In your journal, answer the following series of questions concerning your reactions to the course material covered to date in terms of thematic categories raised during our opening discussions on Coming to Terms with Japan, Japan's Physical and Historical Geography and Codes of Conduct: Shinto, Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism.  

• What subject matter discussed during these several sessions interested you most? List a minimum of three ideas or topics.
• What notion(s) discussed in these discussions have you found most useful since in your investigations of contemporary Japanese civilization and culture? Why?
• How have insights gained from these early discussions of terms and concepts (and your reading to this point) already influenced your approach to the study of contemporary Japanese civilization and culture?