This seminar on Japan’s early modern and modern history has three parts. We first read a number of outstanding books and articles to inform and inspire our own research agenda. We then familiarize ourselves with the different types of sources and reference materials. The final six weeks of the course are devoted to individual research projects, which we hone through several cycles of presentations, drafts, and peer review. While the course is designed for graduate students with a reading knowledge of Japanese, it welcomes participants who want to pursue a Japan-centered project with sources in other languages.