|
Keywords |
|
|
|
Keywords |
|
What's so key about Keywords?
The following keywords will show up in readings and/or lecture & discussion throughout the course. You should pay attention for them in the readings and lectures and learn enough about them to be able to identify each and, in a brief paragraph, place each in a meaningful context that illuminates its historical significance. By "historical significance" I mean the way in which it is meaningful in a broader social, political, cultural, and/or economic context. I would recommend keeping a notebook dedicated to these and other terms you may come across in the course of the course (of course).
You should not view these keywords as simply things to memorize for the exams; they should become part of your vocabulary for the discussion of Japanese history and civilization in general. Becoming conversant with these and other terms throughout the course will aid your overall comprehension and appreciation of the course material as well as prepare you for the keywords section and essay section of the exams.
Keywords for the Midterm
I will ask you to respond to FIVE of the following from a choice of eight as part of your midterm exam.
haniwa
Yamato
Amaterasu
Izanami & Izanagi
shikinen sengû
kami
uji
be
Soga
Prince Shôtoku
Taika Reforms
Taihô Code
Kojiki
matsurigoto
Tôdaiji
Emperor Kammu
Fujiwara no Michinaga
Sekkanke
insei
shôen
mono no aware
mappô
rokudô
gaki
nenbutsu
Gempei War
Taira Kiyomori
Minamoto Yoritomo seii-tai-shôgun bakufu kamikaze Go-Daigo Ashikaga Takauji
Keywords for the Endterm
I will ask you to respond to FIVE of the following items from a choice of ten as part of your endterm exam.
Onin War
Zeami (Seami)
Oda Nobunaga
daimyô
St. Francis Xavier
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Sword Hunt Edict
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Yoshiwara
sankin-kôtai
shi-nô-kô-shô
Ôshio Heihachirô
Tôkaidô
Hiroshige
Commodore Perry
Meiji Restoration
Saigô Takamori
Emperor Meiji
bunmei-kaikai
fukoku-kyôhei
Imperial Rescript on Education
Fukuzawa Yukichi
moga
Peace Preservation Law
Emperor Hirohito
Manchurian Incident
Marco Pole Bridge Incident
Nanjing Massacre
Pearl Harbor
Hiroshima
Rescript on End of War
MacArthur
Article Nine
Your endterm exam will consist of two parts:
1. 5 keywords (40%) -- in class on Monday, October 9.
2. 1 interpretive essay drawn from material throughout the term (60%)
Here are the choices for the take-home essay portion of the midterm. They are due at class time Monday, October 9th. Length should be in the 1000-1250 word range (approximately 4-5 pages of double-spaced, 12-point font text with 1-inch margins all around).
Write a well-organized and engaging essay on ONE of the following questions. Be sure to back up general assertions with specific examples and draw as much as possible from the documents and artifacts that we have studied. Due
1. One theme in this course has been the relationship between “native” and “foreign” in the formation of early Japanese civilization. Select at least three significant items between the 6th and 13th centuries which were originally “foreign” to Japan and then explain how they became integral to Japanese civilization. In light of this history of importation and adaptation, what would you judge to be “Japanese” in Japan’s early civilization and why?
2. One theme in this course has been the relationship between “culture” and “politics” in the formation of early Japanese civilization. Explain how culture (religion, art, literature, kinship, and so on) and politics are intertwined in Japan between the 6th and 13th. Draw on concrete examples from Japanese history studied thus far to demonstrate your points and support your argument.
3. Carefully read the following passage from The Pillow Book by Sei Shônagon (a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu) and write an incisive essay explaining in some detail what insights it gives us into Japanese history, culture, and society at the time it was written. A successful essay will demonstrate balance between particulars within the passage and the general context in which it has meaning.
It is important that a lover should know how to make his departure. To begin with, he ought not to be too ready to get up, but should require a little coaxing: “Come, it is past daybreak. You don’t want to be found here. . . .” and so on. One likes him, too, to behave in such a way that one is sure he is unhappy at going and would stay longer if he possibly could. He should not pull on his trousers the moment he is up, but should first of all come close to one’s ear and in a whisper finish off whatever was left half-said in the course of the night. But though he may in reality at these moments be doing nothing at all, it will not be amiss that he should appear to be buckling his belt. Then he should raise the shutter, and both lovers should go out together at the double doors, while he tells her how much he dreads the day that is before him and longs for the approach of night. Then, after he has slipped away, she can stand gazing after him, with charming recollections of those last moments. Indeed, the success of a lover depends greatly on his method of departure. If he springs to his feet with a jerk and at once begins fussing around, tightening in the waistband of his breeches, or adjusting the sleeves of his court robe, hunting jacket, or what not, collecting a thousand odds and ends, and thrusting them into the folds of his dress, or pulling in his overbelt—one begins to hate him.
Part II: Keywords (40%) will be done in class on Monday, October 9. You will be asked to respond to FIVE items.
Your endterm exam will consist of three parts:1. 5 keywords
2. 1 document commentary drawn from Heike and Electronic Readings.
3. 1 interpretive essay drawn from material throughout the term.
Guidelines for the document commentary and essays will be posted at a later date.