Japanese Language
About Japanese
Our Program and Courses
With small class sizes and close collaboration between students and professors, you will develop the tools to reflect critically on the cultural practices, products, and perspectives of the Japanese-speaking world and your own. Through intensive language training in the classroom, you will grow your confidence and fluency in Japanese, including mastery of the Hiragana and Katakana Japanese writing systems and an introduction to Kanji characters.
Wondering what a Japanese course is like? Take a look at our course catalog to explore what’s available to you.
Learning Outside the Classroom
Off-Campus Study
When learning a foreign language, it’s important to experience its use in communities
that speak it natively. Studying in Japan lets you experience the Japanese language,
culture, and people first-hand. The six-week summer program at Tohoku Gakuin University
in Sendai, Japan, includes homestays with Japanese families. You may also choose to
participate in off-campus study programs in Japan for a semester or year.
Explore off-campus study at F&M
Research Opportunities
Every student at F&M has extraordinary opportunities to engage in independent or faculty-led
research.
Explore research at F&M
Success Beyond F&M
The interpretive skills, practical skills, cultural knowledge and awareness, and the intellectual connections you gain by studying Japanese at F&M are valuable for any post-college plan.
Alumni Spotlight
Chilamo Taylor ’24 Forges Unique Path to Japan
Chilamo Taylor ’24 is embarking on a prestigious postgraduate fellowship in Japan
— a dream that has been years in the making. An exchange student opportunity in high
school first piqued Taylor’s interest in Japan and his desire to learn more about
the language and culture. “I immediately began trying to find ways to get back to
Japan when I started at F&M,” Taylor said. With support from his professors, Taylor
designed a special studies major in business, Japanese, and history in an effort to
create an academic experience that would prepare him for his postgraduate goal of
living in Japan. “I have always had an interest in business, but I wanted to create
a major that included my Japanese language studies and also a more cultural approach
to learning about Japan through history,” he said. This summer, Taylor will move to
Miyagi for a yearlong Princeton in Asia (PiA) fellowship at Niizawa Brewery to learn
all aspects of the sake brewing and production process.
Read More »Event Spotlight
Japanese Tie-Dyeing
In collaboration with the F&M Japanese program and the Japanese Club, F&M’s Joseph
International Center hosted an event featuring "Aizome," the practice of traditional
Japanese indigo dyeing. This is not the first time the practice has been demonstrated
on campus; Ken-ichi Miura, director and senior teaching professor of the Japanese
language program, previously organized an event in collaboration with Brooks College
House, as part of the Japanese Program's fall celebration.
Read More »
What does art of the past tell us about the transformation of visual and material
experience over time? By studying History of Art and Architecture at F&M, you’ll actively
engage with this living dimension of the past through its artifacts, images, architecture,
and relevant texts. Embark on an enriching journey through time, exploring a vast range of geographic
regions, topical themes, and time periods. By studying history at F&M, you’ll gain
a deeper understanding of history and historical processes, and develop keen insight
into how they have shaped the present and will influence the future. International studies is an innovative program that combines off-campus study in a
non-English-speaking location with on- and off-campus coursework. As a student of
international studies at F&M, you will develop a global perspective and immerse yourself
in the languages and cultures of non-English-speaking countries and regions.Related Fields of Study
History of Art and Architecture
History
International Studies
May 1, 2024 How did football and fashion lead Franklin & Marshall senior Chilamo Taylor to a prestigious postgraduate fellowship in Japan? Learn more about his upcoming Princeton in Asia fellowship. November 3, 2021 On a cool autumn afternoon outside Franklin & Marshall's Brooks College House, dozens of students gathered around as Ken-ichi Miura explained shibori, a Japanese tie-dyeing technique. Miura, senior teaching professor and the director of the Japanese Program, said the practice of traditional Japanese indigo dyeing is called "Aizome," which he demonstrated for students before they began turning their fabric tote bags and T-shirts in various designs of blue. February 7, 2020 Although 31 states have declared English as their native tongue, and roughly 21 percent of the population is, at various degrees, bilingual, the United States has no official language. Meanwhile, 75 percent of the world's 7.7 billion people do not speak English. That, according to Kimberly Potowski, professor of Spanish linguistics in the Department of Hispanic & Italian Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, reflects a problem with American education policy, particularly considering an estimated 60 percent of the world's population is bilingual or multilingual.F&M Japanese in the Spotlight
Chilamo Taylor ’24 Forges Unique Path to Japan
Dye Magic Changes Yellow to 'Japan Blue'
Speaker Argues for Dual Language Education So No Child Is Left Monolingual