Discovering Japan Unit

By Patricia Puckett

Unit Plan:

In this 5-lesson plan unit, students will be introduced to the culture of Japan through its food, clothing, art, entertainment, and literature with a literary focus on Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, the poet Basho and haiku, and kamishibai theatre. The unit will be presented in conjunction with World Studies history lessons. The five lessons in the unit are:

  1. Japan Rail Pass Tour (Culture Centers)
  2. The Pillow Book (Heian Period literature)
  3. Basho and Haiku (Edo Period literature)
  4. Haiku Hike
  5. Kamishibai Theatre (Modern Period literature)

Lesson 1 -- Japan Rail Pass Tour (Culture Centers)

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

  1. Make inferences about the culture of Japan through analysis of written texts relating to the food, clothing, art, entertainment, and literature of Japan.
  2. Make inferences about the culture of Japan through interpretation of supporting graphics.
  3. Discuss inferences and interpretations about culture of Japan in group setting.
  4. Write concluding summaries about culture of Japan.

Essential Question:

How is Japanese culture expressed through its food, fun, clothing, and art, and how does this culture compare/contrast with American culture?

Tennessee English Language Arts Standards:

CLE 3002.5.1 -- Use logic to make inferences and draw conclusions in a variety of challenging oral and written contexts.

CLE 3002.6.3 -- Read, interpret, and analyze graphics that support informational and

technical texts.

CLE 3002.2.7 -- Understand strategies for expressing ideas clearly and effectively in a

variety of oral contexts.

CLE 3002.3.1 -- Write in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences and purposes.

CLE 3002.2.5 -- Understand strategies for expressing ideas clearly and effectively in a

variety of oral contexts.

CLE 3002.1.2 -- Employ a variety of strategies and resources to determine the

definition, pronunciation, etymology, spelling, and usage of words and phrases.

Audience and Time:

This lesson is intended for 10th Grade World Studies Honors students in a 1-1/2 hour class block. Students will be divided into four groups of five and will spend approximately twenty minutes at each center.

Notes:

Students will move through four centers titled Food, Fun, Clothing, and Art, engaging with artifacts, books, and pictures from Japan. Since travel in Japan is predominately via train, students will be presented with a "Japan Rail Pass" packet with four stops on today's tour.

Preparation:

This lesson requires considerable set-up time and a variety of materials but can be adjusted to suit schedule and capacity of individual instructors.

Materials:

Stop 1 -- Food

cooked rice

roasted seaweed sheets -- sushinori

sesame seeds

soy sauce

small plates

chopsticks

green tea

small cups for tea

bento box meal

pictures of Japanese meals

low table

floor pillows

trays

dictionary

Kijima, Naomi. Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go. Tokyo: Japan Publications Trading,

2001. Print.

Stop 2 -- Fun

origami papers

Manga books

small tops

pictures of children and teenagers in Japan

pictures of subway trains with Manga characters

Sanyo Hello Kitty items

Carroll, John. Japan: The Soul of a Nation. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2003. Print.

Montroll, John. Easy Origami. NewYork: Dover, 1992. Print.

Sakade, Florence, ed. Little One Inch and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories. Rutland:

Tuttle, 1958. Print.

Say, Allen. Kamishibai Man. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005. Print.

Shinju, Mariko. Mottainai Grandma. Japan. 2001.

Stop 3 -- Clothing

kimono

obi

yukata

tabi socks

geta shoes

fans

pictures of traditional and modern Japanese outfits

dictionary

Sinclaire, Clive. Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior. Guiford, CT: Lyons, 2001.

Stop 4 -- Art

pictures of Japanese architecture, calligraphy, flower arrangements, paintings, carvings

child's drawing

sweet fans

card box

stone paper weight

lanterns

painted dishes

woodblock print replicas

gift wrap packets

handmade paper

woven sandals

calligraphy sample

calligraphy brush and ink

paper

dictionary

The Edo-Tokyo Museum booklet

Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park booklet

National Park Nikko booklet

Guth, Christine. Art of Edo Japan: The Artist and the City 1615-1868. New York: Abrams, 1996.

Print.

Miller, Olive Beaupre, ed. Little Pictures of Japan. Chicago: The Book House for Children, 1925. Print.

Morita, Chizuko. Gift Wrapping With Textiles. Tokyo: Kondansha, 2005. Print.

Other:

xylophone to indicate stops

white board and markers

computer/projector

http://www.japanrail.com/ website

camera

Implementation:

Put the words "Ohayo gazaimas" (good morning) on the board and encourage students to greet one another.

Have Japan Rail home page projected onto screen and explain that students are taking a "tour" through historic and modern Japan today.

Distribute "Japan Rail Pass" packet and instruct students to move among centers, changing when they hear the xylophone sounds, which signals approaching stops on some trains. Each group starts at a different center.

Teacher should circulate throughout centers, guiding observation, answering questions, assessing oral responses, and taking pictures. Allow 17 - 20 minutes for each center.

Closure:

Signal end of center time with xylophone. Ask each group to select two questions from their current center questions to answer for the class. Dismiss class with "Ohayo gazaimas."

Assessment:

Students will turn in packets. Teacher will assess written answers.

Ohayo gozaimas = "Good morning"

Japan Rail Pass Tour

If you were actually taking a trip around Japan, you would ride the high speed train system that connectcountry's cities and towns through an intricate web of subway and elevated trains that are known for their promptness, efficiency, and cleanliness. No audible cell phone usage is allowed on trains, and personal conversation is limited. Most passengers read or sleep as they speed along to their destination at rates up to 360 kilometers per hour!

(picture of Japan Rail Pass)

On today's tour you will make four stops and draw some conclusions about the Food, Fun, Clothing, and Art of Japan. Follow directions carefully. Each student should participate and complete his/her own packet. Be observant and inquisitive.

Activate your "sense of wonder" and encourage others to do the same. Record answers in complete sentences.

Domo arigato = "Thank you"

Onegai-shi-mas = "Please"

Konnichiwa = "Good Afternoon"

Konbanwa = "Good evening"

Wakari-masen = "I don't understand"

Sumi-masen = "Excuse me"

Stop 1 -- Food

  1. Look at the Bento Boxes book. What is a bento box? What kind of food is put in the boxes? What can you conclude about the Japanese diet from this book.
  2. Look at the snapshot pictures of Japanese meals. How do Japanese table settings and food placement differ from American? What can you conclude about Japanese aesthetics (look it up) by looking at the pictures and objects at this stop?
  3. Pick up a set of chopsticks and a green seaweed wrap. Use the chopsticks to wrap the seaweed around a clump of rice. Dip your rice ball in soy sauce and sesame seeds and enjoy! Look at the pictures of rice paddies. What natural resource is needed for the growing of rice?
  4. Pour a cup of green tea. Besides color, how does it differ from black tea (what Southerners drink)? Look at the pictures of the tea ceremony. Record your observations.

Stop 2 -- Fun

  1. Look at the Manga books and Sanrio Hello Kitty items. What can you conclude about the influence of Japanese popular culture on American culture.
  2. Look at the Mottainai Grandma book. What message is the author sending in this book?
  3. Look at pages 49 -- 53 in the blue Japan: Soul of a Nation book. What can you conclude about entertainment in modern Japan?
  4. Look at the pictures of Japanese children and young people and the "Welcome Patricia" drawing. How are their interests and pastimes similar to and different from American?
  5. Look at the Kamishibai Man book. What is a kamishibai theatre?
  6. Turn to pages 8 and 9 in the Easy Origami book and try the dog or cat!

Stop 3 -- Clothing

  1. Each group member should try on the one of the silk kimonos or cotton yukatas. Look at the pictures of the kimono and obi combinations. What can you conclude about Japanese textiles and aesthetics (look it up) from the fabrics pictured?
  2. Try on the tabi socks and geta clogs. Why might high clogs have been necessary in pre-modern Japan?
  3. Try out one of the fans. What purposes did fans serve?
  4. Look at the pictures of modern Japanese clothing. How are modern Japanese clothes similar to American?
  5. Almost everyone in Japan carries a handkerchief or small wash cloth. Why might they do so?
  6. Look at the samurai armor on pages 33 - 38 in the Samurai book. Of what are they made? How do they differ from medieval European suits of armor?

Stop 4 -- Art

  1. Look at all the examples of Japanese crafts and artwork on the table.  What is the predominant subject matter? What can you conclude about Japanese culture from looking at these items?
  2. Look at the Gift Wrapping With Textiles book.  The cloths used are called firoshiki.  Why has this art form developed and what does it say about Japanese values?
  3. Look at the examples of calligraphy and the pictures of calligraphy.  Use the calligraphy brush, ink, and paper to try your hand at this ancient art form.  How is this type of writing similar to and different from Western handwriting?
  4. Look at the pictures of Japanese temples, houses, and buildings.  What are the greatest differences from Western architecture?  What motifs (look it up) are emphasized?

Lesson 2 -- The Pillow Book

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson students will be able to

  1. Describe the life of Sei Shonagon, a tenth century lady-in-waiting of the Heian period (794-1185 A.D.) who wrote about her life in a personal diary known as The Pillow Book.
  2. Make a Japanese-style book.
  3. Understand how diction, syntax, and tone contribute to style.
  4. Keep a Shonegon-style diary for four days.

Essential Question:

Who is Sei Shonagon and what contribution did she make to Japanese literature?

Tennessee English Language Arts Standards:

CLE 3002.8.1 -- Demonstrate knowledge of significant works of world literature.

CLE 3002.8.2 -- Understand the characteristics of various literary genres.

CLE 3002.8.3 -- Recognize the conventions of various literary genres and understand how they articulate the writer's vision.

CLE 3002.8.5 -- Know and use appropriate literary terms to derive meaning and comprehension from various literary genres.

CLE 3002.3.1 -- Write in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences and purposes.

CLE 3002.1.2 -- Employ a variety of strategies and resources to determine the definition, pronunciation, etymology, spelling, and usage of words and phrases.

CLE 3002.8.4 -- Analyze works of literature for what they suggest about the historical period in which they were written.

Audience and Time:

This lesson is intended for 10th Grade World Studies Honors students in a 1-1/2 hour class block.

Materials:

"Japanese Literature." Elements of Literature: World Literature. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 2006.  Print. (Student textbook)

Eight 5 x 7" pieces of paper for each student

One 5" bamboo stick for each student

One 12" length of string for each student

Several large sewing needles

Sei Shonagon and Pillow Book handout

Implementation:

Ask how many students have ever kept a diary or journal. Have students describe how they would feel if their diary was taken and published; when what was intended to be private suddenly became public. Tell them that today we're going to read portions from just such a diary.

Show students completed diaries made from Japanese paper and bound with bamboo stick and string.

Show students how to make five holes with the needles down through all layers of their book's pages along the shorter (5") side. Next thread needle with string and stitch through five holes and then back through the same holes and around the spine edge of the book. Tie a knot at the upper edge and insert bamboo stick under string for strength. Allow about forty minutes for this task.

Students who complete their book should begin working on the Sei Shonagon and The Pillow Book handout.

Read The Pillow Book excerpts from the textbook, pages 457 - 461.

Discuss the lists of "Hateful Things," "Embarrassing Things," and "Pleasing Things."

Instruct students to be observant of their own lives over the next four days and use the first four pages of their book to make similar lists and notations in the clear and succinct style of Sei Shonagon, paying close attention to diction, syntax, and tone. Direct students to "Writing" activity on page 462, which provides additional information about Shonagon-style lists. (The remaining pages of the book will be used on the haiku hike.)

Closure:

Have students hold up their colorful books for one another to see. Take pictures of them.

Assessment:

Teacher will collect handouts and pillow books, and assess writing.

Sei Shonagon and The Pillow Book

Read page 455.

1. What was Sei's position and why were she and her family in Kyoto?

2. Why is this diary called a "pillow book"?

3. What are three unusual details about court life that we learn from Shonagon's diary?

4. What influence does Lady Shonagon's writing still have?

Read page 456.

5. What is style?

6. What are three important elements of style? Define them.

a.

b.

c.

8. Look up the word succinct and write its definition:

Read pages 457 - 459.

7. Use this space to jot down two lines from The Pillow Book that reveal Shonagon's

personality:

8. Why does the word succinct describe Shonagon's writing? Give an example.

Now it's your turn! Use your pillow book to write down observations and lists about your life for the next four days. Mimic Shonagon's lively, succinct, and witty style by making your own funny, sarcastic, or serious comments about your life.

Lesson 3 -- Basho and Haiku

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

  1. Describe the life of the seventeenth century Japanese poet Matsup Basho who lived during the flourishing Edo period (1603 - 1868 A.D.).
  2. Explain the elements of haiku.
  3. Understand synesthesia and imagery.
  4. Appreciate the intricacies of translation.
  5. Write a haiku.
  6. Participate in a mini-renga.

Essential Questions:

Who was Basho and what are the characteristics of the haiku form of poetry that he popularized? What are the challenges of translating haiku from Japanese into English? What is the poetry party game that helped popularize the haiku form of poetry?

Tennessee English Language Arts Standards:

CLE 3002.8.1 -- Demonstrate knowledge of significant works of world literature.

CLE 3002.8.2 -- Understand the characteristics of various literary genres.

CLE 3002.8.3 -- Recognize the conventions of various literary genres and understand how they articulate the writer's vision.

CLE 3002.8.5 -- Know and use appropriate literary terms to derive meaning and comprehension from various literary genres.

CLE 3002.1.2 -- Employ a variety of strategies and resources to determine the definition, pronunciation, etymology, spelling, and usage of words and phrases.

CLE 3002.1.1 -- Write in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences.

CLE 3002.3.2 -- Employ a variety of pre-writing strategies.

CLE 3002.8.4 -- Analyze works of literature for what they suggest about the historical period in which they were written.

Audience and Time:

This lesson is intended for 10th Grade World Studies Honors students in a 1-1/2 hour class block.

Materials:

"Japanese Literature." Elements of Literature: World Literature. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart,

Winston, 2006. Print. (Student textbook)

Spivak, Dawnine. Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Print. (Children's book).

Various translations of Basho's Okunohosomichi (Narrow Road to the Deep North)

Chart showing various translations of Basho's "frog" poem

Basho and Haiku Study Guide

Woven sandals or pictures of Basho's grass sandals

Frog chime

25 pictures from Okunohosomichi trip and accompanying haiku AND/OR Matsuo Basho's "Narrow Road to the Deep North" web site http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~kohl/basho/index.html

Okunohosomichi cloth map

Implementation:

Call class to order by ringing frog chime. Explain that for centuries the frog was a motif in Japanese poetry and usually featured the frog's "song," but Matsuo Basho made a poetic breakthrough when he focused on the frog's action as producing sound.

Distribute "Basho and Haiku" handout.

Read students Grass Sandals. [Alternate plan for large class: While one half class is being read to, the other can complete "Basho and Haiku" handout; then reverse.]

With a partner, students should complete "Basho and Haiku" handout. Discuss answers as a class.

Show chart of various translations of frog poem, emphasizing the difficulty of translating the words precisely into English. Yone Naguchi, a translator, says the translating of haiku is like "taking down a beautiful cobweb and putting it back up in another place."

Pass various translations of Okunohosomichi. Point out paintings by poet/painter Buson.

Pass Okunohosomichi cloth map. Pass pictures of Okunohosomichi trip and Basho's accompanying haiku from various translations.

Students will compose a haiku. Teacher will move around room encouraging students and answering questions until all have a composition.

Explain to students that a renga is a poetry game in which participants create a new haiku after having read one written by another participant. Although there are many sophisticated and elaborate traditions and rules that make up a serious renga event, including alternating of 5-7-5 poems with a 7-7 one, a "mini-renga" is possible in the time left in class. Students should pass the haiku they have just written to the person behind them in the row (last person brings his/hers to first person in row). The student behind then writes a haiku that "riffs" on the previous one, being careful to include seasonal words and not repeating any previous words. Students should continue passing the sheet until teacher calls time.

Closure:

Ring frog chime and have one or two rows read a set of their rengas aloud.

Assessment:

Students will turn in handouts and rengas. Teacher will assess written responses.

Basho and Haiku

Read textbook page 446.

1. What is a haiku?

2. In Japanese, how many syllables does a haiku have?

3. What is the challenge to haiku poets?

4. Why do translated haiku sometimes have more syllables than in Japanese?

5. What type of allusions "might be lost on non-Japanese readers"?

Read textbook page 447.

6. At what age did Basho begin writing poetry?

7. What two factors shaped Basho's poetry? Turn to page 463 and read the first paragraph about Zen Buddhism.

8. How do Onitsura's poems differ from Basho's?

9. What is reflected in Buson's poems?

10. What personal factors influenced Issa's poetry?

Do the "Quickwrite" on page 448.

Read the remainder of page 448.

11. What is imagery?

12. What do the featured poems all have in common, though written over a span of

two centuries?

13. Haiku should not contain metaphors or similes but be rich in what?

14. Read the five haiku on page 449. To what senses do each appeal?

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

Synesthesia is the literary term used to describe one sensation in terms of another; the awakening of one sense by another. In Basho's frog poem the sight action of the frog jumping into the pond awakens the hearing sense when the splash is heard.

15. What example of synesthesia is in "A snowy mountain"?

16. What causes the thief to pause in "Such a moon"?

17. Select your favorite haiku from the 449-450 and explain why you like it.

18. How does the expression "less is more" apply to haiku?

Now it's your turn! Write a haiku, using the 5-7-5 syllable pattern. You may want to do something with the QuickWrite you wrote earlier. Remember to appeal to the senses and avoid metaphors and similes. Pack your seventeen syllables with images that capture a scene and suggest an emotional response to it.

Write your finished haiku at the top of the blank sheet of paper.

Lesson 4 -- Haiku Hike

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

  1. Explain from experience how the poet Basho wrote haibun, prose and poetry, describing his travels throughout Japan.
  2. Write their own prose and accompanying haiku, describing their walk on the Cleveland Greenway.
  3. Make final revisions and record them in the Japanese-style books made previously.

Essential Question:

What was Basho's writing and revising process as he composed prose and poetry inspired by his travels?

Tennessee English Language Arts Standards:

CLE 3002.8.1 -- Demonstrate knowledge of significant works of world literature.

CLE 3002.8.2 -- Understand the characteristics of various literary genres.

CLE 3002.8.3 -- Recognize the conventions of various literary genres and understand how they articulate the writer's vision.

CLE 3002.8.5 -- Know and use appropriate literary terms to derive meaning and comprehension from various literary genres.

CLE 3002.1.1 -- Write in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences

CLE 3002.3.2 -- Employ a variety of pre-writing strategies.

Audience and Time:

This lesson is intended for 10th Grade World Studies Honors students in a 2-hour class block.

Notes:

This lesson can be altered to include any natural and/or historic setting -- a park, playground, commemorative area, or even school grounds. The point is to give students opportunity for pausing and reflecting on both simple natural objects and significant historic or community memorials or markers.

Materials:

Excerpts from Basho's Okunohosomichi

Japanese-style book made earlier

Pencils

Scrap paper

Quilts or tarps for students to sit on

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring & Autumn Passages. Berkeley: Stone Bridge, 1996. Print.

Bento box meals

Tablecloth

Stick

Implementation:

As students begin hike, read first few paragraphs of Okunohosomichi, which describe Basho's longing to travel. Explain that the group will pause for approximately seven to ten minutes at each stop, during which time students should record their observations in prose and quick-write haiku on the scrap paper to be revised and recorded in their Japanese-style books for homework.

Hike to palmetto garden at beginning of Greenway. Read "green leaves young leaves" selection, page 47. Have students pause, reflect, and write.

Hike to playground. Read "horse and children" selection, page 51. Have students pause, reflect, and write.

Hike to bridge over Mouse Creek. Read "waterfall" selection, pages 49-51. Have students pause, reflect, and write.

Hike to first set of benches near fishing spot of creek. Read "willow tree" selection, pages 57-59. Have students pause, reflect, and write.

Turn around and hike to green area beside First Tennessee Bank. Read "blue flags" selection, page 73. Have students sit, reflect, and write.

Distribute bento boxes. Eat.

Gather refuse and tie into tablecloth and carry with stick, as Japanese guide did.

Hike to school. Stop at commemorative garden. Read "Tsubo Stone" selection, pages 73-75. Pause, reflect, and write.

Closure:

Explain to students that Basho took four years to revise his account of his five-month trip around Japan. For homework, students should revise their prose and haiku, and write the final product in their Japanese-style books.

Assessment:

Teacher will read booklets and assess writing.

Lesson 5 -- Kamishibai Theatre

Objectives:

After this lesson students will be able to:

  1. Diagram the plot of a Japanese children's story.
  2. Condense the story into essential parts for re-telling.
  3. Create a group storyboard.
  4. Understand how to plan to present the story in a kamishibai theatre.

Tennessee English Language Arts Standards:

CLE 3002.8.2 -- Understand the characteristics of various literary genres.

CLE 3002.8.3 -- Recognize the conventions of various literary genres and understand how they articulate the writer's vision.

CLE 3002.8.5 -- Know and use appropriate literary terms to derive meaning and comprehension from various literary genres.

CLE 3002.1.1 -- Write in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences

CLE 3002.3.2 -- Employ a variety of pre-writing strategies.

CLE 3002.8.4 -- Analyze works of literature for what they suggest about the historical period in which they were written.

Audience and Time:

This lesson is intended for 10th Grade World Studies Honors students in a 1-1/2 hour class block. Extended time will be necessary for actually completing the story cards, building the theatre, and rehearsing the telling of the stories.

Materials:

Sakade, Florence, ed. Little One Inch and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories. Rutland:

Tuttle, 1958. Print.

Say, Allen. Kamishibai Man. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005. Print.

Five copies of each story

Plot diagram handout

Paper

Two wooden blocks

Candy

Implementation:

Call the class to order by clacking the wooden blocks together. Explain that this is the way the traditional kamishibai storytellers called children to their performance. They also sold candy.

Distribute candy and tell more about the roots and tradition of kamishibai, as explained in the afterword of the Kamishibai Man book.

Read Kamishibai Man to class. Discuss.

Explain that each group will produce a storyboard of eight to ten segments that will communicate the essential parts of their story in the same way that the kamishibai storytellers did. Stories have been selected from Little One Inch and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories.

Review parts of plot (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution).

Each group should read its story and diagram the plot on the plot diagram handout.

Based on their plot diagrams each group should decide on eight to ten essential segments. Each group member should sketch two of the segments, if only stick figures. Group members should then take turns telling the story from the sketches, revising as necessary for continuity and effectiveness.

Teacher should circulate among groups observing work, answering questions, and assessing progress.

For homework, students should refine their sketches and practice telling their portion of the story.

Closure:

Explain to students that the popular manga books and anime films have their roots in kamishibai.

Assessment:

During another period, presentations of the stories will be made.

Extension:

Groups can further refine and enhance their presentations by building a kamishibai theatre, painting story cards, and perfecting storytelling. Students should choose those among the group who would be most suited for each task. Stories can then be presented to the whole class using the wooden theatre and then to the elementary school children.

Unit Assessment:

Students will be assessed with multiple choice test on the lives of the poets and writers discussed, types of literature emphasized, literary terms, and elements of plot.

Center for Asian Studies, University of Colorado, 2010