Session 2 - Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daily Life of the Imperial Court

[stubing]

Join us for the discussion session on Tuesday, 5/3 at 4pm PT on Zoom:

https://usc.zoom.us/j/93665449622?pwd=QXBNd1VMS2MvTXUvbDJvWGFVUStvZz09

Meeting ID: 936 6544 9622
Passcode: 597010

 

Lecture 1

 

 

Lecture 2

 

Discussion Questions

Week 2

“Women’s Education”

-in a society with no formal education for women in early Japan, why were texts like these necessary?

-what can we learn about Buddhism and its role in early Japan?

Aileen Gatten, “A Wisp of Smoke”

-what does the use of incense in Japanese court society reveal about elite culture?

-what do the discussions of incense in this article and in The Tale of Genji tell us about gender in early Japan?

Excerpt of “The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu

-why do you think the author chose Genji—an illegitimate imperial son—to be the protagonist of her novel?

-what are some examples of the distinctive language in this excerpt? Of course, this is a translation, but we can still detect some of the unique qualities of the writing in The Tale of Genji.

Required Assignments and Readings

• Listen to podcast episode on Bronze mirror
• "Todai-Ji," by Dr. Deanna MacDonald
• Court music (Gagaku)
• Seated Buddha
• Fudo Myoo
• Images of the Tales of Genji
• Haruo Shirane, Traiditional Japanese Literature (Columbia University Press, 2007), excerpt of the Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, 161-179.
• Theodore de Bary et al, eds., Sources of Japanese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 2001), "Women's Education," 398-412.
• "A Wisp of Smoke. Scent and Character in The Tale of Genji", by Aileen Gatten.

 

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Kayla Kolean]

I have been to this temple in Nara, Japan. It was huge! And what is even more astounding than the giant bronze Buddha inside, is that this temple was actually rebuilt twice! This temple was very large and kept getting hit by lighting and catching on fire, and then had to be rebuild. In the back of the current temple, you can see a scale model of how large the original temple was, and it was even more massive to be sure!

I read a bit more about Todaiji Temple via this Khan Academy article, and was struck by this fact:

The 8th century campaign to construct Buddhist temples in every Japanese province under Imperial control (mostly in the Kinai area, today home to Osaka and Kyoto) is estimated to have resulted in the construction 600-850 temples using 3 million cubic meters of wood.

That is a lot of resources! I am thankful the lecture and discussion touched on reasons a religion like Buddhism, which values the self over material goods, might have need for such lavish buildings. Learning that donations would help a person reach a higher level of peace in the afterlife is a great way to secure funding for these projects.

 

Have you ever been to Todaiji Temple or another large religious structure?

[Kayla Kolean]

I did not know much about perfume and its importance in the Japanese Court society at this time in the Heian Era. I would like to include this as well in my cultural discussions with students. I feature Jomon and Yayaoi, then skip to Edo since that is what students are most interested in. However, if I was to add a section about the Heian Era, I would definately talk about perfume! I would then like to ask students if they themselves have certain scent memories (happy ones preferably) about their family, pets, places, etc. For example, growing up my family and I visited my grandparents during the summer, and my grandmother wore A LOT of suncreen (though now looking back that was great foresight on her part to protect her skin) and so everytime I smeel suncreen when I open a bottle to put some on my face, I think of my grandmother. I might also ask them if they think they could court someone with a terrible perfume, or if their best friend told them they disliked their perfume if they might change it. Just brainstorming questions based on perfume+court drama.

I was also struck by the idea that these gentry would not see each other. I might ask students if they would feel better in this society as a lower-class citizen who could make lots of friends and meet them daily, or a higher-class citizen who could only see a few people of the same gender daily and not see there potential love interest in person.

What might you include about the Heian Era to teach your students?

[Kayla Kolean]

I have only read bits and pieces of the Japanese classic "Tale of Genji". I was very excited to find a manga version in English that was released this year: https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Murasakis-Tale-Genji-Manga/dp/480531656X/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=RO4iS&content-id=amzn1.sym.5fe95cd4-8512-42fa-bf21-63d83b898785&pf_rd_p=5fe95cd4-8512-42fa-bf21-63d83b898785&pf_rd_r=1QAGV0ZVEDEP3T53HGX8&pd_rd_wg=yTdDe&pd_rd_r=c6190ada-094b-449e-844d-774051a46fe7&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

I hope to get a copy for myself, and then scan any interesting sections to include in my lesson(s) on the Heian Era!

Do you use manga or graphic novels in your lessons?

[Author]

Posts