This seminar examines the dynamic interrelationship between objects and texts in premodern Japan, from the seventh through the seventeenth centuries. The series of meetings will introduce topics in a sequence that exemplifies the gradual layering of meaning and complication that comes from a culture with a strong classical awareness. We will examine a set of core themes in Japanese culture, such as love, death, nature, and enlightenment, as expressed in a range of mediums, including painting, gardens, lacquer, and ceramics, Chinese and Japanese poetry, imperial court and warrior narratives, and Noh dramas.