The illustrated presentation to follow consists of sevety-seven images (with accompanying written narration) displayed over a series of forty-two linked screen "pages". It should take approximately thirty minutes to complete (depending largely on the speed of your modem connection).
The material included in AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPAN covers four fundamental topics and themes:
- basic information concerning Japan's physical setting and the influence of geography on the formation and growth of traditional Japanese culture;
- the location and character of Japan's major urban centers;
- the interplay between past and present everywhere apparent in contemporary Japanese life; and ...
- the importance of keeping the nation's people in mind as the centerpiece of any study of Japanese culture and civilization.
To gain the most from the presentation to follow, read through the terms and questions listed below. These will help you to organize the material discussed and to highlight the most important points made in the written narration.
As you proceed, be sure to examine each image for visual information illustrating the point made in the accompanying caption; figure out why that particular picture, diagram or chart was included.
A written follow-up exercise (on a page that can be printed out for your personal use) concludes the presentation. A comment form for your reactions to the entire experience has also been included.
TERMS:
After working through AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPAN, viewing the included images and reviewing the accompanying script, you should be able to identify each of the following terms. Familiarity with these items is assumed following their initial introduction.
Hokkaido
Kanto
Tokyo (Edo)
Hiroshima | | | |
Honshu
Kansai
Kyoto (Heian)
Nagasaki | | | |
Shikoku
Nobi
Nara
Sapporo | | | |
Kyushu
Osaka
Sendai | | |
QUESTIONS FOR CONTEMPLATION:
- Why is Mt. Fuji as appropriate symbol for Japan? What effect might that which it symbolizes have on the psychological make-up of the average Japanese?
- Discuss perceived effects of geography as a determining factor in Japanese cultural development.
- Where are the major population centers in Japan located? What impact on Japanese cultural development might be presumed from this observation?
- Briefly state the importance of each of the following cities in Japan: Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka.
- Formulate questions concerning Japanese cultural history resulting from your brief visual exposure to Japan through AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPAN.
- What impact did the presentation have on your personal visual images of and attitudes towards Japan? Describe some of the elements of Japanese culture (costume, custom, lifestyle) you noticed which either surprised you or confirmed pre-existing images and attitudes.
Click on the button below to move to the next screen "page" in the presentation.
