Japan

HIST 455 - Zen and Japanese Culture in the Kansai Region

June 11, 2007 - June 28, 2007

This course will be a two-week study tour based mainly in Wakayama University and Kansai University in the Kyoto-Osaka metropolitan area known as the Kansai region. It serves three main purposes in the understanding of Japanese history, culture, language, and other areas of study. The study tour involves a program of ten days at Wakayama University for a combination of courses in Japanese language and culture on their campus, as well as cultural excursions and home-stay experiences. The tour will visit major World Cultural Heritage sites in the Kyoto and Wakayama area including major temples, shrines, castles, an imperial palace, gardens, and museums that highlight the historical legacy of traditional Japan. A side-trip to the Kumano Sacred Path and Koyasan Mountain will be included as well. The tour will next spend a couple days in the Seminar House hosted by Kansai University mainly focusing on the study of education and modern society. The focus of the course is primarily concerned with the experience of Japanese life in understanding history, language, culture, religion, art, and architecture, but other topics such as social and economic change in Japan will be examined as well.

Highlights

Study and interact with Japanese students and residents on two University campuses
Enjoy a unique combination of experience in home-stays, university housing, and hotels
See Japan's largest Buddha statue and the world's oldest wooden temples in Nara from the 8th century
Meditate in the world's most famous rock garden in the Ryoanji Zen temple in Kyoto
Stroll along the traditional Gion district in Kyoto where streets are lined by beautiful old buildings, teahouses, theatres, and sometimes Geisha apprentices dressed in Kimono
Stay overnight in the sacred sites and pilgrimage routes of the Kii Mountain Range
Visit modern shopping and entertainment districts in Osaka

View pictures from the 2005 Japan Study Tour

Faculty Leader: Dr. Wing-kai To

Dr. Wing-kai To is an associate professor of History at Bridgewater State College and the coordinator of the Asian Studies program. He is a specialist in Chinese and Japanese history, with a strong interest in the history of temples, museums and cultural treasures in East Asia . Dr. To led the BSC study tour to Japan in 2004 and 2005, as well as the study tour to China in 2006.

Additional Information

Travel Package Cost: $3,200.00 (Costs are subject to change due to the increase in airfare rates and the changing exchange rates that are beyond our control.)
Tuition/Fees are not included in the travel package cost: Undergraduate $723.75
Application Deadline: March 9, 2007
Application fee $50.00 (Payable by check or credit card only.)