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Rob_Hugo@PortNWHi everyone,
Please share your thoughts about our April 21 session, "Japanese Literature," by Professor Lynne Miyake, by replying to this post.
-Miranda
AnonymousProfessor Lynne Miyake recommends this 1987 animated version of "The Tale of Genji" for use in the classroom.
It is available on YouTube, divided into eleven segments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYwJaO88mm4
AnonymousScholar Liza Dalby's website features information on Heian life and includes sections on geisha and Lady Murasaki Shikibu, author of "The Tale of Genji."
" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.lizadalby.com/home.html"> " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.lizadalby.com/home.html
AnonymousAn interesting article from the "New York Times" on grievances of modern-day geisha:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/world/asia/07iht-geisha.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=geisha&st=cse
AnonymousWikipedia page on Japanese tea ceremony:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony
AnonymousProfessor Miyake did such a good job bringing the female perspective- I really appreciated that she would go into the Heian period in detail, I think I could really bring questions about fashion and model female and males into my classroom and have my students compare double standards today/in their culture, and double standards during the Heian period.
I address historians and this idea of "history is written by the victors" at the beginning of the school year, to bring a little context into what is written in textbooks. I would like to relate the representation of Japanese society through writings of elite women in the Heian court.
AnonymousHaving students write Tanka or Renga (Haiku) poetry would be good application that 7th graders could handle. Or like Professor Miyake suggested, students could imitate the style of Sei Shonagon and write their own prose, even though I still think she's more an elitist shrew than a satirist.
The Manga version of Tale of the Genji (or others) would also make the literature more accessible for students, but you'd have to get the funds for a class set. Maybe your school librarian/a dept. chair would be open to ordering them. I'm not sure what copyright issues there'd be with photocopying.
Or have students learn to write their names in "katakana", the script used for Genji.
[Edit by="mlloyd on Apr 22, 10:31:11 AM"][/Edit]
AnonymousI didn't get into the assigned reading like I should've, partly due to time but also partly due to getting bogged down with the first pages on women writers. I'm sure you probably feel like I do that Prof. Miyake made the topic of japanese LIterature come alive. It wasn't enough time. It left me wanting more. One other thing that she did was to show how you can take the form of writing and have the students use that form. That makes it more possible to teach about Japanese Literature without having to make it a whole unit, especially since we may not be able to because of the subject we teach.
AnonymousI apologize if I asked too many questions and commented more than normal. I was interested in this topic and had a lot to ask and I knew a few things too many.
Anyway, I appreciated her knowledge of manga and classical adaptations into manga. Professor Miyake often tried to make suggestions of classroom use for different grade levels which was helpful. I also appreciated her feminist critique or approach to Japanese Literature.
The most interesting aspect of her lecture was the numbers she gave for the actual reading/writing culture of the Heian Period. I think she said about 200-400 readers/writers living in and around the court, a small community indeed. I hope to teach the Pillow Book lists one day soon and do a Shared Inquiry/Socratic Seminar/Philosophic Chairs discussion and writer's model lesson.
AnonymousProfessor Miyake's lecture helped me to understand who the characters were in the
cartoon version of "The Tale of Genji," but I was taken aback to hear that the relationships in "The Tale of Genji" were incestuous.
In addition, most world literature that I have read (i.e., Dostoyevsky, Chechov's short stories, etc.)
tend to have a central theme of love (unrequited or otherwise), loss, and redemption while Japanese
literature classics appear to have a love, loss, and revenge.
However, it was refreshing to discover the appreciation and respect for women writers during the Heian Period.
In my opinion, court life in the Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and Tokugawa Dynasties, there seems
to be a correlation with the court life of some European countries: high regard for literature, poetry, writing, along with the formalities of courtship.
Correlations also exist with regard to the theatre. For instance, in Shakesperean plays in
England, women were not allowed to perform in females roles. In Japan, Kabuki theaters
hired male actors to perform female roles.
Overall, the lecture was very insightful and entertaining.
AnonymousI was blown away to learn that all we know of the Heian period of Japanese history and literature came from the ruling aristocracy which was, at most, 400 people! It really drove home how closed Japan really was. I agree that Miyake brought the subject to life. I truly got a sense of how these people lived. Another thing that stuck me was that the women moved about on their knees, fascinating. On the topic of literature, the preciseness of the syllable count in Japanese poetry makes much more sense to me now that I know it serves the same purpose as rhyme and meter in western poetry.
AnonymousThe Heian period was very interesting...and I am soooo glad I live in this time!!! Wow! that women walked around on their knees and that they wore huge amounts clothing. Talk about claustophobia! It seems to be quite a lazy period, and it kind of makes sense that the following periods started to retaliate against it. That the warrior period eventually came out of this....laziness to action.
I loved the books that Professor Miyake brought in. The drawings were fantastic and I found the style very interesting. Japanese animation takes on that same style today and the middle school students LOVE that style. So, that is a great way to involve them in Japanese literature, allow only the rated PG ones....
AnonymousHere's the tale of Genji Comic (one version) on amazon..
http://www.amazon.com/product/dp/4770027729
it's like 25 dollars...I was glad this was also discussed, because after our first meeting on early Japan, I was going to try to read the Tale of Genji, but I was worried if I would able to finish it (due to interest, content, etc.) this comic form would most definitely make me and my students understand and be more familiar with the story. This may lead us to be more interested in the story and move us on to the real novel!
AnonymousI thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Miyake's lecture and presentation. She kept the lecture flowing and wasn't afraid of questions. I especially appreciated her suggestions for incorporating materials into the classroom setting. I will be adding Sei Shonagen to my curriculum as a way for students to mimic her writing style. The Tale of Genji, and the Japanese Children's Stories are very adaptable and high-interest for the classroom setting and I look forward to using them in my classroom. I appreciate her delivery; fast-paced but not rushed, high-energy but not frenetic, encouraged questions but didn't get hijacked into one-on-one discussions. An excellent presenter.
AnonymousI got bogged down in the initial pages of literary context, too, but not before I noted the element that Dr. Miyake stressed in the beginning of her presentation: women were not marginalized (at least literarily) at this time, and were in fact the initiators of the Japanese literary tradition. This stands in stark contrast to the women's situation in Europe, which is what I have come to expect when learning about other cultures and traditions.
I loved the comic version of The Tale of Genji. I assume that if it helped interest me in the material, it would probably work with my students as well. I especially appreciated viewing the various comic versions as they stress different things (some have the movement/speed lines evident) and allow readers to focus on different elements of the story. This was an excellent presentation.