Session 2 - June 23

[Thomas Pineda]

I agree, I've enjoyed reading these excerpts from "Genji", but they are definitely more enjoyable with the curated background knowledge. It does seem like the "Meandering Stream" poems, where the annotations and supplemental text might be longer than the actual text, but that info would help you fully appreciate the tale. As Morgan mentioned in the discussion, there is the Seidensticker(?) version, but I wonder how lost I would be with any of the translations. 

[Morgan Pitelka]

Thanks for this question Paul. It actually is the rise of the samurai--the subject of next week's class--that further disempowered elite women, though many continued to have some influence as authors and patrons of the arts. For more info, I recommend this comprehensive bibliography of Japanese women writers throughout history: https://www.gayerowley.com/teaching/women-writers-bibliography/

[Katharine Davis]

I'm sure there are plenty of books about this topic, but I received one in particular that I know discussed this topic in a good amount of detail (at least, from MY opinion): A History of East Asia by Charles Holcombe
I found a review about the book here: https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/a-history-of-east-asia-from-the-origins-of-civilization-to-the-twenty-first-century/ (this article is about an older edition of the book but it's a really in-depth review!)

I admitedly don't know much about China or its history -- most of what I know I've learned as "China-in-relation-to-Japan" so I was really happy to add this book to my personal library. I'm still making my way through it (it is very much an academic textbook), but I've learned a lot!

[David Millians]

So many ideas and insights to consider this week. I apologie for my tardiness; I've had a couple of layers of tech issues here, and it's good to be back!

I am most fascainted by the layers of development we see occuring in Japanese material culture and ritual and how they emerged from earlier elements mixing with novel elements from the mainland, as Professor Pitelka says, selectively. I would enjoy learning more about how this took place and how it varied across the archipelago. I especially enjoyed learning about the process of support by the Heian elites of Buddhism as a unifying institution, which then took on a life of its own and confronted the central power of the imperial government. I wonder about the spread of Buddhist ritual and material culture into other parts of society.

As we go forward, I'm thinking often about how to adapt what we're learning for my students. With one of my school's art teachers, I'm exploring the possibility of dry-carving clay to bring to life the early pottery culture of Japan with the Jomon and making humanoid figures like the dogu and haniwa. Several of you wrote about geography and climate, and I would like to find ways to compare Japan's situation with that in the USA, especially Atlanta. It would also be interesting to compare the rituals of our lives, like singing Happy Birthday or weddings and funerals, with those in Heian high aristocratic culture. As well, there are many parallels between the specialized and refined practices around incense, poetry, and kemari and the kids' own interests in contemporary culture. I'm thinking about the ways compete for cred in everything from music to sports.

I look forward to our upcoming classes together!

[Katharine Davis]

Hi David! I thought I could help with a couple of your comments/questions regarding climate and geography. I found this cool website that allows you to overlay the different continents/countries/cities onto each other. I'd been told Tokyo was about the same latitude at Atlanta, but it's a bit farther north, as you can see in the image I've attached. (Though I beileve the climate is very similar to Atlanta: very hot and humid summers, very mild winters.) I saved this image as a screenshot from this site: https://www.bytemuse.com/post/interactive-equivalent-latitude-map/

I love your comparison of those in the Heian era "competing for cred"! I think that is an analogy our kids would totally relate to!

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[Lou Kindschi]

Last week we learned about poetry as a social experience with the Meandering Stream activity.  I have used lessons on Renga writing with Tanka Form with my students and they loved the experience.  1) Students learn about Renga and read examples. 2) Students work in pairs or groups to create their own Renga. 3) The topic/s they explore must reflect themes we have studied in the unit. 4) Students combine image with text in a creative way that enhances the poem.  This project works well as both a formative or summative assessment.

[Deirdre Harris]

I also found so much information about incense that I had never known before.  The methods for which it was created in large batches, and mixed several thousand times, then buried in the ground, preferably near water or a tree; to be used immediately after resting for a prescribed number of days.  I noticed that in the excerpts from the "Tale of Genji" it is mentioned that a young man is coming to visit a young woman, and he knows he will only be able to get to know her through the smell of her incense.  This was enough for him.  The writing also notes an unpleasant fragrance of incense coming from an undesirable women, and how different these two were, both the women and their incense.  The idea that matching incense by just matching patterns, and fragrances, without lighting them was a practice in Japan is very interesting.  I am enjoying learning about this period of life in Japan.  

[Deirdre Harris]

I enjoyed listening to the audio, while following the text version of the Associate Professor of Art History at Swarthmore, Tomoko Sakomura.  While a very lengthy slide show, I enjoyed listening to her interpretation of parts of the stories.  While she focused on chapters 34, 35, & 36, these seemed to be more than enough to focus on.  It seems that Karma get's Genji in the end, and he is punished for his life of pursuing love.  The theme seems to be that "Life is suffering."  That it is full of sorrow, and anguish.  I found it interesting that men seemed to want women who were loyal, cultured, passive, and willing to overlook a man's shortcomings.  Is it true that even to this day, women don't discuss politics openly in Japan?  I read this somewhere...   It's interesting to look for Genji's motivations, which seem to be strictly yearning and love, pure reasons.  It also reveals his character to have anxiety, and suffer from his own actions.  He seems quite miserable by the end of these three chapters she discusses in her presentation.  It seems women would escape to become nuns to get away from the sordid love affairs that were going on to escape the cycle that had been created.  In order to be happy, they would have to detach themselves from love, money and power.  

I have not read the Tale of Genji, but someday I hope to.  It's a sordid topic, not appropriate for my 4th graders, but I am thinking I can share parts of the culture, such as the incense, life in the courts, and so many other topics.  They can read it on their own when they are older.  I certainly enjoyed listening to Professor Sakomura.  She certainly seemed to be quite an authority on it's interpretations, which were very insightful.  Thank you.

[Lou Kindschi]

Deirdre, I also found the lecture and slides of Associate Professor Tomoko Sakomura thought provoking.  Given this a seminar on objects of Japanese History it is interesting to see The Tale of Genji portrayed through objects over time and into today, keeping the significance of the Tale of Genji relevant.  The professor effectively demonstrated various artistic depictions of the Kemari sports game, the cat and the curtains scene.  I am curious if there are other specific or significant moments in the story that have been captured or celebrated through time and whether they have become woven into the collective fabric of Japanese ethos or identity.

[David Millians]

Thanks, Katharine!

[Ying Yu]

The lecture one shows the regligions in Japan: Shinto, Buddism and Yin Yang division. Those religion theories are well combined in Japanese culture. The shinto is similar to Shamanism in Korea, which can predict the weather and other daily life things. Shamanism also can communicate with the people who have already died. Buddism plays a important role in Japanese history. It helps the government to rule people well. But Buddism also provide some pholosophical thinking solutions. Yin Yang theory aslo from China. It guided Japanese people to view the things in opposite ways. Male and Female, cold and hot, good and bad. Everything can be viewed from Yin Yang perspective.

[Ying Yu]

I'm so engjoy in this lecture. The professor mentioned how the rituals forms from confucious theory, and how the people played the music intruments, which were originally from China. They played them not only for ceremony, but also for entertament. I'm so interested in how those women and men interact with each other. Those rules were under the Confucious rule systems. The last activity, those people were drinking and made poetry, was so romantic. I hope I can bring my students to do the activity during the cherry blossom time in spring.

[Ying Yu]

Actually the incense culture are also from China. Ancient Japanese people copied the life style of China. Compare Incense and Fragarance as well as the culture backgrounds behind them is a good way to teach the culture differences between Eastern and Western.

[Ying Yu]

Thanks for your sharing! Your descriptions about teaching enlight my teaching reflections! The idea of ritual is such a cultural topic to my students to understand East Asia culture. Buddism is another big topic as well. I would ask my students to search the Internet to find the differences between Shinto and Buddism in Japanese rituals.

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