Session 4 - March 28 (dube- classical and warrior japan)

[Cynthia Stults]

I agree that an activity comparing and contrasting the 17 Articles with Chinese ideals is a great exercise in identifying the commonalities between geographical neighbors during the same time period. I'm not sure if my fourth grade students are quite ready for that right away. I think this could be a good exercise to begin with school and classroom rules. It would be interesting for students to identify what "rules" or values are enduring from ancient times even through the "constitution" of an elementary school and classroom.

[Cynthia Stults]

Meghann, your idea of using the shrines to act as a visual stimulus totally inspired an idea for my classroom. For English Learners, we utilize a visual text to help them develop conversation skills. All of my English Learners are from East Asian countries and I think that even starting with one shrine at a time and having them discuss what they observe, what happens there etc. would be engaging, but to then reveal which country they are located in (if students are unfamiliar) would bring an entirely new perspective and would inspire even greater discussion about architecture in their home countries! Thank you for the idea!

[Cynthia Stults]

Something that struck me with Shotoku's constitution was the lack of very specific rules. I cannot imagine our country operating under such a vague constitution, but then recalled I once read of a western religious leader who, after being asked why there was not a long list of dos and don'ts for the followers, said something to the effect of "I teach the people correct principles, and let them govern themselves." This seems to be a very Confucian, possibly Buddhist ideal- the idea that people are basically good within, they just need a bit of guidance. It always amazes me how much similarities there are in philosophies all over the world. It always raises the question within me of how much of these ideals are borrowed, and how much are just universal desires that are just intrinsic to humans?

[Brigid Schmidt]

Part of the reason I wanted to take this class was because I find it interesting to learn about countries' origins. What were the countries like that long ago, what similarities or traditions still exist? I am not surprised to hear that the Japanese people do not want to say that they descend from Koreans. However, you can see the similarities in their dress and early culture. It is fascinating to learn about the communication the different cultures had at this time. I was intrigued by the images of the boats. There is evidence of Chinese vistors and they have writing from the Wa dynasty from the Chinese. The lecture stated there was only evidence of a written language from the Chinese at this time and not the Japanese cultures. I wonder why that is. However, the Chinese learned ways of making things like bronze bells from the Japanese. I would love to have my students do more research on this prehistoric time in Japan and see if they can discorver any more. Maybe I could have them write an informational essay or even a compare and contrast to today's Japanese life. 

[Jessica Ng]

Both Confucianism and the 17 AC stress the concept of having one soverign ruler who is considered the highest authority and an example of benevolence to all. Ideas about status and hierarchy are also present in both, stressing a social order in order to maintain harmony. To me, Article 7 ("Every man has his own work. Do not let the spheres of duty be confused.") seems like an attempt to preserve power for those who have it.

[Hilda Dixon]

By reading the Constitution of Prince Shotoku, I think that article V, “ceasing from gluttony” is a Buddhist idea because eating more than one should, means that people are not able to correct their internal desires. People should only eat the necessary food to get energy, so gluttony is an uncontrolled internal desire. Article XV, “turn away from that which is private, and to set our faces towards which is public. “I think that when that article states, “If he fails to act harmoniously with others, he will assuredly sacrifice the public interest to his private feelings.” I perceive this article as when we act individualistically, we forget a sense of collectiveness. In this way, we lose balance of perception of what is around us.  Especially in situations like this current contingency where we don’t need that much wealth to ourselves. In this moment like this is when actions should be taken to alleviate others. Wealthy people or the government should give some of their excess wealth to the public. Additionally, article XIII. Let all persons entrusted with office attend equally to their function” Owing to their illness or to their being sent on missions.” Under the Buddhist beliefs, I think everybody is responsible for each of our lives. What actions, effort and mindfulness should I take in order to be in the right path?  Article IX Trustworthiness is the foundation of right. Being a trustworthy person depends on oneself. Being trustworthy help, us being in balance in life and also walk through our journeys with more steady feet.

On the contrary, article XII Let not the provincial authority or the Kuni no Miyatsuko levy taxation on the people. In a country there are not two lords. Confucianism has hierarchal views. It is very vertical, so there is not room for two lords.

 

[Hilda Dixon]

Through listening to the lectures, I feel that I am taking a virtual tour where I am visiting some majestic Japanese temples or castles.  To foster my inquisitiveness, I can only hear enough so that I can go on a quest to find more information about these magnificent buildings. I learned that all of these buildings are UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Ryoan-Ji, KinKaku-ji temples and the Himeji Castle. As I see more pictures of these sites, I can see that they transmit harmony and delicacy while some buildings are genuinely impenetrable fortes such as in the case of Humeji Castle. I think that the old times were brutal in many parts of the world and Japan is not the exception.   In the search of power and control, some Japanese samurai such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi employed drastic military tactics to justify his objective of unification by asking to bring back ears and noses as evidence of fallen enemy soldiers. Others such as Oda Nobunaga embarked on other cruel enterprises such as the battle Mt. Hiei where warrior monks were annihilated. Regarding the topic on the Samurais who were hired to combat the Emishi (hairy people) who were hunter-gatherer tribes. These people were portrayed beautifully in the animated cartoon titled “Princess Mononoke "(Spirit/Monster Princess")  by Hayao Miyazaki. The Emishi  and Ainu (Aynu)  people were called barbarians or uncivilized people. It is extremely interesting that these terms are used almost universally to differentiate the culture that is on power from the other cultures that surround the main society. The ancient Romans called the Huns, Franks, Vandals, Saxons, and Visigoths (Goths) “barbarian tribes.” The Europeans who came to America called the native Americans uncivilized people. I see this idea to dehumanize others in order to justify attacks or not provide services. I think it is important to teachers to teach this idea and to help their students generalize this concept into other cultures and time in history even in present times in order to evolve as humanity.

[Billie Johnson]

I would love to use this as an exercise where we explore each clause together and then find modern day examples/representations of each. I think it would be a great activity to see how relateable times are from then and now.  This would definitely be a group activity and students would read their assigned clause or clauses and then give a modern day example of what these clauses were talking about. Again, we are receiving this Constitution from a person who has a powerful position so I can ask my students to look at this from different perspectives.  Who is this Constitution written to serve?  Is it written to serve the people or just keep them content?

The chapter from the Tale of Genji was also profound. There was so much happening in that chapter. I don't think I could use all of this with my students with the love affairs and whatnot, but perhaps we can talk about the different roles in society. Pull excerpts from the chapter to address a compelling question about roles in society looking at courtship, education, and marriage. There is a lot that could be unpacked from that one chapter alone, even the concept of the importance of a person's name. 

[Billie Johnson]

Hi Meghann, 
I also made the connection between the Warrior Code and Legalism and like your idea of using this in class for students to write their own "class code of conduct". 

I wonder why when mentioning a gift to a daughter are the filial duties questioned. That parents must be careful. Is this stating in a roundabout way that women are emotional?  In any case, it is also worth exploring the rights of women during this period of time.  It is significant and worth noting how ideals fluctuate throughout history.

[Brigid Schmidt]

Growing up in a military family, this period of Warrior Japan is interesting to me. This time focused on ritual, rules, and loyalty. I was surprised to learn that military families dominated this time period and that military leaders overpowered the emperors. I am very much a rule follower and like people (and students) to abide by the rules, which I am guessing is due to my upbringing. However, too much regiment and structure is not always good. We all need to have some flexibility. Even their tea ceremonies were regimented and a ritual. This allows for people to know exactly what is expected and what is going to happen. I could definitely relate this to the classroom or even to my Zoom classes with my students. I sent out a letter of expectations for how to behave and act during my Zoom classes so my students know what is expected of them and what repercussions they will have if the rules are not followed. I will admit to being lenient, however, especially during quarantine. One this from this lecture that would really interest my students is the use of castles. The lecture talks about the Lords building extreme castles in the mountains to defend themselves during the civil war. I know my students would enjoy looking at pictures of the castles and even researching the styles and details about them.

[Jessica Ng]

It's inspiring to learn about the techniques and traditions that are still carried out today, even if only in the last stages of the rebuilding of the shrines. To bring it down to the level of my ETK students, I might integrate pictures of these buildings into a STEM challenge. Students would be shown a variety of types of buildings, then led through a brainstorming/planning activity before being given different materials to build with. Some essential questions can be: How can you make a strong building? How much weight can your building hold? How tall can you make your structure. A variation would be to pick their favorite building and use that picture as a reference point for reconstructing it.

[Jessica Ng]

You probably already know or have some sense of this, but it's not just your upbringing! It bears repeating that rules, routines, and consistent consequences set up predictable patterns for children and adults, which help alleviate undesired classroom behaviors. In my experience teaching little ones, I've heard so many parents' anecdotes about their kids are at home vs. what I see in the classroom. Very often, the root of the behaviors is lack of structure. Military entities do take structure to the extreme, but with good reasons/intentions, I suppose.

[Jessica Ng]

Your observation reminds me of something I learned along the way in teaching, that I'm sure many of us know already: class rules are more effective if they are brief, easy to understand, and focus on positive behaviors. Last year, I visited an upper elementary classroom that had a poster up of exactly the opposite; it was a list of "don'ts," like "Don't talk when the teacher is talking," etc. This year, I distilled the rules for my ETK class into 4 simple ones, and they worked pretty well:

1) Be kind and helpful.

2) Do your work.

3) Listen to the teachers.

4) Be safe.

[Samantha Auerbach]

What surprised me about Shotoku's Constitution is how long it is and how undefined it is. I can only relate this back to my classroom. In the beginning of the school year when I set up my classroom and we talk about rules and expectations, we make a class promise. Essentially, it's a class consitution. As a classroom, we come up with our expectations together and sign it. We hold each other accountable to our actions and responsibilities as citizens of 4th grade. However, especially with 4th graders, if the promises are too vague the students do not know how to follow them accurately. Shotoku's articles are extremely detailed, yet they still remain a bit vague. They could even be considered open to interpretation. They reference a heirarchy and expectations to follow, so it is assumed that if they are broken, there are consequences. However, they just seem too vague to hold any participant accountable. 

[Samantha Auerbach]

Hi Cynthia, I agree with you. I had the same thought as I read the articles. They seem to be open to interpretation. How would one be held accountable for their actions if the rules were vague and unspecific?

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