Japanese Studies

One of the oldest subject areas of its kind in the English-speaking world, Japanese Studies offers consideration of a rich history and culture, as well as a rewarding language experience. Undertake an in-country exchange with our large network of partner universities in Japan and prepare for employment in education, government, media, international relations and the private sector.

Undergraduate

• Japanese Studies (Introductory)*
• Japanese Studies (Junior Intermediate)*
• Japanese Studies (Senior Intermediate)*
• Japanese Studies (Advanced)*
• Japanese studies (Honours)
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Languages)
• Diploma of Language Studies
• Bachelor of Languages

*Available in the shared pool of majors and minors  

Research

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Master of Philosophy
• Master of Arts (Research)

The Inoue Yasushi Award for Outstanding Research in Japanese Literature, Culture and Art has been awarded annually, beginning in 2007, for the best-refereed journal article, book or book chapter published in English by a researcher based in Australia or New Zealand during the previous year.

The recipient will receive AU $1,500 and a certificate of award at our annual award ceremony.

Inoue Yasushi was a prominent post-Second World War novelist and poet. He wrote in many genres ranging from contemporary novels focusing on social problems to historical novels. He was a unique writer who managed to combine serious themes with fascinating and intriguing plots. Inoue’s works are still very popular, reaching a wide general readership as well as scholars and intellectuals.

The Inoue Yasushi Memorial Foundation established the award in order to encourage Australian interest in Japanese literature generally, and in Inoue Yasushi more particularly. The Foundation also generously donated 28 volumes of Inoue Yasushi’s collected works, which can be found in the East Asian Collection of Fisher Library at the University of Sydney.

Eligibility

• Researcher based in Australia or New Zealand 
  
• Published refereed journal article, book or book chapter on Japanese literature, culture, or art published in English during the previous year of the award.
  

How to apply

Submit an electronic copy of your work with a cover letter to the Committee Chair, Dr Mats Karlsson: mats.karlsson@sydney.edu.au

2022: Dr Matthew Shores (University of Sydney)

The Comic Storytelling of Western Japan: Satire and Social Mobility in Kamigata Rakugo, monograph published by Cambridge University Press, 2021.
 

2019: Dr Lucy Fraser (University of Queensland)

“Dogs, Gods, and Monsters: The Animal–Human Connection in Bakin’s Hakkenden, Folktales and Legends, and Two Contemporary Retellings”, article published in Japanese Studies, Vol. 38(1), 2018.
 

2018: Associate Professor Roy Starrs (University of Otago)

“Renga: A European Poem and its Japanese Model”, article published in Comparative Literature Studies, Vol. 54(2), 2017.
 

2017: Dr Royall Tyler – Lifetime Achievement Award

2016: Dr Tamaki Mihic (née Tokita) (University of Sydney)

“The Post-3/11 Quest for True Kizuna – Shi no Tsubute by Wago Ryoichi and Kamisama 2011 by Kawakami Hiromi”, article published in The Asia–Pacific Journal, Vol. 13(7), 2015.
 

2015: Roger Pulvers – Lifetime Achievement Award

2014: Associate Professor Rebecca Suter (University of Sydney)

“Grand Demons and Little Devils: Akutagawa’s Kirishitan mono as a Mirror of Modernity”, article published in Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 39(1), 2013.
 

2013: Dr Helen Kilpatrick (University of Wollongong)

"Envisioning the Shōjo Aesthetic in Illustrations of Miyazawa Kenji’s Literature", article published in PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, Vol. 9(3), 2012.
 

2012: Associate Professor Edwina Palmer (Victoria University of Wellington)

"A poem to carp about? Poem 16-3828 of the Man’yōshū collection", article published in the Bulletin of School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Vol. 74(3), 2011.
 

2011: Dr Vera Mackie (University of Wollongong)

"Reading Lolita in Japan", chapter in Girl Reading Girl in Japan (London: Routledge), 2010.
 

2010: Dr Mats Karlsson (University of Sydney)

“Writing Madness: Deranged Impressions in Akutagawa’s Cogwheels and Strindberg’s Inferno”, article published in Comparative Literature Studies in Vol. 46(4), 2009.
 

2009: Dr Ian McArthur (University of Sydney)

“Narrating the Law in Japan: Rakugo in the Meiji Law Reform Debate,” article published in the Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, Issue 4, 2008.
 

2008: Dr Roman Rosenbaum (University of Sydney)

“The ‘Generation of the Burnt-out Ruins’”, article published in Japanese Studies, Vol. 27(3), 2007.
 

2007 Inaugural prize: Dr Tomoko Aoyama (University of Queensland)

“Appropriating Bush Tucker: Food in Inoue Hisashi’s Yellow Rats”, article published in the Journal of Australian Studies, Vol. 30(87), 2006.

• Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto
  
• Nagoya University, Nagoya
• Rikkyo University, Tokyo
• Hosei University, Tokyo

Learn more about study abroad and student exchange.

• Dr Nobu Akagi
• Dr Timothy Amos
  
• Dr Lionel Babicz
• Dr Mats Karlsson
• Dr Tamaki Mihic
• Dr Masafumi Monden
  
• Dr Chunfen Shao
• Dr Matthew Shores
• Dr Matthew Stavros
  
• Professor Rebecca Suter
• Ms Ai Terada
• Dr Yoko Yonezawa

• Undergraduate coursework, language level assessment and postgraduate research: email mats.karlsson@sydney.edu.au
• Exchange: email masafumi.monden@sydney.edu.au
• Honours: email yoko.yonezawa@sydney.edu.au
• Student advisor: email matthew.stavros@sydney.edu.au

• Honorary Senior Lecturer Dr Olivier Ansart
  
• Emeritus Professor Hugh Clarke
• Dr Yasuko Claremont
• Associate Professor Nerida Jarkey
• Associate Professor Sakuko Matsui
• Dr Ian McArthur
• Dr Masafumi Monden
• Dr Katrina Moore
• Leith Morton
• Roman Rosenbaum
• Dr Elise Tipton
• Dr Seiko Yasumoto