session 11 readings

[Anonymous]

As a literature teacher, I most enjoyed last night's discussion about Japanese literature. My standard poetry unit includes mention of Haiku & tanka, but the lecture gave me a fuller understanding of the differences between historical periods. I'd like to do a lesson having the students compare the Heian & Kamakura periods. I will teach background information on the importance of poetry in Japanese culture. Then I will provide them with a selection of poems from each time period & have them point out the features of each set & compare the similarities & differences. I am re-writing lesson plans later today to include this

Another thing I appreciated is that this professor provided suggestions on how to incorporate her material into activities that can be included for our students - she did a lot of the work for us & I'm grateful. My students enjoy the opportunity that they seldom get to write creatively. I liked the professor's suggestion of giving them part of a Japanese tale & having them re-write it in different perspectives. I intend to do more instruction with short story elements next year & will use some of the works the professor included. Will we have access to this site after our course is over or should we make copies of the materials?

[Anonymous]

Lynne Miyake’s lecture was informative and very interesting. I have been a little surprised at the roles of women in all of the lectures including this one. My assumption, along with many other people, concludes that women in this time period really didn’t have significant roles other than those that have been deemed “women’s roles”. It was interesting to hear about the female writers and the role they’ve played in Japanese Literature. During this period, there were a lot of women writers and women were confident and knew they were capable and talented in this area. One of the negatives during this period is that women could only write on topics that were chosen for them and did not have the creative freedoms that women experience today. I was also a little disappointed in the fact that women did not get to use their full name in signing their works.
A couple of other things that stood out to me during this lecture were all of the lesson plan ideas that were given and how to implement them in your classes. Some of my favorite ideas were; writing a job interview for a Samurai Warrior, using The Tale of Heike Warriors as models (vocation/work skills class), Reading Ghengi and applying social skills, and then creating a Monga Book (Social Learning), reading Adorable Things and Hateful Things, followed by a writing assignment (SDC English).

[Anonymous]

Session 11- Activities
Lynne Miyake’s gave a lot of ideas for lesson plans and activities that I feel I can use with my students in special education. I am especially excited about Momotaro, The Story of Peach Boy and the activities that she included. Momotaro, The Story of Peach Boy is a short story that my students will be able to read and discuss, with support and guidance. The subject is universal and can hold the attention of students who are easily distracted. The activity she included with making kabuto- samurai helmets is excellent! A lot of my students love anything Japanese and this is an overall trend with today's’ youth. Also included with this lesson is music and poetry. The only problem I can foresee is with me, and my lack of artistic ability. Thank God I have an amazing and creative Instructional Assistant

[Anonymous]

Session 11- Bunraku Puppets
During Lynne Miyake’s lecture, many resources were suggested for Japanese literature and lesson plan ideas for our students. Lynne also spoke briefly about Bunraku Theatre- Japanese puppetry. I made a note and later did some google searches and watched some of the amazing puppetry on YouTube. Bunraku Theatre is unbelievable! It took me a few minutes to realize that the puppets were actually being manipulated by puppeteers. I thought they were people acting out parts in a play.
My special education English class just finished reading The Maze Runner and we talked about the creators in the book and how they manipulated the Gladers as part of an experiment. I showed my students a YouTube clip of Bunraku Theatre and we talked about the word “manipulate” and how it can be used in different ways. I then had my students write on Bunraku Theatre and compare and contrast the “Gladers” and the Japanese puppets. Some of the students wrote that they were the same because someone is in charge and choosing what will happen to someone else. Another student wrote that they are different because the puppets being manipulated in Banraku Theatre are objects and not people like in The Maze Runner.
I have enjoyed every session that I have attended because I learn something new each time and have been able to envision a way to bring it into my classroom and present it to my students.

[Anonymous]

Professor Lynne Miyake truly touched on my creative side with her lecture and presentation. From the background information to the poetry, I found this session to be very intriguing. I enjoyed learning about the Golden Age of Japanese Heian literature and the period of aristocrats. As has been repeated now in various lectures and readings, it still haunts and fascinates me that women had to be knowledgable in poetry and handwriting in order to get married in such a poetical and aristocratic society. She even made note that the better versed women were, the more sons they supposedly had. I found this to be an interesting and sentimental point and belief. I enjoyed learning about the dual functions of poems, having both a nature and human component. The focus on nature related to Spring and Fall and the focus on the human condition related to the Winter and Summer. I appreciated taking part in the creation of a poem. Though I felt silly writing it at first, i enjoyed getting in touch with my creative side. I loved hearing everyones poems and seeing how similar, yet different they all were from one another.

[Anonymous]

Professor Miyake's lecture was really insightful. I appreciated that she went around the room asking what grade level we taught and taking the time to show me children's books that I can use in my classroom. This was greatly appreciated.
What I enjoyed most about the lecture was The Tale of Genji and the information about its author, Lady Murasaki. I learned and appreciate that this is a classic work of Japanese literature written during the Heian period. I also enjoyed learning that the Heian period is noted for its art in poetry and literature. This amazes me and inspires me! To have women during these late eras take a stand and write and create poetry and literature that will be referenced in lectures and books is truly inspirational.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you. Professor Miyake provided so much information not just during the lecture, but actually took the time to ask and provide ideas and materials for our students' needs. She was very kind and helpful. She actually went back to her materials and shared Children's books that I could use for my second grade students. I am grateful for her attentiveness in making sure not only in answering our questions, but in providing grade appropriate resources.

[Anonymous]

I completely agree with cseman that this lecture was amazing and particularly useful to us elementary school teachers! I also use the story of Peach Boy in my curriculum plan (which I am almost finished with!) and found the lecture and background information from this professor and lecture to be very helpful. Professor Miyaki provided wonderful resources during the class period and also stayed to discuss further ideas with me after class. That was when/where I got my idea for my plan on connecting literature from various cultures, fairy tales in particular, to the content standards for my grade level. She not only was very insightful but also helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of the moral/lesson of the story to the overall cultural representation and family structures within Japanese culture. I found this lecture and information to be very interesting.

[Anonymous]

Lynne Miyake’s presentation focused on some of the women’s roles in early Japanese society, the use of manga and fairytales, and the warrior class. The presentation was an excellent dovetail to the earlier presentation of Samuel Yamashita. We discussed the Tale of Genji and the different interpretations. The famous tale is a short enough read that the piece can easily be introduced into a literature course. Having high school students study the different interpretations would be an excellent exercise where they can compare and contrast the different interpretations, and then think as to why there “seems” to be different writings of the same story. I also enjoyed the shorter fairytales (lessons/morals) that would also be a nice literature addition to a unit on fairytales/mythology, or a larger unit on Japanese literature. Professor Miyake further added Heian period literature resources for teachers with activities, poetry, essays, and shorter prose writing.
Looking for ways to implement into my 10th grade ELA curriculum, the activities for the Tale of Genji and the Tale of Heike can be adapted for a high school curriculum. The poetry from Kokinshu: A Collection of Poems and The Pillow Book are easily adaptable for any thematic unit. The illustrated version of the Tale of Genji is also perfect for a visual literacy unit that I have at the beginning of the second semester.

[Anonymous]

Tale of Genji
During session 11, Lynn Miyake gave numerous ideas and information on how to use Japanese literature in our classes. I was especially interested in this particular session because many of my students with autism have interests in Anime and Manga. I try and explain to the students that I do not have interest in these areas with zero knowledge, but want to learn more about it because I care about them and these are their interests. This is a concept and process that has to be modeled and taught to my students. Often times during social activities, they will talk about the things they are interested in and then turn their attention to something else when it is someone else’s turn to talk. It is not that they are being rude or insensitive, they simply do not grasp why one should listen and participate in topics that are not interesting to them.
Professor Miyake suggested that using Tale of Genji, is a good place to start when introducing Japanese Literature to the students. I watched the first episode of Tale of Genji on YouTube, and quite honestly was lost! I am not sure what the draw for students is but it is definitely there, so I decided to dig a little further for understanding and future lesson plans. I did notice that students are interested in this style of art and will draw characters that look similar in their free time. I think using this drawing style when we talk about body language and facial expressions will be effective and engaging for students. I also think I could use this for vocabulary they need to know. They can draw a picture using this art form next to the definition to make it relevant for them.
After watching the Anime version, I continued to search and eventually found the book version that was being read and explained, one chapter at a time. It began with an introduction and overview of the story and gave a short biography about the author. The narrator explained the importance of women authors during this time period and the customs of what they could write and why they were given certain names or titles. It set of the time period of the story, gave background information, and prepared the audience for the story.
I listened to the first two chapters of the book and concluded that I would only be able to use sections of the chapters because of the length and content. Some of my students are immature and sensitive and I would need to approach the subject of concubines with thoughtfulness and respect for my students’ personalities. I do believe that there are situations and characters’ emotions that I could use as a teaching tool. How did Kiritsubo feel when others became jealous of her and made unkind remarks about her? What is it like to feel jealously? How do you feel when others treat you unkind? How do we deal with jealously and what are appropriate actions that can help us? How do we react when people treat us in a disparaging manner?
Overall, I think Anime and Manga are going to be ways to connect with my social learners and engage them in learning. It will allow them to learn important skills that they will need to be successful in future employment and relationships and spark their interest and prevent some of the resistance that I sometimes feel.

[Anonymous]

This lecture was led by Professor Lynne Miyake from Pomona College and she had very interesting topics of discussion that connected to the previous session about poetry and women writers in Korea. Mostly, the lecture was broken down into five classical Japanese periods and the literature of each time. The two periods that I felt were the most interesting were the Heian and the Kamakura periods because of their drastic shifts in culture. The Heian period was a time in Japan that was highly aristocratic in nature, which seemed to work because it was also a time of relative peace and great literature. As I've continued to learn about different Asian countries, this time period was also greatly influenced by the women of its time. The women during this time period were writers and many wrote poetry that focused as a dual function, which describes a natural scene but also speaks to human condition. Women during this time period also wrote prose. I appreciate this part of the lecture and readings because it is further teaching me to question my preconceived knowledge about Japan and it's writers in history. I believe others also mentioned that professor Miyake also gave us classroom activities we can practice, which are beneficial to implement. The second time period that I found interesting was that of the Kamakura because it changed to a warrior culture. The literature of this time shifted to that focused on the Samurai, which as I mentioned before in another session is fascinating to me. I really appreciate having added more knowledge of the Samurai and historical context to literature of its time.

[Anonymous]

One of the concepts that Professor Miyake presented that stood out to me was language as a barrier for keeping people out of the “know.” As stated during the lecture, only highly educated people could read at that time; specifically the imperial family and the clergy. I find this very interesting because it was considered the “Golden Age of Literature” but mostly nobody during the time could even relate to the concept of literature seeing that only 1,000 people could read. This made me think of our students today. Teaching in South Central, I have noticed the difficulty my students experience in reading higher level text. This worries me as they go out into the real world because of the information they may not be able to understand. For example, reading legal documents is already hard for me as a college educated individual, I can only imagine how difficult it may be for someone who has only a high school education or is an English Language Learner. This information has led me to wonder how it is that we can do a better job, as teachers, to prevent language from being a real barrier for our students. Also, how can we embed legal terminology in the high school curriculum, so that students walk out with skills necessary for success in the future?

[Anonymous]

Based on Professor Miyake's presentation, I went back into my personal library to find a book published by the Association for Asia Studies titled Japanese Literature: From Murasaki to Murakami by Marvin Marcus. A short book of about 100 pages, it highlights the history of Japanese literature as "key issues in Asian studies." In short, the book is a literary analysis through different time period of Japanese history (Origins and Inspiration; The Golden Age; Swords and Solemnity; The Bamboo Curtain; A Literature of Empire; Postwar to Postmodern; 21st Century). As an ELA teacher, I believe it is important that students read analysis/book reviews as a model for literary analysis. When I offer Heian literature in a unit of study, I will begin using excerpts from the chapter "The Golden Age: Heian Literature and the Genji Ideal. The author offers an introduction to the time period and then moves to Heian Court poetry. Then, he moves from Heian narrative prose to Heian fiction. Having my students read excerpts from this chapter will demonstrate the modeling of analysis that students need in order to demonstrate their own proficiency in the unit.

[Anonymous]

I appreciated the way Professor Miyake included specifically ways to incorporate her teachings directly into our classrooms.

I wanted to focus on the Warrior Culture because this is so important to the structure of the Asian culture, the strength of the community, the mystery of who they are theses, strong, stoic, ideally portrayed entities who fall on their swords when they fail or don't properly represent their Empire. but this idea of this Warrior was present across the board, because of the idea that death was a completion of a circle and to go to death was just what was meant to be, so suicide isn't viewed as negative but necessary. So political figures or writers would find an end to their journey through suicide.

[Anonymous]

Professor: Lynne Miyake
Throughout history, literature has played an instrumental part of human civilization. Therefore, professor Miyake gave us a fascinating tour throughout the history of different periods/genres in Japanese literature.
One aspect that I found very striking is the fact that just as in the Latino culture there are periods in which Literature was written only for the aristocrats because they were the only ones who can read it and write it in those days. Though, it is sad to learn that much of the poetry written during this period was not recorded; although it is known that to write it required knowledge of the canon and mastery of the techniques. Among the readings, I enjoyed very much Hateful Things.
edited by edelafuente on 6/20/2016
edited by edelafuente on 6/20/2016

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