Tuesday morning - Japanese lit (Miyake)

[Anonymous]

Dr. Miyake started the morning with a quick reference to the lack of a formal language, literacy standards, classical literature, etc. The reference of Benedict Anderson’s “Imagined Communities” made me ponder the question “Is a formal language a required standard of a nation?”
This is a complex question not only in the classical period of Japan, but a modern political debate in the United States. How can I work this into my curriculum?
With the adoption of common core we are making a conscientious effort to bring in primary source documents, specifically for my subject matter historical documents for analysis into classes outside of English. On my quest I found this gem of Benedict Arnold’s.
https://www2.bc.edu/marian-simion/th406/readings/0420anderson.pdf
“Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined. Japanese villagers have always known that they are connected to people they have never seen, but these ties were once imagined particularly- as indefinitely stretchable nets of kinship and clientship. Until quite recently, the Japanese language had no work meaning the abstraction ‘society’.”
I intend to use this piece as a read and respond. Perhaps an introduction into the creation of government or a current event piece linked to the debate over whether or not the U.S. should have a formal language. This might even expand into my lesson plan series for this seminar.

[Anonymous]

Was very impressed with the complexity of Tanka style poems of the Heian Period in Japan. The depth of reflection on nature and on a personal level that was created by 5 lines of poetry was impressive.

[Anonymous]

Barefoot Gen and The Grave of the Fireflies are both good sources of contrasting views when comparing the decision to drop the atomic bomb to end WW2( SSS 10.7,10.8). Students could write letters to their state senator explaining why they should vote for or against nuclear/atomic proliferation. This would be a good way to relate content standards to current events (Recent atomic energy agreement with Iran). Also cover CC standard of writing for specific audience.

[Anonymous]

Thoroughly enjoyed Professor Miyake. Now I understand that much of the Asian writing is inferential meaning on steroids. Also learned that Anime is closely related to Japan past and present. I also sense that women's issues world-wide are congruent. Finally, I can clearly see that my American culture is truly the lens that I see the world in every aspect.

[Anonymous]

Just read Thowlett"s post. Had a thought that since "language" is ever evolving, the requisite that there be a formal or official language may be a moot point. Indeed,
California publishes much of its' legal information in several languages. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Last night when I was reading I was most drawn into the Ishida Ira story "Ikebukuro West Gate Park" and I thought that this would be such a great story to discuss allusions to Chinatown (a great Chandler-esque, quintessential LA film) and themes of economic and gender inequality. The incest motif in the story as well as in the allusion in the story to Chinatown represents not only the sexual exploitation of the young female form as a result of the gender hierarchy in the society, but also symbolizes the incestuousness of wealth (i.e. capital hoarded by large families and corporations that protect and shelter their investments and merge families like businesses to protect that wealth; just Professor Miyake discussed this morning about political marriages during the Heian period). Though I was looking forward to discussing this short story and we did not, I most enjoyed the lecture about the Heisei period and learning more about the Three Murakamis. I am very familiar with Anime because my teenage kids are avid fans and in fact dragged me to four days of Anime Expo during the 4th of July weekend. When I applied for this seminar, this is what I most wanted to learn more about because I know many of my students are also fans. I am too am a fan of Miyazaki Hayoa's anime. The World History teacher and I teach WWII as part of our 10th grade curriculum. I teach the Holocaust at this time using the memoir Night through using the theme of identity to navigate the transformation of self in the face of psychological and physical trauma. The WH teacher does very little on the Holocaust because she wants to focus on the internment camps in America. In the past we have gone to JANM as part of these units. I want to propose to her next week during our collaboration time using Barefoot Gen and Grave of the Fireflies in our unit plan. I think I've seen the Grave in the Fireflies film because it looks and sounds very familiar, but I'd like view both of them in order to decide exactly how to use them. The the new thought I had today during the lecture was about Yamamoto Banana's novella Kitchen. It's not very long and I found a pdf of the entire text online. I am the GSA advisor at my school and we have one of the largest clubs in Southern California. Transgender is a prevalent topic in pop culture right now. I already use the novel Like Water for Chocolate to teach Feminist and Historical Criticism in the Spring semester. I think a comparative analysis of novella Kitchen and the novel Like Water for Chocolate could be an amazing opportunity to examine cultural differences and similarities as well focusing solely on gender criticism. My wheels are turning! Another great session!!

[Anonymous]

Enjoyed my conversation with Professor Miyake about the prevalence of graphic novels and imagery in Japan but the low instances of public violence and sexual related crimes although the latter may be under reported as in the US. One point key fact she made me consider was the combination of belief systems (Shintoism, Buddhism) compared to the dominant influence of Christianity in the West.

[Anonymous]

I really liked this session! Lynne Miyake was informative and entertaining to listen to. I enjoyed learning about social morés and cultural norms including the do’s and don’ts of handling business cards, as well as their social significance. It was fascinating to learn about the differences between accepted writing rules in English vs. Japanese, in addition to how specific Japanese writing has been, historically, in reference to the various audiences it targets—warriors, peasants, etc.

For my classroom, I’m considering a few different lessons. One would be to discuss literary devices such as symbolism then to have the students watch/read Grave of the Fireflies. Then, we could discuss the symbolism of fireflies and what they mean to the Japanese culture. Another activity I like is the one that Miyake suggested, which was to draw a court lady and male courtier, paying attention to the material culture—clothing, rooms, furnishings, and colors. I would have the students compete in a contest in which there would be a winner (they love this).

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed Dr. Miyake's presentation a lot, especially the part about Heian. I am glad that Dr. Miyake talked about how the gender relationships at that time as a background knowledge. It is a shame that I don't really know Japanese history since it is so close to China, where I grew up. I think the Chinese education system reflects the complicated feeling Chinese have for Japan. This session really made me interested in the Tale of Geiji. I used to see the manga Geiji all the time in China, but never really decided to look into it. For me, it was just a boring ancient drama. But now, it makes a lot sense, because it was written by a woman, and her life at that time decided the baseline of the story. I am going to find it on youtube and order the manga Geiji on Amazon!

[Anonymous]

The statistic that Lynne Miyake gave us in her discussion on Japan's Literature in the Classical Age was mind boogling to me! One-tenth of 1 % of the Japanese were part of the "in group" who wrote and read the literature! That is so small! They definitely have grown in literacy! Also, that women were the primary writers of the literature. Professor Miyake said this was because women had lineage, language and leisure. That is a lot of power!

I am also excited to see :Grave of the Fireflies" and bring it into the classroom if it is as good as she said it is. I thoroughly enjoyed her discussion!

[Anonymous]

There was a lot to take in from this morning's session. I found there is a lot that can be incorporated into my elementary classroom. While looking at some of the poems, I think we can have students create visuals for the piece. I know that a higher level is to create your own poetry, but as a first step, and for those struggling with the English language, art is a good place to start.

Two of the readings I did were the 100% Girl for Me, and the Vampire Taxi. I know that I felt like some when it was commented "what's the point?" The vampire Taxi, just ends. I think if it was part of a narrative, a day in the life journal, then I could see it as a sort of "Life in the City," where students can emulate this style by writing a journal of random events that occur over a period of time, that taken on theri own might make no sense, but as a whole show a snapshot of their week or month in the neighborhood, or at school.

Genji has a lot that can be used in classrooms K-12. In the upper grades I would certainly make comparisons to Mozart's Don Giovanni, or to Cassanova/Don Juan and see if there are commonalities apart from the ladies man these characters present.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed Lynne Miyake's lecture. The aspect of it that I found to be so very interesting was the concept of the in-group and they didn't need to explain a lot because the audience understood. One of the concepts we are stressing in the history curriculum is in evaluating sources and figuring out the context in which the item was written, and the audience for whom it was intended. The lecture this morning showed just how important those concepts are, especially in reading Japanese literature. I am definitely going to do some activities with my students to help them understand this concept. I am also planning on using some of the short stories from contemporary Japan to teach about Post-World War II developments in Japan.

[Anonymous]

I was very impressed by the nuances that the Heian court had during this time. I enjoyed the examples very much and was thoroughly impress with the writings, magazines, movies, etc presented to us in class.

Perhaps one of my weakest areas of content knowledge is Japanese literature! Though, I incorporate the role of women in Japanese culture/literature during the so-called Medieval Period, I struggle ensuring students learn and complete an authentic assignment or activity. What I will incorporate into my classroom this year is a quick jigsaw of selected text from Genji and have the students illustrate it in fan, flow chart, etc. medium. Once completed, the students can go on a gallery walk and see the work others have done. With ELL this can perhaps be done in pairs or groups of 3-5. Vocabulary will also be important and prepping them with words they will encounter in the text will be an important element for the student to be able to understand and illustrate what they read. I believe creating an illustration of what they read will go a long way in students understanding such a piece of literature that is "suggestive/wink, wink". This activity may may require deep inferring on their part.

[Anonymous]

I loved Dr. Miyake's passion as she taught us about Japanese literature. She did a very nice job of discussing how culture impacted literature. Her discussion of the in- group will influence my understanding of Japanese literature from this point forward, and I will know that what's ambiguous to me may not be ambiguous to Japanese people who can pick up on nuance that I cannot.

I can really see using some selections from the lecture in my creative writing class. The lists from Pillow Book especially interested me. I could using it as a good jumping off point for my students when they are new to the class. They can both experiment with the poetry of list making and then later refer back to the lists they make when they need inspiration for details in longer prose. I would explain to them the details we learned in our afternoon lecture about how the lists were shoved into the author's bamboo pillow and were created as fodder for poems.

I also found the lists interesting because they reminded me of a more recent book, I Remember by Joe Brainard, that also uses the list structure. I had thought of it as a modern construction, but it turns out it had been used centuries before. I tried to see if he was influenced by Pillow Book, but couldn't find anything conclusive in my brief search. I did find a great list of books and stories with lists in it for those who are interested: http://wille.org/blog/tag/i-remember/

[Anonymous]

I have to admit that I am not familiar with Japan’s history. It is not part of the curriculum I teach and do not remember much of it from my high school or college years. I enjoyed Dr. Miyake’s lecture. Her introduction to Japan’s history and Heian period was insightful. The Heian period was the high point of aristocratic culture. Their attitudes and aesthetic of courtship were not based on first appearances. Women could have physical beauty, but that fact was irrelevant. They were not allowed to show their face to men above 12 years old. The ability to write good poetry would determine beauty. Women were expected to become experts in writing and music/singing. Knowing how to write good poetry was highly regarded and on was used as a go-between during courtship of men and women. Dressing well was also important. The seasons would determine the colors of the robes/clothing, as well as, the number of layers that would be worn. Sleeves had to be properly draped. Items of clothing were never form-fitting; clothes had to be loose. Long hair was attractive, but demonstrating knowledge of poetry and good penmanship were more attractive. Writing a bad poem or having bad penmanship would be looked down upon. There were many aspects of her lecture that could be used in class. If I were covering this period I could have students do a comparison between clothing styles and courtship styles of the time and current clothing styles.
edited by malvarenga on 8/4/2015

[Author]

Posts