Session 4 (9/22) readings

[Anonymous]

There is a lot to digest in this material, but one thing that stood out for me was the fact that those pilgremages to Edo by the rural population was also used as an oportunity to travel. With so many travel restrictions in place at the time, those who went (and knoew that most likely would never leave to travel again) would write journals and buy souviners for those who had sponsored them for their trip. Many people today, use social media, blogs, scrapbooking, or even online journals to write about thier travel experiences, and It is interestingto see that this is something that has happened across cultures, and socio-economic groups throughout history. Those journals, accroding to the article mght simply consisted of expense accounts, but many also contained observations of what they experiences. While these journals don't rise to the level of Marco Polo's writings, they are written through the perspective of local, rural people.

[Anonymous]

These articles are very interesting because they involve Western influence and the opening of Japan. We can easily draw parallels to China (in fact the article mentions how Japan saw the results of the Opium War) and used this period to expand its influence. I found it interesting how Japan used the logic of "conquer or be conquered" as a way to go to China, sign treaties with Korea, and modernize weaponry and technology.
I believe it was in this article which spoke about actors using their fame to promote products and advertize much like the product placements we see today in movies and TV. It was this period which saw advances in agriculture and creation of cash crops and local goods that could be sold to urban areas. This reminds me of modern Thailand's Royal Project which promotes agriculture by Hill Tribe people (the fringe groups of Thai society) in exchange with their producing opium. Also "the one district, one product" campaign which aims to promote a unique product/handicraft/style per regional area in order to diversify and promote areas of the country.

[Anonymous]

There is so much information to absorb in this reading. I find that the class system, used as a way to organize society and to run the government was not a system that was allowed to naturally emerge, but was stringently regulated down to requiring that a son must follow in his father's footsteps, no matter what the job was. I also found it interesting that members of the "less than" classes found a way around the system in order to create wealthy lives. Women were still subservient to men, yet the wealthy ones were allowed to have enough education to read and write poetry - that's more education than many societies around the world allowed women up through the 19th century and beyond. I find that in some ways the government system was advanced, while some of the societal expectations were mundane and matched those around the world.

[Anonymous]

Japanese warriors - Samurais - has been a fascination to Westerners for centuries. The Principles of Warriors text was interesting because it spoke of honor, washing one's self, and practicing calligraphy when off duty. This dual view of the samurais' orderly code and the precision of fighting is what people are fascinated with. I remember watching Abarenbo Shogun when I was growing up and this is what I remembered: The good guy was always cool under pressure, knew karate, was honorable, and knew how to handle a samurai sword. It was awesome. Then, when I grew up, I read The Rape of Nanking and was horrified! I, like many Westerners, viewed the Japanese as safe, quiet, hospitable people - one dimension really - and realized that all humans are motivated by their hubris at one point or another. It seems that there are always small breaking points in the order of things that lead to a tremendous disaster. And that's actually a Japanese notion, that we work little by little and do our best for something bigger in the end. It goes both ways, I guess.

Another aspect of samurai code that is very popular is seppuku - the act of committing suicide by cutting into your abdomen so that your innards are exposed. I don't know how often this act would take place, but it aligns with Japanese culture in a very far way which is shame. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I understand that shame is a part of Japanese culture. You instruct your young ones to not bring shame to themselves - to not dishonor their family. The idea of bringing shame to one's family in the Japanese culture is so ingrained that it can sometimes push through to many generations that are no longer living in Japan. For example, I remember hearing Daniel Inouye (a Hawaii state senator) tell a story about his dad. His dad, after he had been put into an Internment camp, told his son to not act out in anger; to not bring shame to the family. Instead (and this is the opposite side of the coin), bring pride to the Japanese people with his life. Daniel Inouye shared this with the people of Hawaii and the younger generations, myself included, hold on to this message.

[Anonymous]

A good way to absorb some of this period of Japanese history, although with a grain of salt, is through films like Seventh Samurai and Yojimbo. Upon further investigation, it was interesting to note that the famous director, Kurosawa, used American film noir as an inspiration for these films while addressing specific episodes in Japan's historical epoch. I could definitely see the connection to Dashiell Hammett's novel, Red Harvest in the movie, Yojimbo.

[Anonymous]

I found it very interesting that Europe and Japan developed their own feudal system that were very similar, but completely independent of each other. I do not teach the middle ages, but if I did, it would be interesting to compare and contrast both the European and the Japanese systems. Michael Cooper's "They Came to Japan" has various accounts that describe the Japanese feudal system.

[Anonymous]

On the 2008 study tour, our group spent a day at the burakumin museum in Tokyo. I wrote about it on our study tour blog, and thought I'd share, because it seems like it was something the group was interested in. I tried to see if the museum had a website, but couldn't find anything.

Henomatsu Museum

I specifically signed up for this blog day because I was excited for this museum. I was surprised by how small it was. It’s located in a non-descript building on the 7th or 8th floor. We were the only visitors, which was nice, because we got a docent-lead tour of the place. Buraku are native Japanese people who were/are discriminated against because of their “unclean” jobs as butchers, shoemakers, and cremators. This just shows the paradoxical nature of prejudice—Japanese society wouldn’t have been able to survive without the vital services the buraku provided.

We went through exhibits that recreated how Buraku lived in squalid conditions, all the way up until the 1960s. Our guides, one a Buraku himself, talked about how Japanese laws have been created to protect against discrimination and students are learning about the history of the Buraku, but I got the distinct feeling that there is still a long way to go. Clay told us that Ritsuko-san (our tour guide) has only been there twice, both with NCTA groups, and the museum gets only about 14,000 visitors a year.

[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]
[/font]
[font=Times, 'Times New Roman', serif]
[/font]

[Anonymous]

Reading about the Japanese, the concept of social hierarchy and patriarchal societies is clearly illustrated in the sale and collection of "Night Soil". A warriors excrement was worth more than a non-warrior and a man's was worth more than a woman's. After discussing the social hierarchy of the Tokugawa Shogunate, I am wondering if the people dealing in the excrement are considered to be part of the Eta class in Japanese society.

[Anonymous]

During the Edo Period of Japanese history, extreme importance was placed on maintaining and upholding a moral culture. With a large male population seeking adult entertainment they turned to Geisha houses. These tea rooms lined the outskirts of towns, not to blend moral day to day life with this type of entertainment. Geishas are viewed as high members of society due to their immense training in literature and the arts. Training for these women started young, between 13 and 16. Mastery of song, dance, and customer interaction made the Geisha a specialized vocation. In modern times, Geisha are not nearly as in demand, but still a viewed as a vital part of Japanese culture and history.

My initial reaction is that high school students will find this information both provocative and interesting. My AVID class has been increasingly interested in “gender” roles and analysis of historical documents and literature that highlights this issue. I would use the background of Geisha in Japanese history as a primary source. Then I would have students find another culture that has a similar profession or gender role to compare and contrast it to. It would be one part research and one part analysis. I think this would be a great way to draw in cultural relevance and societal comparison for my students.

[Anonymous]

Twilight Samurai http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/

Five Women Who Loved Love http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/292336.Five_Women_Who_Loved_Love

Geisha, A Life http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/522534.Geisha_a_Life

[Anonymous]

I was one of those Westerners that has been fascinated with the Samurai culture/code(Bushido). I had the idea that theJapanese were a people in search of perfection in everything they did. Of course, I only saw the upper classes of their hierarchy in shows like"Shogun" or even Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid. They have always been portrayed as a group who were perfect or strived for perfection. It wasn't until I started to teach about the Rape of Nanking that I saw them in a different light. Even looking back to when I saw Seven Samurai as a child, I only paid attention to the fighting and values that were portrayed by samurai. Now I look back and see that Kurosawa did not portray them as perfect. I guess as an American, I only saw what I wanted to see.

Shame does play a major part of Bushido code and Japanese culture in general. I compare my own culture and that of my students to Japanese culture and see that it contrasts in this value. I sometimes wish that we would not accept failure. Maybe it is the freedom in our society that makes us used to accepting mediocrity. Maybe it is that we have come from the bottom of the social ladder and accept anything better than what we used to have.

[Anonymous]

As discussed at our 4th session, one of the Meiji Reforms was the adoption of past times such as ballroom dances. Since living in the city of Rosemead, I've had the opportunity to experience ballroom dancing at our local community center. It is a very popular class that is taken by Asian members of my community. The participants show great pride in the course as they are elegantly dressed and gracefully dance to the beautiful music.

[Anonymous]

The topic of Japanese castles struck my interest at our 4th session. As researching online for more information on presenting the topic to my students, I came across a website that contains beautiful pictures of the 10 favorite Japanese castles and a small excerpt that describe the details of the castle. Its a simple website to navigate from as it has links such as 7 easy steps to better communicate with your students.

Link Address: http://www.teachenglishinasia.net/asiablog/10-japanese-castles

[Anonymous]

The symbolism of family is truly important in the Japanese culture as it was mentioned in the session four that Japanese families investigate each others families prior to marriage. They are not allowed to marry people who were felons, been in jail as they shame them out of the family. Incorporating a family unit and its importance is a great way to involve Japanese cultures into the classroom.

[Anonymous]

I visited the site Janet posted on Japanese castles. I was very impressed with the information provided on such a wide variety of castles.
I found a similar website posted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/
It has information intended for elementary/middle school aged students. If you scroll to the bottom of the page there is a link titled "Travel". That will take you to another link ,"A Tour of Japanese Castles". This includes information on different types of castles: mountain castles, plain castles, and mountain-plain castles. It also has specific information on Himeji Castle, Matsumoto Castle, Nagoya Castle, and their surrounding areas.
I think teachers and students will also find the folk legend and Japanese cookbook section on this website interesting.

[Author]

Posts