From the Art of the Pleasure Quarters to Tokyo Pop

Starting in the bordellos of 17th-century Edo (now modern-day Tokyo) and spanning up through the kitsch of contemporary Japanese pop culture, this course examines the vibrant and often bawdy forms of Japanese print and visual culture. Introduction to Japanese printmaking practices and a forum for discussing critical issues related to sexuality, censorship, spectacle, satire, tourism, the supernatural, and the Asian experience of modernity. Investigates the spectacular worlds of the kabuki theater, sumo wrestling, and the 'pleasure quarters' (the red-light district designated for licensed prostitution).