session 10 (monday, may 23) japanese literature - lynne miyake

[clay dube]

Please begin by downloading the five handouts (Miyake 1-5) that Prof. Lynne Miyake has prepared for this session (the pdfs are listed at the bottom of this entry). They will be helpful as you watch the lectures and go through the readings.  Many of you will want to keep them as essential resources. At several points in the recorded lectures, she suggests pausing for a moment to consider several questions. You could pause there and use those questions as a writing prompt for the discussion forum. The readings mentioned are available in pdf form below. Prof. Miyake will lead the discussion session on Monday, May 23. Please post any comments or questions ahead of the discussion on May 23.

Zoom Link:
https://usc.zoom.us/j/97587098449?pwd=cklKNjFzMEtyb3gvOHdGWm1nTEQxZz09

Meeting ID: 975 8709 8449
Passcode: 430878

Heian Era Literature

 

 

Samurai Era Literature

 

Readings (*=optional):

Poetry
*Kokinshū
*Traditional Japanese Poetry
*Three Poets at Minase

Drama
Busu (Nō)
*Atsumori (based on The Tale of the Heike

Prose
Evening Faces from The Tale of Genji
*(Tsuboi) Yugao from The Tale of Genji (graphic)
Excerpt from The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon
Excerpt from The Tale of the Heike
*The Lady Who Loved Insects
*An Account of My Hut
*Little One-Inch
 

Attachments:

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[Molly Cowan-Johnson]

One question that I had while reflecting on "Adorable Things" ...most of the literature of women from the Heian period is written from a position of privilege, how much would the women of this time know about other social stations? Would they see people in poverty or rural farm workers? Professor Miyake asked us to reflect on whether the writer is critical of her position but if women were in a guarded sort of position how would they know? I suppose like other women in history who have been frustrated with their gendered position some of these women could be. When my students ask me what time period I’d travel to, I always ask if I still have to be woman. As a modern woman who enjoys such freedoms and pants, I would not do well in historical time periods. I’m too smart and too loud to do well in any other time period, especially in Japan (way too loud).

Comparing the poetry from the two time periods. I feel like there is more drama and darkness with the Fujiwara poem compared to the Heian period, like the ‘chill to the heart”. It seems like a stark contrast with the warrior culture which obviously sees more fighting and death so it fit while the Heian period seems a little more frivolous. I do enjoy the descriptive nature of Japanese literature in any time period really. It’s very show-not-tell and subtle with its meanings. I did a workshop several summers ago on Rashōmon that plus I’m pretty partial to some of the ghost stories from the Edo era.

Is it because of Shinto traditions that most of the poetry centers around nature? There seems to always be some element about nature even if it isn’t the focus of the poem.

[Hannah Klein]

I would love to introduce my future first grade students to some of the examples of Japanese poetry in the readings for this week! It's so great that they're short and full of feeling and sensory detail. It ties in perfectly with this standard!

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

As I browsed some of the short poems in the readings linked above I noticed quite a few examples that include the moon. Moon observations are part of the science standards for first grade, so I can definitely see myself planning an interdisciplinary unit on the moon. We could start our inquiry with the question of how people in different places and times see the moon!

1-ESS1-1. Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.

[Ying Yu]

japanese literature is somehow far from my learning understanding. I know some folk stories from Japanese Cartoons.

[Ying Yu]

That's a very interesting topic! I may use Moon poetry as well. There is another moon poetry called in the silence of Night. I will use both of them for my teaching

[Ying Yu]

I'm also curious about Shinto traditions.

[Author]

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