EA190 Class Description: This course will explore how Shakespeare has been "translated" into Japanese, with particular focus on two films by Akira Kurosawa: Throne of Blood (based on Macbeth) and Ran (based on King Lear). We will consider how Kurosawa deploys elements of premodern Japanese theater and art to translate Shakespeare's complex metaphors and narrative structures into visual equivalents, enabling samurai dramas set in the 16th century to enact allegories of 20th century violence and warfare. To do so we will consider (among other things) the historical development of Bushido (the Way of the Samurai), the effect of differing religious frameworks (Buddhist/Shinto versus Christian), and the history of Shakespeare in Japan, including other theatrical productions both modern and contemporary.