the freeman seminar
TEACHING ABOUT EAST ASIA
An exercise based on selected woodblock prints from a famous mid-nineteenth century series by Hiroshige Ando depicting scenic views along the Tokaido ("Eastern Sea Route") highway linking Edo (the modern city of Tokyo) and Kyoto, the center of Japanese imperial court life.
An illustrated presentation covering Japanese geography and the influence of the physical setting on the formation and growth of traditional Japanese culture; also examines the location and character of Japan's major urban centers, the interplay between past and present, and the importance of keeping the nation's people in mind as the centerpiece of any study of Japanese culture and civilization.
Osaka 2001:
... at the dawn of a new milleniumFor those new to the study of Japan, here's an opportunity to explore one of the nation's most important urban areas and, while there, to examine both aspects of the physical space the city occupies and some of the similarities and differences the American visitor might encounter.
An exploration of a set of screen paintings tied to a series of Japanese poems that develop a layered interaction between verbal and visual metaphorsof the type frequently found in traditional Japanese art and ltierature.
A series of four reports from the field filed for students at Cleveland State university by Lee A. Makela in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Teaching (and Learning) About Japan
An award-winning web site devoted to teaching resources associated with the study of Japanese civilization and culture, traditional, modern and contemporary.
This site (look under Metropolis and click on FEATURES at the top of the page for one list or under BIG IN JAPAN at the bottom of the listing to the left side of the page) provides a wealth of entertaining information on numerous aspects of contemporary popular culture; pay particular attention to the following short articles:
Hello Kitty
Maneki-neko
Pocket Monsters
Fujio Akatsuka
