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Action-packed lessons – students perform in front of the class!
Lectures with graphic organizers. Documents: famous literature.
Student speeches: “I am Prince Shotoku.”
Five viewpoints on cultural borrowing.
Kamikaze: The Mongol invasion of Japan.
Lotsa mapping. Games galore. Group analysis and debates.
Historical figures: Rank the famous people from best to worst.
If you lived in medieval Japan, what would change in your daily life?
Using the five senses, what do you remember about Japan?
Projects: Students teach the class.
Events: “Screaming Headlines.” Homework on the internet.
Culmination activity: A medieval festival in Japan.
The impact of the samurai warrior on Japanese culture.
Out of the box: “What if the Shogun ran your school?”
Using the internet, Zen Buddhism is crystal clear and fascinating.
“Let your classroom BLOOM!” (Using Bloom’s taxonomy, explore terms in depth.)
Heavy on terms: “The ABCs of Japanese culture” (recall). “Can you speak Japanese?” (define).
Assessment: Learn the logic of a multiple-choice test by playing “Honk if you hate history!”
Compare & Contrast: Discover the similarities between medieval Japan and medieval England!
Lady Murasak’s novel “The Tale of Genji” launches a controversial class discussion about “The Ideal Man.”
Concludes with the mother of all tests: 631 questions.
Reverse designers: give a test at the beginning of every class.
Overview of topics covered:
- How geography shaped the culture
- Prince Shotoku and “cultural borrowing”
- The Rise of Feudalism
- Zen Buddhism
- The Golden Age of Literature
- The Rise of a Military Society
The Test
631 questions
The test is long:
Most students are totally unfamiliar with the history of Japan.
Simple to use
One book for the whole class.
No learning curve: Lessons are ready to reproduce.
Saves time
All the facts are included:
There is no need to use a textbook or reference books.
Your students will zip through the worksheets.
Each lesson is 20 minutes in and out. Perfect for block scheduling.
(Detailed information below}
1. The Topics
Medieval Japan: Analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and
social structures.
The islands of Japan: Honshu, archipelago, Korean Strait, East China Sea, Sea
of Japan, Inland Sea.
Japan’s proximity to China and Korea. How Chinese culture spread to Japan.
How Chinese culture influenced Japan’s language, religion, philosophy,
and intellectual life:
Cultural borrowing, calligraphy, Confucianism, pagoda, tea, sake. “Adopt,
adapt, adept.”
Life in Japan during the reign of Prince Shotoku.
Prince Shotoku writes Japan’s first constitution. China is his model:
It is based on Confucianism, which stresses social harmony. It provided a strong
central government led by the Emperor. Social rank: The Imperial court was put
into ranks of aristocracy. Opened the door to China: Cultural borrowing became
the official policy of the government. The Taika Reform: Established an imperial
system of government, based on the Chinese model. One unified kingdom with the
Yamato family as the Imperial dynasty. Nara was “China in miniature.”
Traditional culture: Shinto, Ameratsu, kami, Prince Yamato legend, divine ruler,
the Yamato dynasty.
Clans, volcanic soil, terrace farming, homogeneous society.
Feudalism in Japan
The lord-vassal relationship.
Shogun (like William the Conqueror), daimyo (baron), samurai (knight).
Medieval Japan’s values, social customs, and traditions.
Bushido: The warrior code. Vassalage: The feudal oath and contract. Ritual suicide,
hara-kiri.
Kamikaze: The lasting influence of the warrior code in the 20th Century.
Zen Buddhism in Japan
Basho, haiku, bonzai, ink painting, ikebana, the tea ceremony, Noh theater,
martial arts, meditation, Zen rock gardens. The “Ring of Fire”:
Natural disasters and the impermanence of life.
The Golden Age of Japan
The Classical Age. The Heian Age. Literature, art, and drama.
The life and times of Murasaki Shikibu: Kyoto, the Imperial Court, aristocracy,
“Dwellers among Clouds,” courtiers, courtly love, etiquette, aesthetics,
kimono, emperor as figurehead, the Fujiwara, government from “behind the
screen,” the tanka, “The Pillow Book.”
Lady Murasaki’s Tale of Genji - Prince Genji is the Ideal Man.
The rise of a military society
Civil war between two powerful military clans: The Taira and Minamoto. Tales
of the Heike, minstrels.
Shogun, shogunate, Yoritomo, Kamakura, the samurai became a separate class (knights).
Mongol invasion of Japan, Kublai Khan, typhoon, kamikaze winds.
Age of Warring States: Castle-building, Himeji Castle, the rise of castle towns,
primogeniture.
The Tokugawa: City of Edo, Tokaido Road, merchants and social mobility, geisha,
Kabuki theater.
Jesuit missionaries, Commodore Perry.
2. The Lessons
Action-packed: Students perform what they know in front of the class!
Homework on the internet: We provide the website, the questions, and the answers.
| Welcome to medieval Japan! | Slideshow from the internet. |
| Your mental map of Japan | Mapping: Everything from seas to castle towns. |
| Medieval cities of Japan | Nara, Kyoto, Kamakura, and Edo (Tokyo). |
| The Chalkboard Game | To familiarize students with place names: Kyoto, Edo, etc. |
| Kyoto: What’s the weather like? | How would the climate change your life? |
| Can you speak Japanese? | Students already know a surprising number of words. |
| Medieval Japan | Mapping: The close proximity to Korea and China. |
| Japan Facts! | Game: Categorize 70 facts about medieval Japan. |
| Mount Fuji | Using Mt. Fuji, a sacred mountain, we explain the Shinto religion. |
| Shinto | Compare & Contrast: Shintoism and Buddhism. |
| Prince Shotoku | Lecture: The Constitution and cultural borrowing from China. |
| Prince Shotoku facts! | Game: Students categorize 53 facts about Prince Shotoku. |
| A Walk with Prince Shotoku | Outdoor Game: The proximity of Japan to Korea and China. |
| The Constitution | Read the actual document. Questions and answers provided. |
| Life is like a Rock Group | Five viewpoints on one issue: Cultural borrowing. |
| “I am Prince Shotoku” | Student speeches - expressive, narrative, informative, persuasive. |
| Rise of feudalism in Japan | Lecture: The whole story. (Very similar to medieval England.) |
| Feudalism: A quiz | Yep, your lecture was so memorable that students understood it! |
| Shogun, Daimyo, Samurai | Homework on the Internet: Conqueror, Barons, and Knights. |
| The Samurai Warrior | Write a resume for a samurai! |
| Zen Buddhism | Lecture: This is crystal clear and fascinating! |
| Compare & Contrast | Traditional Buddhism vs. Zen Buddhism |
| Zen Photos | Internet: How Zen Buddhism shaped the culture |
| The Golden Age of Japan | Lecture: Poetry, diaries, novels, and plays. The impact on values. |
| The Tanka and the Haiku | You can hear the difference! |
| The Golden Age of Literature | Using the internet, read brief parts: “The Pillow Book,” Noh plays |
| Lady Murasaki | Lecture: Her life in the Imperial Court. |
| The Tale of Genji | Lecture: Using brief excerpts. Prince Genji as “The Ideal Man.” |
| Who is your Ideal Guy? | Compare Prince Genji with your ideal man. |
| The Tale of Genji | Homework on the Internet. |
| Women of Influence | Lecture: Influential aristocratic women in medieval Japan. |
| The Great Race: Guys vs. Gals | Game: Categorize writers, rulers, warriors, religious leaders. |
| Rise of a Military Society | Lecture: The civil war, shogun, Yoritomo. |
| Tales of the Heike | Readers’ Theatre: Minstrel songs glorified the samurai warrior. |
| Shogun! | Homework on the Internet. |
| The Shogunate | Mapping: From Kamakura to Edo. |
| Kamikaze! | Homework on the Internet: The Mongol invasion of Japan. |
| The Samurai impact on Culture | Lecture: The impact continued until the 20th century. |
| Castles & Castle Towns | Lecture: Medieval Japan really looks like medieval England. |
| Fortress: Himeji Castle | Homework on the Internet: It symbolizes medieval Japan. How so? |
| Three Men Unified Japan | Lecture: Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu. |
| The Tokugawa | Lecture: They ruled during Elizabethan England. |
| Life in Edo | Homework on the Internet: Great maps and illustrations. |
| Medieval Japan & Medieval England | Lecture: This is very specific - 26 points of similarity! |
| Timeline of Medieval Japan | Board Game: We turned the timeline into a board game. |
| A Medieval Festival in Japan | What to wear, what to read aloud, music to play, rituals. The works! |
| The ABCs of Medieval Japan | Recall terms. |
| Can you speak Japanese? | Define terms. |
| If you lived in medieval Japan . . . | How would your life change? Daily Life. |
| Mars/Venus | One guy and one gal face off: What do you remember? |
| Rank! | Rank the famous people - most popular to least popular. |
| The Five Senses | When you think of Imperial China: What do you see, hear, etc. |
| What if your school were run by . . . | Prince Shotoku, the Shogun Yoritomo, Lady Murasaki? |
| Screaming Headlines | Write one paragraph on each major event. |
| Honk if you hate history! | Students hear the test before they take it. |
| Stump the Teacher | Whenever you miss a question, blame it on having no breakfast. |
| The Last Man Standing | Game: Based on the movie starring Bruce Willis. |
3. The Test
Our test is tough: If your students can do well on our test, the state test should be a breeze.
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