The objective of this course is to understand the ‘trajectory’ of Japan-US Relations through historical analysis. The course will cover the period since Commodore Perry first came to Japan to the present. However, it will not simply be a history of state-to-state relations but more on how people in Japan perceived American presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The course is intended to explore and understand modern (近現代／KINGENDAI) Japan through the prism of Japanese perception of the US.