Menu
close
Anonymous.
cgaoedited by cgao on 4/19/2017
AnonymousIsn't poetry always exclusive to everyone except the writer? Or is poetry supposed to be for the people? How interesting the poetry and writing at this time in Classical Japan that it was only published through the aristocratic families. They controlled what you wrote about and who was able to read it. Did this mean that lower classes did not think or experience things in poetic ways? I wonder how these classes expressed themselves without literacy. And what a shame that their work was not preserved, viewed or shared! Isn't poetry about the nature, love and the human condition? Who better to experience these things than those who are actually experiencing life and not a sheltered, narrow-minded existence? The Japanese way of anticipating what they might feel but never directly writing what they are feeling contributed greatly to the aesthetic of this time.
AnonymousProf. Miyake provided several examples of classical Japanese poetry that students could relate to and use to bridge American Culture and Japanese Culture. The two poems Adorable Things and Hateful things could be useful in demonstrating cultural parallels and the prose of Japanese aristocracy, very useful!
AnonymousI’m so glad there were excerpts of Pillowbook in this week’s reading. “In Spring It Is the Dawn” caught my interest because of the imagery created by Shonagon’s descriptive writing. In my English classes, I love assigning creative writing assignments that require students to create imagery through sensory details and figurative language. This excerpt would be a great model text for my students to read, annotate, and mirror in their own writing about the four seasons.
AnonymousProfessor Miyake mentioned that Heian poetry about relationships focused on the anticipation or demise of the relationship rather than the actual meat of the relationship. The beginning and end of a relationship can be the most dramatic parts of a relationship... maybe that’s why they found it so fascinating? They also found beauty in the demise of relationships as well as in the death of young people because of the immense tragedy that comes with unexpected death. I am not sure why we as humans find the death of a young adult so fascinating. Speaking for myself, I don’t really see beauty in death. This would make an interesting journal prompt for my students: Is there beauty in death? Discussing Marilyn Monroe and James Dean could be two examples to kick off this journaling.
AnonymousConsidering what Professor Miyake said about how poetry was written by an insular community, it would be interesting to see students penning a collaborative renga poem. I’m thinking of splitting the class into groups of 4 or 5 and having each team create a renga poem. Then groups would work together to create a collection, deciding which work should be principle and how to link each poem in the chain. A technology component can be added, working on Google Docs. Groups would type them into Docs and then share them with the class. In this way, each group can create their own collections, creating some diversity in the product and more equitable participation by students. You can finish up with a write up that has students analyzing their own structure of their renga collection: why did you order your poems in this manner? What were the links you considered when thinking about structure?[/font]
AnonymousI was also thinking further about Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book as a collective project. I can divide the class into teams that would all pen a different list within the Pillow Book, first showing lists from Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book as a mentor text. Students could write a pillow book list that includes “coded language” for their group. They can use popular slang, or make up their own slang for their small group. The latter way creates unique insular language for their group and would help students understand how isolationist language can be as they share out their lists to the class. Students would have to include footnotes explaining the context of the insular topics within their lists as part of the assignment. Lists from individual groups can be combined into a class Pillow Book, leading to discussions on structure and order of the lists.
AnonymousJust like last week, I feel a little bit guilty to my one year of teaching 7th grade history in 2004. Ancient Japan is more than just Prince Shitoku, the spread of Buddhism, and Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai. Professor Miyake does a great job with the with the handout with basic events, terms, literacy works. Furthermore, she provides fun activities that fit with students. For example, drawing the court members or writing testimonies after reading short works. After her lecture and provided resources, I feel now that I can do a better job if I have 7th graders again.
edited by cgao on 4/26/2017
AnonymousI posted the following in the "Film Festival" thread
In preparation for Professor Miyake’s lecture on Literature from Japan’s Classical and Warrior Age, I watched a film from YouTube to have a better background to Murasaki Shikibu’s “The Tale of Genji”. The film is 2 hours and 16 minutes, “Tale of Genji Movie Lady Murasaki-Very Long Hair Lady from Japan” that can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXwSIE2cm88.
The film is about the 11th century love story centers on the life of Prince Genji through the eyes of his lovers and court artisans. Though I had doubts early on, the story is so interesting that I could not pause to see what happens next. Watching the film allowed me to have a better understanding of Japan’s aristocracy intrigues and rivalries of court life, and the importance of poetry literacy.
For secondary students, I would play certain clips along with the institute provided readings into the Japan unit. For instance, students will examine the scenes of the emperor’s court, the artisans, and the importance of poetry during this age.
AnonymousI really enjoyed listening to Professor Miyake lecture on Japanese literature. Many times my students have a hard time looking at primary sources, specially when they are not able to relate to the topic of the source. However, I think my students would really enjoy looking at excerpts from The Pillow Book and to have an opportunity to explore people's likes and dislikes of this time period. My students would find it very easy to relate to these writings and it would be a good opportunity to have them approach primary sources in a different way. After presenting the excerpts of Adorable Things and Hateful Things I would then have them create lists of modern day adorable things, and hateful things. They could then present these to the class.
AnonymousLearning about the Fujiwara family was interesting to me. I think my 6 grade students would have a similar interest in learning about the Fujiwara family and their way of life. The lesson in this family demonstrates how to get what you want in life. How did the Fujiwara family rise to power? Through marrying off their daughters. I believe my students would find it quite odd to think of being married off by your parents because in America "we" do not engage in those types of life styles. However, the lesson here would encourage students to think about the bigger picture for this particular family and what they gained by doing so. This lesson can generate a creative writing task asking students to provide their opinions of the parents in the Fujiwara clan and if they agree or disagree with the decisions made.
AnonymousI was also thankful for the list of activities shared by Lynne Miyake. In my opinion students are more engaged in lessons when arts are involved. Having students create a manga reflecting one entry of Sei Shonagon "The Pillow Book" dairy would be an activity I'm very much interested in teaching and grading. It would take a whole group discussion of the entries for my student to grasp the meaning, but I think once they get it, they will be able to produce a manga about it
AnonymousIn reading this selection from the Tales of Genji, it became obvious that I lacked much of the cultural familiarity necessary to truly appreciate the meanings and nuances of this story. It is, as described in our Saturday lecture, a book that was written for the courts of 12th century Japan. I did understand the different relationship connecting Genji to the other characters, but much of the meaning behind the story was lost. I may try approaching this through the Anime film that was discussed in class.
AnonymousI would like to share the "adorable things" and "hateful things" (in part) with my students at the beginning of the year. Many times, we start the year with a getting to know you page or activity, and I think this would be a more entertaining way to start - get them immediately into history and connect it with their lives. The part of the pillow book that was shared about the way she viewed the carpenters eating was one that I thought very important for my students. I have had many students start later in the year, frequently from different countries, and I think it would be an interesting way to get their opinions of a new school/country, and have the students from the beginning of the year to share their concepts, bringing about a conversation of why exploring new places and meeting new people is important to understanding and acceptance of others.
AnonymousIt is interesting that the women were the ones who kept the Japanese traditions alive while the men were taking on more continental ideas within government and other aspects of society. I appreciated Professor Miyake sharing ideas with us and her expertise on "The Pillow Book" and how it showed the differences between the classes within Japanese society. I also like the idea by canderson about the "adorable things" and "hateful things" and starting out activities with that in mind to have students learn by sharing their opinions on different cultures or other aspects of history.