Writing English A: Ukiyoe・浮世絵

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look at ukiyoe (浮世絵)! The picture above is by Kitagawa Utamaro, one of the most famous ukiyoe artists. 

Do you think ukiyoe still has any impact on Japanese culture today? Perhaps in manga or anime? It might not seem that way - but ukiyoe did have a big impact on Western art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Activity

Look at the pictures below. What do you think of them? Do you think that manga and anime were influenced (影響した) by ukiyoe? What do you think of the impact that it had on Western art that you see below? Choose one (1) of these works of art and write 1-2 paragraphs about your impressions of these pictures.

Bamboo Yards, Old Kyobashi Bridge (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge (James McNeill Whistler)

Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) (Vincent van Gogh)

Have fun with these! But before you go - here's one more for you to enjoy! 

Shiba Zoujouji (Kawase Hasui)

See you next time! 

Images: Top - by Kitagawa Utamaro - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID jpd.02051.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11159688/Bamboo Yards, Old Kyobashi Bridge - by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3790943/By ジェームズ・マクニール・ホイッスラー - Livre Peinture de paysage, de Norbert Wolf, Taschen, 2008. ISBN 9783822854655, パブリック・ドメイン, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8616218/Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake - by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=226069/Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) - by Vincent van Gogh - rwGc5ZWvzXZ0vA at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13523165/Bottom - Shiba Zojoji - by Kawase Hasui, scanned by W.Schmidt - Collection Walter Schmidt, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23985180

All images uploaded for educational purposes. All rights reserved on photographed images to the copyright holder(s). All rights on compositional works ultimately reserved to the artists’ descendants, designated heirs, and/or trusts and trustees.

Culture through English A: The Ainu・アイヌ

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look at Japan's indigenous people (先住民族) - the Ainu. 

Look at the picture above. It's a group of Ainu, taken in 1904. Now here's a map of Japan showing the original area, plus the widest locations, of Ainu populations: 

As you can see, at one time they lived from the northeastern part of the Tohoku, all of Hokkaido, and up through Sakhalin Island (what many older Japanese call Karafuto「樺太」) and even into all of the Kuril Islands (千島列島). 

But now they only live in Hokkaido. Their numbers are small, and they have married regular Japanese people enough so that they do not look so different. But they are proud of their culture and traditions.

Genetic testing (遺伝子検査) shows that while most Ainu are related to Japanese, they are not closely related to any other modern ethnic group. 

Activity/homework

Since the Ainu have some characteristics that make them at least a little different from most Japanese, here's a little research: 

What do you think are the origins of the Ainu? Did they come from somewhere else? If so, where did they come from, and how did they get to Japan? 

Here are two maps showing two ideas where the Ainu might have come from (the numbers you see in the maps are not so important – they show some different genetic groups): 

Write out a mini-report about your ideas about where the Ainu came from - most importantly, give some reasons why they came from where you believe they did.

If you believe they came from elsewhere, draw a rough map - or find another map on the internet - of where you believe they came from. 

When you are finished, upload your document (or a clear picture of your mini-report on notebook paper) to Manaba. Name your document or picture file like this, with your own name (here is an example): 

t_suzuki_cteA_ainu

I hope you find this interesting.

Images: Top - by Official Photographic Company - Missouri History MuseumURL: http://images.mohistory.org/image/EC2888F4-26C5-258A-DF5F-9E6EBE7F704E/original.jpg Gallery: http://collections.mohistory.org/resource/143534, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61717410/Map - by Arnold Platon - This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this:  Japan on the globe (claimed) (Japan centered).svg (by TUBS). - Own work (Vectorization), based on this map, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25364093/Upper genetic map - by ABCEditer - Own work by reference to 崎谷満（2009）『DNA・考古・言語の学際研究が示す新・日本列島史 日本人集団・日本語の成立史』勉誠出版, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62921263/Lower genetic map - by Y-dna data file - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63590897 

Culture through English A: Immigrants・移民

Hello!  

How are you? Today I'd like to introduce a new topic to you about immigrants (移民) - people from one country who move to live in another country.  

Look at these pictures. Can you guess who are Japanese, and who are not Japanese? For the ones who are not Japanese - what are their countries? 

1.

2. 

3.

4.

5.

6.

Special note: Because we have a short semester, and because we are coming close to the end of the semester already, please finish this in one (1) week. Sorry about this!

When you are finished, upload your document (or a clear picture of your handwritten guesses on notebook paper) to Manaba. Name your document or picture file like this, with your own name (here is an example): 

t_suzuki_cteA_my guesses

Have fun playing with your ideas!

Images: Top - By Jean Colemonts/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AJapanese_Brazilian_Miko_Curitiba_Paran%C3%A1.jpg/1."OFeldman, Tokyo, 2012" by Ofer Feldman- Own work /http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OFeldman,_Tokyo,_2012.jpg#mediaviewer/File:OFeldman,_Tokyo,_2012.jpg/ 2. Screenshot of Priyanka Yoshikawa taken from unattributed internet source/ 3. Berzoini125494/ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berzoini125494.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Berzoini125494.jpg/4. Gage Skidmore/ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Ryan_Higa_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/5. By norio nakayama (Flickr: 大宮アルディージャ vs 清水エスパルス @ NACK5スタジアム)/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Dido_Havenaar%2C_assistant_coach_for_Shimizu_S-Pulse.jpg /6. By Cristiano Sant´Anna/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Michio_Kaku-cropped.jpg/All images except #2 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. I do not own the rights to these images. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s) of image #2. Uploaded for classroom purposes only.

Freshman English Reading A: Greetings gestures・挨拶のジェスチャー

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's look at greetings (挨拶) in a different way - gestures for greetings. 

Look at the picture above. It shows some different greetings that people say in different languages. But how do people show what they feel when they meet people for the first time? 

Activity

Look at these pictures below. They show different gestures for greetings in different cultures. Look at these and talk about what people in which cultures would do when greeting people. 

例：This first one is easy! This is what people in Japan would do.

Now try these! What countries or cultures would people make these greetings gestures in? Quiz each other on these!

Have fun guessing with these! See you next time!

Images: Top - By Epson291 at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6047519/Bow – screenshot taken from https://thetruejapan.com/useful-phrases-for-meeting-people-in-japan/Cheek kiss - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2913072/US-Secretary-State-John-Kerry-visits-Paris-terror-attacks.html/Thai wai - by my wife, permission granted for publication under a free license (PD) - Photo taken by Bualong Sebulke, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1523095/Namaste - by Saptarshi Biswas - Oberoi Employees_Rishi (23), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7308021/Handshake - By Angélica Martínez - Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26395042/Hug - By Tyler McCulloch - I'm so happy man. Uploaded by Skeezix1000, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9650816/Maori hongi - screenshot taken from original photograph on http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2013/08/maori-elders-explain-meaning-of-hongi.html
All rights reserved on original hongi image to the copyright holder(s). I do not own the rights to the image. Uploaded for classroom purposes only/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved on personal photograph.

Writing English A: Writing assignment 2・作文 2

Hello! 

How are you? Here is our second writing assignment (作文2) – writing opinions on news and issues (時事問題) topics.

Theme & topics

You have a lot of freedom with topic choices for this writing assignment. Choose any news item, or an issue in society – in Japan or another country – that you have an opinion about.  

But if you have trouble thinking of a topic, here are some choices for you. Look at these and choose one (1):

• The aging population (老齢人口) of Japan and what older people need for their support
• Social media and its problems (for example, fake news, or selling of people’s personal data by Facebook or other social media sites)
• Issues and/or things that need improvement for student life at Daito Bunka
• Voting rights (投票権) for 18-year-olds in Japanese elections (選挙)

For an extra challenge, here are two topics that are even deeper, but also even more timely and important. I will give extra points to students who try for writing about these topics. You have already seen a separate supporting blogpost for one of these topics: 

• Refugee issues (難民の問題) and what refugees need for immigration (移住) to Japan
• The responses of the Japanese government to the COVID-19 virus

I am gathering writing on these topics into a book called Voices & Ideas - this is a book about student opinion writing on news topics and social issues. The best of your writing on this topic could go into this book, so write to the best you can! 

How much to write

I would like to see at least 3-4 paragraphs' worth of writing - however, I would really like you to write as much as you can, because your work may be published (出版した) on both this blog and in the Voices & Ideas book. 

Deadline (締め切り)

There will be two (2) deadlines – July 7th (7/7) for a rough draft (下書き), and July 14th (7/14) for the final version. 

So, please send me your rough draft for review and individual comments by 7/7, and then, a final version by 7/14. 

Before that time, if you need any advice or guidance, message me anytime.

Good luck! I look forward to reading your great writing on news and issues topics!

Image: Screenshot taken from https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/01/20/national/media-national/japanese-read-news-online-newspapers-first-time-survey-finds/#.XIdp9xhh3q1

I do not own the rights to the original photograph. All rights reserved on original photograph to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for classroom purposes only.

Writing English A: Hikikomori and social adjustment・特別ポスト「引きこもりと社会適応」

Hello!

How are you? Here is a post for any of you who might be interested in social issues - as an example, about hikikomori. 

Activity/homework
This is a video of a TED Talk in Japanese of a mother who had an adult hikikomori son. This might give you also some more background, this time from someone directly a part of this issue, about hikikomori and what they need to re-enter society. 

Watch it as many times as you need. There are no questions - but note down your reaction. What do you think of it? 

Good luck with this! See you next class!

Image: By Hiroh Satoh from Japan - HIKIKOMORI night, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28635776/Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the video or content. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for educational purposes.

Culture through English A: Example of family history・家族史の例え

Hello!

How are you? Today, I have for you a video from a Japanese TV program you may know about family histories. 

On this video, a Canadian man who had a mother who was half-Dutch and half-Japanese has come to Japan to track his family origins. What he has found surprised him greatly. 

Activity/homework
Watch the video. As most of it is in Japanese, it would be no problem to follow it, though the Canadian man speaks English. 

What do you think of this man's story about his family? Watch the video, then free write your views about it. Write as much as you can - but don't worry about spelling or grammar. You do not need to download the video - just watch it here on your computer or smartphone.

When you are finished, upload your document (or a clear picture of your handwritten work on notebook paper) to Manaba. Name your document or picture file like this, with your own name (here is an example): 

t_suzuki_cteA_family_history 

I hope you find this interesting! 

Image: By Beato, Felice, approximately 1825-, photographer - Library of CongressCatalog: https://lccn.loc.gov/2011649857Image download: https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g14000/3g14400/3g14493v.jpgOriginal url: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011649857/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66968268 

Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the video or the television program it was a segment of. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Uploaded for educational purposes only.

Culture through English A: Family origins・家族の出身

Hello!

How are you? Today, let's look at where we come from. The picture above is of the Chikuzen-no-kuni family register (戸籍謄本).

This is from Fukuoka-ken, and it's the oldest known family register in Japan, at over 1,300 years old!

All of us can trace our origins (先祖) - that is, our family beginnings - to somewhere. So let me share with you my origins. 

So those are my origins. But how about your family? How far back do you know about where it came from in Japan, or maybe another country?

The picture above is a shot of a student's notes. She researched about the origins of her family (家族の出身). Her family came from Kanagawa.

Activity/homework
How about your families? Which parts of Japan - or which parts of other countries - did they come from? 

Let's find out about our families and where they came from! 

See you next time!

Images: Top - screenshot from internet of Chikuzen-no-kuni household register courtesy of Asuka Historical Museum. All rights reserved/Screenshots of Power Point slides - personal images. All rights reserved/Student notebook page - personal photograph. All rights on content reserved to the student. All rights reserved on personal photograph.

Freshman English Reading A: Healthy eating・健全な食べ物

Hello!

How are you? Let's look at some pictures of dishes from different countries. Are you hungry yet? You might be after this activity!

Activity
Let's look at these next dishes - and decide which ones are the healthiest!    

1. 

How many kilocalories (kcals) do you think this plate of pasta has? 

2.

How many kcals do you think this plate of bratwurst (German sausages) has? 

3. 

How many kcals does this Thai chicken curry have? 

4. 

 

How about all this sushi? How many kcals do you think it has? 

Write some guesses about their kilocalorie count on Manaba. 

See you next time!

Images: Top - Personal photograph. All rights reserved/1."Pasta" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/2. "Sausages" (courtesy of savitkeawtavee)/3. "Thai Chicken Curry" (courtesy of John Kasawa)/4. "Mixed Sushi" (courtesy of rakratchada torsap)/Images #1-4 from FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Writing English B: Ukiyoe・浮世絵

Hello!

How are you? Today let's look at ukiyoe (浮世絵)! The picture above is by Kitagawa Utamaro, one of the most famous ukiyoe artists. 

Do you think ukiyoe still has any impact on Japanese culture today? Perhaps in manga or anime? It might not seem that way - but ukiyoe did have a big impact on Western art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Activity/preparation

Look at the pictures below. What do you think of them? Do you think that manga and anime were influenced (影響した) by ukiyoe? What do you think of the impact that it had on Western art that you see below? Choose one (1) of these works of art and write 1-2 paragraphs about your impressions of these pictures.

Bamboo Yards, Old Kyobashi Bridge (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge (James McNeill Whistler)

Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake (Utagawa Hiroshige)

Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) (Vincent van Gogh)

Have fun with these! But before you go - here's one more for you to enjoy! 

Shiba Zoujouji (Kawase Hasui)

See you next time! 

Images: Top - by Kitagawa Utamaro - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID jpd.02051.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11159688/Bamboo Yards, Old Kyobashi Bridge - by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3790943/By ジェームズ・マクニール・ホイッスラー - Livre Peinture de paysage, de Norbert Wolf, Taschen, 2008. ISBN 9783822854655, パブリック・ドメイン, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8616218/Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake - by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=226069/Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) - by Vincent van Gogh - rwGc5ZWvzXZ0vA at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13523165/Bottom - Shiba Zojoji - by Kawase Hasui, scanned by W.Schmidt - Collection Walter Schmidt, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23985180

All images uploaded for educational purposes. All rights reserved on photographed images to the copyright holder(s). All rights on compositional works ultimately reserved to the artists’ descendants, designated heirs, and/or trusts and trustees.