全学自由研究ゼミナール　(Christian Culture in Japanese Daily Life)

This course aims to open students’ eyes to the fact that Christian culture has permeated through many aspects of Japanese daily life, without being noticed consciously. For instance, private educational institutes established by Christian missionaries ranging from kindergartens to universities are highly respected and well attended. Terms originated from the Bible, such as 救世主, 目から鱗が落ちる, 十字架を負う, are being used every day. Christian literature written by Japanese authors is a major genre in modern Japanese literature. And the images of the Cross, angels, churches, and Christmas, often accompanied by Christian music, appear in film, drama, and mass media so frequently that Japanese people no longer take them as things foreign.
By analyzing various aspects of Japanese history, language, literature, education, art, film, and media, students shall understand how contemporary Japan has been deeply influenced by Christianity which has become part of Japanese culture. In fact, today’s Japanese people may know more about Christianity than Buddhism or Shintoism.
Through this course, students will learn how to understand Christian influence on Japan and to discover the multi-cultural nature of Japanese society by objectively examining complicated social phenomena.