unit

Culture of Japan

overview

Japanese Culture Treasure Hunt

 

Today we are going on a scavenger hunt for information about Japanese culture! You and your partner will need to use your web savvy, reading, and thinking skills to maneuver your way through the Kids Web Japan site to find as many answers as possible.  Look for clues in the questions, think about main ideas.  Remember, it is a culture treasure hunt, so let that be a hint about where to begin.  Off you go.  Have fun!

1.  In autumn this tree sprouts lots of bright red berries.  With its sparkling, shiny
    fruit, this is a very beautiful type of bonsai.  It is called Japanese Winterberry or ?
2.  Find the picture of the Japanese Black Pine bonsai.  What is its name?

     How old is the one pictured estimated to be?
3.  How old is the tradition of growing bonsai?
4.  How do you think the art of growing bonsai expresses both the Japanese respect for
    living things and their sense of beauty?
5.  Where was the World Bonsai Friendship Federation convention held in 2002?
6.  Which razor sharp tool would you use to trim braches flush to the trunk of a
    bonsai?
7.  What would you use a Me-tsumi basami for?
8.  What are bonsai?
9.  What other game does Fuku Wari remind you of?
10. In Japan, at what time of year are traditional games and toys still very popular?
11. When did kites come to Japan?
12. What is the name of the kite made to resemble a merchant's servant, often in funny
     poses?

     How large were some community kites
13. What do you use to play bei-goma, and what is the objective of the game?
14. What is the name of the Japanese art of calligraphy?
15. What are the Japanese names for the three types of calligraphy?
     square style?
     cursive?
     semi-cursive?
16. To do Shodo, you dip the _____ into the _____ and then draw figures called _____ on
    the hanshi, using a _____ to keep the hanshi from moving.
17. What does a traditional Japanese meal consist of?
18. If you were invited to a Japanese dinner, what would you say before eating?
19. What does gohan mean?
20. After eating how would you say, "it was quite a feast"?
21. What is the URL for the page on which you can learn to hold chopsticks properly?
22. Do they eat long grained or short grained rice in Japan?
23. If you order hanbagu at a restaurant, what will you be served?
24. Find the folk legend Warashibe Choja.  After reading the legend answer these two
     questions:

      How did the boy go from having a stalk of straw to marrying the daughter of a
      wealthy landowner?

      Why do you think the peasants of Japan would have told this legend from
      generation to generation?
25. What other legend did you enjoy, and why?
26. How long does it take to acquire the technical and expressive skills for ikebana?
27. In what part of the home are ikebana traditionally placed?
28. What are the four main pieces of equipment for ikebana, and what is each used for?
29. Who manages the Kids Web Japan site?
30. Do you think this site has reliable information? Why or why not?

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Daily Life in the Age of the Samurai Cultural Presentations

The Assignment:


As a group of two or three, you are to research, develop, and give a PowerPoint presentation to the class on an aspect of Japanese culture during the Age of the Samurai.  You will also complete a detailed written essay from your research which will be shared with the 6th grade team through a wiki.  You will have 6 days of class time to work cooperatively with your group on this project.  Planning, cooperation, completing your share of the work, and communication are the keys for a successful group project.  Most, if not all, of your work should be completed in class.  However, you may choose to do some work at home. 


The Topics:

Artisans & Merchants:                         CastleTowns:
   Don’t hate me because I’m rich                  Beyond the walls in times of peace 

Chado:The Practice of Tea                     Samurai Arts: Ikebana, Haiku, Landscape Painting & Gardens

Dress & Appearance: kimono                   Meditation: Zen, Monks & Nuns

Swords, Armor, & Bows, Oh My               The Theater: Bunraku, Kabuki, & No

Required Elements in Presentation:
 
  • An Outline of your research findings, which should include five to seven main ideas
  • Each main idea should have two or three specific, informational details
  • A detailed, multi-paragraph essay about your presentation topic shared through a wiki as a resource and test review material
  • A list of sources cited, including sources of all photos, pictures, and graphics in your PowerPoint
  • An effective PowerPoint which serves as a visual guide to your oral presentation
  • A well rehearsed, well delivered, informative oral presentation which teaches your topic to your peers.
  • The time limit of your presentation should be: 6 to 8 minutes, and everyone in your group must speak in the oral presentation.
Dividing the Work:
  • Library research, reading, note taking and using your notes to create an outline for your presentation must be done by everyone in your group.
  • A Document Editor for your group will be responsible for the final posting of the multi-paragraph essay, which is the basis for your whole presentation.  The Document Editor will be responsible for making sure your group essay is final and complete.  The actual drafting and writing of the essay is to shared by the group in a cooperative arrangement developed and agreed upon by the group.
  • A Librarian for your group will be responsible for a Sources Cited list in MLA format to be posted to the group wiki.  This group member may consult with the teacher or School Lobrarian at any time for help and assistance about proper MLA citation formats.  Remember, this is not the first time you have used MLA citations this year.
  • A  Visual Editor will be responsible for submitting the final and complete PowerPoint to your Teacher.  The Visual Editor will be responsible for making sure that your PowerPoint includes information from your essay, is correctly sequenced to support your oral presentation, and includes photo’s, pictures, and graphics which enhance, and do not distract from, your group’s oral presentation.  Again, the actual drafting and compiling of the information is to be shared by the group in a cooperative arrangement developed by and agreed upon by the group.
  • Each person in the group will become a Teacher and share in the group’s oral presentation.
Note for teachers: we use SlideShare ( http://www.slideshare.net/login?from_source ) to turn the powerpoint presentations into embeddable files for the Wiki  ( http://www.wikispaces.com ). 

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Haiku

Haiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables

Modern Haiku:

The history of the modern haiku dates from Masaoka Shiki's reform, begun in 1892, which established haiku as a new independent poetic form. Shiki's reform did not change two traditional elements of haiku: the division of 17 syllables into three groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and the inclusion of a seasonal theme.
Kawahigashi Hekigoto carried Shiki's reform further with two proposals:


     1. Haiku would be truer to reality if there were no center of interest in it.
     2. The importance of the poet's first impression, just as it was, of subjects taken from
       daily life, and of local color to create freshness.

How to write Haiku:

In Japanese, the rules for how to write Haiku are clear, and will not be discussed here. In foreign languages, there exist no consensus in how to write Haiku-poems. Anyway, let's take a look at the basic knowledge:

What to write about?

Haiku-poems can describe almost anything, but you seldom find themes which are too complicated for normal people’s recognition and understanding. Some of the most thrilling Haiku-poems describe daily situations in a way that gives the reader a brand new experience of a well-known situation.

The metrical pattern of Haiku:

Haiku-poems consist of respectively 5, 7 and 5 syllables in three units. In Japanese, this convention is a must, but in English, which has variation in the length of syllables, this can sometimes be difficult.

The technique of cutting:

The cutting divides the Haiku into two parts, with a certain imaginative distance between the two sections, but the two sections must remain, to a degree, independent of each other. Both sections must enrich the understanding of the other.
To make this cutting in English, either the first or the second line ends normally with a colon, long dash or ellipsis.

The seasonal theme:

Each Haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which indicate in which season the Haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate spring, snow indicates winter, and mosquitoes indicate summer, but the season word isn't always that obvious.

 

Haiku Writing Assignment Checklist

You wrote the following haiku poems:

2 haiku per season (that’s 8 in total)
          _____ 2 for fall
          _____ 2 for winter
          _____ 2 for spring
          _____ 2 for summer

____2 haiku about animals
____2 haiku about people (yourself or others you know well)


____Your haiku is in the correct format. (Three lines with 5-7-5 syllables per poem).
____Your haiku contains one simile or one metaphor
____You zoomed in and focused on the smallest details so that your reader can really
     visualize theimage you’ve created.
____You gave each haiku a title and underlined it.
____Your haiku is original (we haven’t heard the lines before!)

 

Directions for making your Haiku booklet:

Get two strips of white paper (the long narrow strips)

Fold each strip twice lengthwise into fourths- (You’ll end up with four equal parts)

Cut off one fold (square) from each of your 2 strips (You’ll be left with three parts)

Glue the two strips together overlapping one square in the middle from each strip

Fold each crease (fold) both ways several times to create an accordian booklet

Choose a pale color of construction paper (yellow, peach, pink, light blue or green)

Carefully trace the size of the end pages (one square) on the corner of the construction paper and cut out the two pieces of construction paper

Get a length of yarn (About 2 feet long)

Put glue on one piece of construction paper (this will be the back of your book)

Place the yarn across the glue on the construction paper leaving an equal amount off each side

Place the booklet on top of the construction paper and press firmly

Glue the other piece of construction paper on the front of the book, the yarn will wrap around and tie in front like a bow to close the book

You will glue a printed haiku on each page (That’s six in total-same font please), illustrate (Yes, you have to draw.  No clipart) the poem with an appropriate scene

*Paper clip your completed “Haiku Assessment” to your book & put in basket


The front of your book should look like this:
Title of Haiku Book

(Underline Titles!)

-Author’s Name

 

-Short Dedication

-Publishing Company

(Be creative)

 Haiku #1

 (Center poems)

 

 

 

 Haiku #2

 

 

 Haiku #3

 

 

 

 


The back of your book should look like this:

Haiku #4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haiku #5

 

 

 

Haiku #6

 

 

 
 

About the Author Page…Keep it simple, but have fun

 

 

 

 

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