pre-2011 web resources

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the great pictures that are in the power point presentations. The photos in "20th Century Japan" will be usefull when I am teaching my World History class on Japan during and after WWII.

[Anonymous]

This is a website recommended in the "Web Gleanings" column of the Spring 2007 issue of Education About Asia (see separate thread for EAA). It is a basic archive of documents for an in-depth study of the controversial US nuclear attacks on unprepared Japanese civilian populations. The documents include such standard fare as the Potsdam Declaration and the White House press release on the bombing of Hiroshima. Also included are accounts of the bombing by the hibakusha (literally, "explosion-affected persons"), and an extended eyewitness account by Father John A. Siemes, one of the German Jesuits in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. (Another German Jesuit mentioned in Father Siemes's account is Father Kleinsorge, familiar to readers of Hiroshima as one of the six eyewitnesses of John Hersey's indispensable study.) There is a detailed postmortem report on "The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" by the members of the Manhattan Project, filled with grim statistics and a section on why the targeted cities were the ones chosen (better weather conditions for direct visual bombings). Personal reflections by Truman annd Einstein are also available.

There is an almost surreal item on the website, "Conversations at Farm Hall," an excerpt from secret recordings by the British of comments by captured German physicists made directly after having heard a radio broadcast announcing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The physicists, including such famous names as Werner Heisenberg, as a group express the view that the Americans must have employed considerable money and manpower to bring it off and that the Germans did not have access to sufficient amounts of either to build and drop an atomic bomb. An angry exchange takes place between two scientists about the extent of the Nazi government's commitment to an atomic development program. At least one physicist expresses relief that the Germans were never able to build and deploy such a weapon.

This website can be of great use to teachers and students alike. Middle and high school students can do their own direct research. Teachers can find references to other sites and to books that can be used at the highschool level, such as Hersey's Hiroshima.

The link is http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/index.shtml

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School

[Anonymous]

For those teachers interested in using films by the renowned anime directors Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, et al.) and Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies), this website is a useful resource. It provides filmographies for Miyazaki and Takahata, as well as other Studio Ghibli artists. Each film comes with synopses, available formats, images and FAQs. There are biographies of Miyazaki and Takahata and, in the case of the latter, a fascinating interview conducted at a French anime festival in 1992. This webtsite makes it easy for teachers to research Studio Ghibli films they have not seen and determine in advance if they will be suitable for the age group they teach. In addition, it provides cultural information and ideas to help teachers and students understand the tradition and place of anime in Japanese society.

It is not at all a glitzy, hard-sell commercial venture like the Disney website. It also tells you things you won't learn from the Mouse House (such as the fact that Grave of the Fireflies, Takahata's searing study of a little boy and his sister trying to survive in Allied-bombed Japan, is the only Ghibli feature film not picked up by Disney for US distribution). The writing level of the film synopses might be challenging for younger or ELL or Special Needs students, but the images will be appreciated by everyone. This is also a useful website for adult fans of serious anime or those who want to learn more about the works and aesthetic sensibilities of two major Japanese film directors.

The link is http://nausicaa.net/miyazaki/

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School

[Anonymous]

Here is a web site that has a great idea for teaching Confucianism:

http://www.asia.msu.edu/region%20eastasia-teaching%20ideas.ttm

The site also has several exercises to work on solving real problems in China using Confucian philosophy and values. Another exercise is similar to a compare-and-contrast activity between the Chinese and U.S. (democratic) political systems.

[Anonymous]

This site below has a lot of History links, but focuses on US History. However, it does have a Japan section with a great visual literacy exercise on "Japanese Woodblock Prints." The exercise is interesting, interactive, and has easy directions to follow that would be a terrific on-line homework assignment on Japanese art. Also, the woodblock prints are beautiful! I plan on using this next year as part of my lesson plans on Japan.

http://www.troy.k12.oh.us/technology/links/Social_Studies/

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the heads up on the web sites. I saw the page earlier, but must have skipped it. There is one site in particular that I will use in my World History classes on Meiji Japan, and another one that I'll use in both my World and U.S. History classes on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The 'bombing' site has some primary sources that are very inetresting reading! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Most film students in the west are familiar with Akira Kurosawa's Roshomon, the 1950 multiple-perspective film that won first prize at Venice in 1951 and put postwar Japanese cinema on the map. Some have seen Seven Samurai, his magisterial epic, most often in a heavily cut form, and some know that Hidden Fortress gave George Lucas the basic plot (and the two robot characters) for the original Star Wars. But there is much more to Kurosawa than a handful of famous films. Kurosawa, like Ingmar Bergman, is a truly Shakespearean filmmaker who has created a universe of characters, themes and indelible images (including several brilliant adaptations of Shakespeare). Donald Richie, the dean of Kurosawa critics, is the one who first described Kurosawa's post-Roshomon films as "a relentless succession of masterpieces," and the phrase remains as accurate today as it was when Ritchie first wrote it more than four decades ago.

Kurosawa's films, with their historical and literary references (in both the period and modern works) and their compelling plots, characters and visual images, are especially useful for Social Studies and Language Arts teachers, and few, if any, of the films present restricted-content problems for middle and highschool classes. But where can a teacher find information on Kurosawa and his films (including available DVD and VHS formats)? The answer is the superb website hosted by the British Film Institute. It includes a detailed biography of Kurosawa and a filmography of his works, along with abundant related materials. The website's graphics are clear and precise, with none of the busy distractions that so often clutter film sites. And because this is the British Film Institute, it is no-nonsense and academic, unburdened by the hard-sell and glitz of commercial film production and advertising sites. It is also easy to navigate and clearly self-explanatory, making it accessible to upper-level middle school and highschool students, who can use it to conduct their own explorations of one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, twentieth-century director of the sound era.

This is also an excellent website for Kurosawa fanatics, like myself, who want to check dates, cast lists and other film facts or locate that hard-to-get copy of Those Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail or the sequel to Sanchiro Sugata.

The link is http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/kurosawa

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on Jun 26, 11:59:24 AM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="lclark on Jun 28, 5:32:39 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This is an excellent website hosted by the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, an institution established in 1985 to spotlight the history of Japanese-Americans from the first immigrants in the nineteenth century through the concentration camps of the Second World War and up to the present day. In addition to expected links for museum features, there is a link for the Hirasaki National Resource Center, where viewers can search through and study various online documents concerning Japanese-American history. The website does a great job of presenting current exhibitions, such as "Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden" (see related posts in the Asians in America thread).

An excellent link designed for younger viewers, and one easily and enticingly accessible from the homepage, is "JANMKIDS," which our students would be certain to enjoy. There they can learn about everything kid-friendly from taiko drumming to bento boxes. The bento box link is especially amusing, with a pair of clicking o-hashi, or chopsticks, taking the place of the ususal pointing-finger cursor. The bento-box section introduces students to the distinctively Japanese form of lunchbox but also provides a quick-and-easy guide to basic Japanese food items, complete with the names for foods in romanized Japanese (useful for adult sushi-bar patrons as well as kids).

Another very useful link is "Discover Nikkei." This section includes a clever banner that travels across the screen to announce, "We aren't talking about the Japanese stock exchange." (Nikkei is the inclusive term for all Japanese immigrants to the US and their descendents.) This is a good section for research on family histories and a variety of topics.

The link for the "National Diversity Education Program" provides information and lesson-plan ideas for teachers of students at all levels. It is especially direct and inspiring in equating diversity with democracy, a reality too many Americans are losing sight of in these difficult times of xenophobic "Minute Men" patrolling the southern US border and immigrant-bashing media pundits littering the information highway with hate speech.

The Japanese American National Museum website could be a productivel place for students to do research after having read a book like Farewell to Manzanar. It could also serve as an introduction to and preparation for a field trip to the museum itself.

The link is http://www.janm.org

Leigh Clark
James Monroe High School

[Anonymous]

This is another potentially very useful archive website from the "Web Gleanings" column in the Spring 2007 issue of Education About Asia (see separate EAA thread). This site is hosted by the National Archives of Japan, with documents from the National Institute of Defense Studies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It covers the historical period from the Meiji Restoration to the 1940s.

At present there is an online presentation of a major exhibition, "US-Japan War Talks," with useful documents for teaching about the Pacific Theater of World War Two. There is also a digital exhibition on the Russo-Japanese War.

The EAA column on websites notes that this site also contains documents on Japan's relations with other Asian nations. However, this information is harder to come by. When I typed "Korea" into the website's search engine, a number of items appeared, but all carried the notice that an English-language translation was either not available or in preparation. Much the same thing happened when I typed "China" into the search engine. Also, in order to access documents directly from the archives (as opposed to viewing them as part of a digital exhibition), it is necessary to download the DjVu plug-in device.

As the above comments suggest, this is not a website you can turn your elementary and middle-school students loose on. (You might be able to make a good lesson plan out of accessing archival information). But for teachers it is a useful archive, restricted, for those who do not read Japanese, by the limited number of documents available at present in English translation.

The link is http://www.jacar.go.jp/english/index.html

Leigh Clark
James Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on Jun 26, 6:06:36 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Although Zen temples and websites might not seem like an ideal match, the site for the Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo is very informative, attractive and easy to navigate (see my post on the temple itself in the thread for Buddhist Temples in Los Angeles).

The calendar lists activities ranging from Dr. Kato's lectures on Buddhism to the Obon Festival. There are classes in Shakyo, the practice of calligraphy in writing out the Kokoro or Heart Sutra, and Goeika, the singing of songs of praise to the Buddha. Opportunities abound for discussion and karaoke, garden cleaning and za-zen meditation in the zendo.

If you click on "Classes" you will find a separate space on the Sadobu or Tea Ceremony. In 1976 one of the Sunday School classrooms was transformed into an authentic tearoom and there, several Saturdays of every month, tea ceremony classes are held by the Omotesenke, Urasenke and Edosenke schools, which are committed to introducing the tea ceremony to Southern California. The tea ceremony can be regarded, in many ways, as the heart of the Zen aesthetic experience. Zenshuji offers extended Saturday afternoon classes that introduce the essentials of the complex traditional ritual to absolute beginners. It is not necessary, by the way, to wear a kimono, at least not to your first introductory session. (I called to make sure.)

The site also has related links providing useful information on Zen temples in Japan and two Zen Mountain Retreats in California: Yokoji, in the San Jacinto Mountains, and Tassajara, in Carmel Valley. These might not work for field trips, but for exhausted teachers looking for the ultimate restorative getaway (not at Club Med), they might be just the thing. (Check out the visuals and text and, if you are interested, they even have a ride-sharing board posted for finding cheap trips to these Shangri-La retreats.)

The link is http://www.zenshuji.org

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School

[Anonymous]

Leigh, your essay about Kurosawa is very well written. You eloquently sum up the powerful qualities that made Kurosawa stand head and shoulders above many other film makers. My first exposure to Kurosawa was with the 7 Samurai. I could tell this was no ordinary movie. I am no film expert, but the 7 Samurai was the first time I saw complex character development in action. I was made aware of it by Kurosawa's technique and the fact that he can capture the essence of a character by making he or she complicated and complex, but at the same time evoking my emotions. I was amazed. Then I studied the lighting, shading, and visual imagery that made Kurosawa legendary.

It may be me, but if you have seen Ivan the Terrible by Sergei Eisenstein, you will see the same methodology that was used by Kurosawa. I have no idea if they knew each other, were influenced each other, or I am stretching it, but I can't deny the personal tie-in that I see.

Thank you for your article[Edit by="tstevenson on Jun 27, 8:38:59 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

If you teach U.S. History and need resources about the most decorated unit for its size in American military history, also known as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, go to the Website of the Go For Broke National Education Foundation @ http://www.goforbroke.org. It is an excellent resource for teachers and is loaded with information. There is a Speaker's Bureau that you can turn to for guest speakers. For students, there is the Oral History link which has over 400 interviews with Japanese-American veterans which addresses such topics as why the Japanese-American young men enlisted in the 442nd when their parents were denied their rights and placed in internment camps during the war, the veterans' reflections on Pearl Harbor, the internment/incarceration, etc. This website has accurate information which is intended to educate the public about this little-known period in Japanese-American history which high school textbooks might mention in a sentence or so. It is a well-respected organization and a highly credible source which has received many federal grants to further its mission. The content is updated regularly. Most high school teachers know very little about this topic, but this organization/website is a great place for information and help.
Aileen Willoughby

[Anonymous]

The website "2007 The National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA)" at http://ncta.osu.edu has a link to lots of lesson plans prepared by teachers on teaching about China, Japan, Korea, and East Asia. The lesson plans cover grades 6 - 12 and the site is designed for teachers. The teachers preparing the lessons were part of the East Asia Seminars at several universities in Ohio. The lessons are organized by geographic region (China, Japan, Korea, East Asia) and teachers can also search by typing in keywords (e.g., Confucianism) to find specific lesson plans. The lessons follow the same format (Purpose, Rationale, Materials, Activities, Assessment, etc.) and can be implemented right away.

[Anonymous]

Wow, what a website! "The East Asian Collection" out of Duke University Library at http://www.lib.duke.edu/ias/eac/japan/classtools/teacherresources.htm is a powerhouse of information. It lists websites for secondary teachers to use as resources for the classroom. Most of the linked sites are coming out of major universities in the country. This is a highly reliable source of information that is easy to navigate and the answer to any secondary teacher's need for ideas to implement in the classroom. In addition to the linked websites of classroom tools, there are many other resources (Guide for Japanese Electronic Resources, Newspapers and Periodicals, Web Resources, etc.). This is a must see.

[Anonymous]

Excellent Website, "Six Paths to China" through AT&T Education at http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/index.html. I found this site through Blue Web'n, often recommended as a valuable resource for classroom teachers. This particular site has six activities on the topic of China using the web as a resource and is valuable to both teachers and students. The six "paths" to China are (1) Hotlist: collection of links to a multitude of Internet sites on China (culture, religion, human rights, environment, etc); (2) Scrapbook: Students visit listed sites to gather pictures, information, maps, quotes on China, then put the text and images into a scrapbook; (3) Treasure Hunt: Leads students on an Internet search to explore China's cultural heritage, wealth of its current economic boom, and social/political issues. The site has questions and the answers are found on the linked pages; (4) My China: various activities on Chinese culture and current events for students to do; (5) Does the Tiger Eat Its cubs? Webquest for students (individually or in groups) on the topic of China's treatment of children. Has a cautionary statement to teachers to consider before using this lesson because of the sensitive nature of the topic as it may affect children who were adopted from China; and (6) Searching for China: webquest for students to participate in as a group activity on issues in China. Excellent for middle and high school. Comment: In the Searching for China section, there was a link to the Tiananmen Square massacre which I thought was very biased instead of presenting factual information about the event. Teachers will want to explore all the links in each of the pages before assigning the activities.
[Edit by="awilloughby on Jun 28, 11:21:33 PM"][/Edit]

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