I have used this particular exercise in slide form for over twenty-five years in my university classrooms with great success; in April 1996 I converted it into digital form and redesigned it as an individualized exercise for use on the World Wide Web.  An article on the entire exercise appeared in the Fall 1998 issue (Volume 3, Number 2) of Education About Asia (pages 51 - 53). 

I would be interested in knowing your reaction to this exercise (and to the accompanying illustrated lecture, An Introduction to Japan - the latter the first in a series of five illustrated lectures outlining the cultural history of Japan). A set of evaluation forms has been included along the way for just that purpose!

Because I sense that Japan represents a particularly good example of a very visually-oriented culture, the exercise and the other introductory lectures just might well help you to begin to "see" Japanese culture and civilization more perceptively, an excellent way to begin getting to know about both Japan and the Japanese.