paper on the 1954 Godzilla film
[00:18:26.730]and what it means to in Japan.
[00:18:29.460]As I said, the picture of me there
[00:18:31.410]is with a cake that I've made
[00:18:33.570]and the other picture is me climbing
[00:18:35.670]some mountains in Colorado with some friends.
[00:18:39.630]Thanks, everyone.
[00:18:42.630]Hi, there. My name is Emily Taylor.
[00:18:45.090]I'm a third year student here at UNL.
[00:18:47.790]I am currently minor in Japanese.
[00:18:49.920]My major is human development and family science.
[00:18:54.480]I tried to keep everything in a Japanese theme here.
[00:18:56.760]You'll see with my movie that I didn't.
[00:18:58.170]But my favorite snack is matcha-flavored Kit-Kats.
[00:19:02.070]My favorite movie is Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
[00:19:05.100]and then for my favorite writing,
[00:19:08.250]I couldn't really think of one,
[00:19:09.480]so I'm going with the latest Japanese writing
[00:19:12.480]that I read that I really enjoyed,
[00:19:14.070]which is Murakami Haruki's Superfrog Saves Tokyo.
[00:19:19.110]So my interest in Japanese started
[00:19:22.920]because I lived there for about five years
[00:19:26.700]at the beginning of my life,
[00:19:27.533]'cause my dad, who's pictured here, was a naval officer
[00:19:31.800]and ever since I lived there
[00:19:33.300]and I went to a Japanese preschool,
[00:19:35.130]I fell in love with the culture
[00:19:36.810]and I've been there ever since.
[00:19:39.510]That picture there at the bottom corner
[00:19:41.370]is actually me when I last visited Japan.
[00:19:45.690]So that's in Tokyo, summer before COVID.
[00:19:51.780]I've really been enraptured with the culture
[00:19:53.850]and I think learning the language has really helped me
[00:19:58.170]become closer to the language.
[00:20:02.310]Hey, my name's Tucker Kreifels.
[00:20:03.143]I'm a third year electrical engineering student
[00:20:05.040]with a minor in Japanese.
[00:20:07.185]When I eat sweet stuff, I usually go for white chocolate.
[00:20:10.170]My favorite movie is Men in Black
[00:20:11.700]and while working through the Japanese program,
[00:20:14.190]my favorite thing has definitely been to research
[00:20:16.740]about the Shinkansen and all the history of that.
[00:20:20.370]Hello, my name is Natalia Hagen.
[00:20:23.040]I'm a sophomore and my major is in fishery and wildlife
[00:20:25.680]with a minor in Japanese.
[00:20:27.780]My favorite Japanese food is Anko daifuku,
[00:20:30.570]which is a pipe of mochi with red bean paste inside
[00:20:33.300]and it's very delicious.
[00:20:35.970]My favorite Japanese film is called Waterboys.
[00:20:38.447]It's a Japanese comedy that I first watched
[00:20:40.830]in my high school Japanese class.
[00:20:43.230]And lastly, I don't really have
[00:20:45.300]a favorite sakubun that I've written,
[00:20:47.880]but I did enjoy writing one
[00:20:49.290]on the ethics of animal cafes in Japan.
[00:20:52.556](Natalia speaking in Japanese)
[00:20:54.695](gentle music)
[00:20:57.180]Thank you for watching
[00:20:58.200]this video on the Japanese program
[00:21:00.240]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:21:03.210]If you have an interest in Japanese culture
[00:21:05.430]or the Japanese language, please consider enrolling
[00:21:08.220]in a Japanese class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:21:12.312](narrator speaking in Japanese)

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Japanese Studies at UNL

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