Session 10 - Religion in Japan, 4/22 afternoon

[Anonymous]

The cliché born Shinto/ marry Christian/ die Buddhist is a great foundation for students to investigate these three different religions. In the classroom, I can give my students information about birth celebrations, marriage ceremonies, and funerals from all three religions. For example, in the Christian faith, the birth celebration is the baptism, the marriage ceremony occurs in a church, and the funeral also occurs in a church. I would then ask them to decide what three rituals they would prefer for their hypothetical future child’s birth, marriage, and death celebration. Afterward, it’d be interesting to reflect on this question: What does focusing on these three specific moments (birth, marriage, and death) reveal about human values?

[Anonymous]

I can have a students debate to compare Shinto vs. Buddhism especially the differences according to the note I took today as below:

1.Shinto is an ancient religion from Japan whereas Buddhism is a tradition envisaged in India by Siddhartha Gautama.
2. Shinto originated from ancient Chinese inscriptions, whereas Buddhism has its inception in the thoughts and teachings of Gautama Buddha.
3. Shinto lays importance to religious actions and rites rather than words and preaching whereas the foundation of Buddhism is the words and preaching of Buddha. Buddhism focuses on an altruistic life that leads to salvation.
4. Buddhism has religious branches in the form of Theravada and Mahayana whereas Shinto has no such religious sects.
5. Shinto worships the forces of nature, polytheism and animism whereas Buddhism is all about following an ethical code of conduct in one’s life and practice meditation and renunciation.

[Anonymous]

This lecture was interesting and could be used as a springboard for a discussion on cultural identity, religious tradition and cultural appropriation of religion in Asia. I believe the somewhat controversial nature of the Japanese approach to belonging to several various religious traditions could challenge students thinking on their own beliefs.

[Anonymous]

This was an exciting lecture and very thought provoking when thinking how to bring this information to my students. I love the fluidity and practice of several religions at once without any real allegiance to any one in particular. This feels very comfortable for me as a non-practicer of any religion. The poetry we have heard from Japanese writers and the literary themes that seemed to prevail are all about life's impermanence. In the western world, this tends to send people looking for a belief system or a reason for hope or a search for something that happens after death. However, Easter culture tends to believe more in the code of conduct or how one carries themselves and the morals they live by.
I can imagine doing a chart or venn diagram where we highlight the values of 5 or 6 world religions. I'm sure what we would find is that many core values are the same, despite the socially constructed Gods or rules that the religion projects on to it's believers.

[Anonymous]

Just like last week, I feel a little bit guilty to my one year of teaching 7th grade history in 2004. Ancient Japan is more than just Prince Shitoku, the spread of Buddhism, and Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai. Professor Miyake does a great job with the with the handout with basic events, terms, literacy works. Furthermore, she provides fun activities that fit with students. For example, drawing the court members or writing testimonies after reading short works. After her lecture and provided resources, I feel now that I can do a better job if I have 7th graders again.

[Anonymous]

"Born Shinto, Marry Christian, Die Buddhist" is a very interesting concept, but can be challenging to think about with 11th graders in U.S. History. I can relate to being in Southeast Asia about Christians and Buddhists mixed in terms of marriages and the 7 levels of hell relating to Pure Land Buddhism. This compare/contrast activity can be done in middle school, but for high school? need help.

[Anonymous]

It would like to have my students conduct an inquiry into the syncretism of cultures and the consequences it has on a group of people. I would utilize the Japanese experience to highlight the born Shinto, Marry Christian, die Buddhist to introduce the topic to students. It would be interesting to have students look at their own communities and try to have them find out what traditions, rituals come from indigenous backgrounds, Spanish, or from other parts of the world.

[Anonymous]

In my economics class I use an example from the book Freakonomics to help explain some of the things economists can do with statistical models. The portion I use involves the discovery of match-fixing in the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. Before the reveal I show my students sumo tournament video from NHK, Japan's national public broadcasting station, in order to create interest. NHK sumo programming includes a segment called Sumopedia that describes the rules, rituals, and meaning of the various aspects of sumo wrestling. Students learn that the wrestlers (rikishi), wrestling ring (dohyō), referees (gyōji), and other aspects of the sport have their origin in Japan's native Shinto religion. Prior to becoming a professional sport in the Tokugawa period, sumo was originally performed on the grounds of a shrine or temple. Also, the gyōji wear costumes modeled after the ceremonial garb of Shinto priests from the Heian Period, or "Golden Age," of Japanese courtly life.
edited by jdoll on 4/24/2017

[Anonymous]

I just remembered I did not share my thoughts on Lori Meeks lecture. I found it quite easy to incorporate her teachings into what I already know about Asian religions. The most interesting part for me were the "clichés" of being born Shinto, marrying Christian, and dying Buddhist. In high school History class I do not recall being taught this particular cliché. These thoughts alone can produce a lengthy lesson that students would engage in. 5th and 6th grade students are now expected to research and cite evidence. Students love anything that has to do with technology and using the internet. I would implement a lesson with a graphic organizers to have my students outline each of the three religions with detailed facts. Student would then write an informative essay on Religion in Japan.

[Anonymous]

We are an AVID school, as are most others in California, and many of us like to start with a quick-write, I would like to introduce the topics of Japanese religions with this - 'quick, write what you think this means: born Shinto, marry Christian, die Buddhist' and maybe have the pictures. maybe not. 7th graders, even the most unorganized, organize things into "a place for everything, and everything in it's place" mindset when it comes to religion and many have the regrettable habit of stereotyping. I think this would be a great way to shake them up and start their thinking outside the box.
The refutation of marriage would be a great way for my students to see some of the similarities among religions. I would like for them to do a compare/contrast organizer at the end of the year for the religions covered in class, and this could be used during the discussions of Buddhism, and allow them to make more connections. I think it would be a great one to have the students read and create an political cartoon to demonstrate not just the religious aspect, but the fact that the writing was in rebuttal to a government edict.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for Prof. Lori Meeks for the knowledge about Japanese religion. It's interesting that people in Japan may be born Shinto and die Buddhist. When I teach Asian cultures, I would ask students to do a comparative religion research projects so that they can learn the common and different perspectives of the Shinto and Buddhist religions.

[Anonymous]

The part that struck me as the most interesting about this lecture is how much Shinto has intertwined itself into Japanese culture and people still say that they are without religion. It is interesting to me because it reminds me about how Catholicism is woven into my family practices. From holidays, to marriage, to baptisms, sometimes it is easy to forget that these are very religious practices but many consider them as predominately cultural. When I was going through conformation in order to get married through the Catholic church, I had to take classes. Although I grew up Catholic, I did not know much about the religion, because it was more of a cultural thing than a religious thing. As I went to more classes, I realized how huge of a part religion is supposed to be part of a marriage if one adheres to the way the Catholic church says marriage should manifest. Although I knew I wanted to get married through the church, it was such a huge mind shift that religion was going to be part of the marriage, which reminds me of the talk about how Shinto has dug itself into Japanese culture so much.

[Anonymous]

The five practices of upholding, reading, chanting, preaching, and copying the Lotus Sutra that led to birth in the Pure Land is a fascinating ritual. First, I think the idea and of the Pure Land would be an engaging concept for my students to reflect on. This is basically another version of heaven, and by analyzing the Pure Land, my students can predict the values and beliefs of the aristocratic Buddhists in Japan. Secondly, it would be an interesting activity to have my students design a Pure Land according to the beliefs of a certain literary period. They can also create five practices that humans would have had to complete at the time to gain entry into their "heaven".

[Anonymous]

World History texts contain a 4 page explanation of major religions and their beliefs. Among these the list, in brief, Buddhism and Confucianism. Review of the influence of Religion on history can easily be incorporated into my lesson planning at the beginning of the first semester, as well as an inclusion of Shintoism in Japan. The reading materials provided through the seminar will definitely be useful to enrich and augment the basic text descriptions. I particularly like the idea of including Shintoism because of its connection to later Japanese history, particularly in understanding the cultural response and influence on Japan's imperial/militaristic period. Understanding this will improve understanding of the events and outcomes.

[Anonymous]

The Kamakura was a shift from the aristocratic to the warrior culture with the rise of the warrior family. These were times of strife in which the warriors believed in bravery, frugality, honor, and loyalty (Bushido). This strife marked the end of the Buddhist law. There was a muted beauty of nature which is not lively and added mystery of depth to the writing of the time. There was a sense of mystery (Yoen).

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