Thank you for the presentations today.
*I'm sorry for the computer trouble for the Tohoku group though.
People who do presentation next week, please make sure you are ready for next week.
Just making sure that:
three weeks in a row starting from next week, we'll have three guest lecturers.
The first one hours of those weeks will be taught "Japanese Film" by them.
Please don't be late to the class so that the guests feel fine.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Geography: islands and regions of Japan
4 main islands
Hokkiado, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu
8 main regions
Region in Hokkaido island
-Hokkaido region
Regions in Honshu island
-Tohoku region
-Kanto region
-Chubu region
-Kinki region
-Chugoku region
Region in Shikoku island
-Shikoku region
Region in Kyushu island
-Kyushu region
===============================================================
Hokkaido region (major city: Sapporo)
-Hokkaido was inhabited by the Ainu people and not included in Japan proper until 17th century.
-Hokkaido is noted for its dramatic and unspoiled scenery, which includes active volcanoes, large lakes, and vast virgin forests.
Tohoku region (major city: Sendai)
-Tohoku is largely mountains, and most cities are concentrated along the Pacific and Sea of Japan coasts.
Kanto region (major city: Tokyo =capital city of Japan)
-Kanto is the most heavily populated region and is the political, economic, and cultural center of the nation.
-In 1603, Tokugawa, Ieyasu (1543-1616) completed the unification of Japan, and established the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (=Tokyo). This is the beginning of Tokyo as the center of Japan. In 1868, at the period of Meiji Restoration, Edo was renamed to Tokyo and officially became the capital city.
Chubu region (major city: Nagoya)
-Chubu is located at the geographical center of Japan.
-The climate of Chubu is mild on the Pacific side, but the Sea of Japan side has long snowy winters.
Kinki region (major cities: Osaka, Kyoto)
-Kinki is the second most important industrial region.
-Osaka is the industrial and financial center of western Japan.
-Kyoto had been the capital city before Tokyo (from 794 to 1868), and it is a veritable historical and traditional storehouse.
Chugoku region (major city: Hiroshima)
-Chugoku is a mountainous region.
-Hiroshima is the first city being exposed to the atomic bomb attack (1945).
Shikoku region (major city: Takamatsu)
-Shikoku is the smallest of Japan’s four main islands.
Kyushu region (major city: Fukuoka)
-The climate of Kyushu is mild to subtropical with heavy precipitation and frequent typhoon.
*Okinawa belongs to Kyushu island.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Japanese Film Festival "Sanjuro"
Japan Film Series #1 will be held on 1/24 (R) at 5:00pm. The venue is now COED 065!!! Don't go to McEniry bldng.
Enjoy the world renowned director's (Kurosawa) film. He is probably the most known Japanese person in the world.
An actor, Mifune, is also a famous actor performed in Kurosawa's films.
Also, please write a very short movie review (a paragraph is fine) as a comment under this post. *Click "comment."
This movie review is the first assignment of this class for this semester.
Also, let me announce again Fugaku Taiko (Japanese drum concert) at Davidson College on Friday at 8pm. This is an extra credit chance.
For the detailed information, please refer to my old post of this site.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
School Closed (I rewrited this post)
this is shoji.
school is closed today, so we don't have our class today.
next class is the japanese movie festival:
movie: Sanjuro
Director: Kurosawa, Akira
time: 5-7pm
PLACE: COED 065 <--THE ROOM WAS CHANGED!!!! i was going to announce the room change today.
you don't have to go to the usual classroom. you just come to COED 065 at 5pm. i'll be in front of the room and check your attendance.
the class in the following week is the first presentation day.
please prepare for the presentation. if you need to contact with the people in the your presentation group as soon as possible, please let me know. i can find the email address of everyone in the class.
=============================
i rewrited this post coz i wrote a wrong information in the previous post.
im so sorry i guess i was too excited for school cancellation.
thank you Katie for letting me know my mistake.
school is closed today, so we don't have our class today.
next class is the japanese movie festival:
movie: Sanjuro
Director: Kurosawa, Akira
time: 5-7pm
PLACE: COED 065 <--THE ROOM WAS CHANGED!!!! i was going to announce the room change today.
you don't have to go to the usual classroom. you just come to COED 065 at 5pm. i'll be in front of the room and check your attendance.
the class in the following week is the first presentation day.
please prepare for the presentation. if you need to contact with the people in the your presentation group as soon as possible, please let me know. i can find the email address of everyone in the class.
=============================
i rewrited this post coz i wrote a wrong information in the previous post.
im so sorry i guess i was too excited for school cancellation.
thank you Katie for letting me know my mistake.
Monday, January 14, 2008
College Entrance Exam in Japan
this is shoji.
i'll ramdomly write about something from a japanese newspaper whenever i feel like to.
"University applicants do more than knock on wood"
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200801120059.html
in japan now it's time for 3rd grade high school students to start taking the college entrance exam. the first exam is called "National Center Test for University Admissions," which is held on around 3rd weekend of january. center test is a really big deal for the people who want to go to a college.
i guess the Center Test is equivalent to SAT in america.
students take it, then again in february or march they take the individual tests from colleges. then japanese school starts in april.
i remember i was almost late for the center test when i took it coz i was misunderstanding the test time. i run to the test room and everybody in the room watched me coz it was about time for the test start. it was so stupid of me.
people have to study very hard to get in a college in japan.
but once you get in a college, i think it's much easier to keep good grades in japan than in america. you guys here have a lot of tests, quizzes, papers, etc. but in a japanese college, many of them have only one or two tests or one paper for a class during a semester. if you study abroad in japan, you'll see so many japanese students who sleep or textmessaging with cell phones during classes. i heard from an american that there is stereotype that japanese people always study so hard but i don't think that's really true. one time i attended a ethics class only first day and the last day which was a test day, then i got B. that was great.
anyway good luck on your studying here.
*by the way if you read any articles from newspaper or stuff like that and post it with your comments, that would be great to this blog. you don't have to write formally, just write anything in an easygoing style. i'll check your posts as a part of your participation grade.
i'll ramdomly write about something from a japanese newspaper whenever i feel like to.
"University applicants do more than knock on wood"
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200801120059.html
in japan now it's time for 3rd grade high school students to start taking the college entrance exam. the first exam is called "National Center Test for University Admissions," which is held on around 3rd weekend of january. center test is a really big deal for the people who want to go to a college.
i guess the Center Test is equivalent to SAT in america.
students take it, then again in february or march they take the individual tests from colleges. then japanese school starts in april.
i remember i was almost late for the center test when i took it coz i was misunderstanding the test time. i run to the test room and everybody in the room watched me coz it was about time for the test start. it was so stupid of me.
people have to study very hard to get in a college in japan.
but once you get in a college, i think it's much easier to keep good grades in japan than in america. you guys here have a lot of tests, quizzes, papers, etc. but in a japanese college, many of them have only one or two tests or one paper for a class during a semester. if you study abroad in japan, you'll see so many japanese students who sleep or textmessaging with cell phones during classes. i heard from an american that there is stereotype that japanese people always study so hard but i don't think that's really true. one time i attended a ethics class only first day and the last day which was a test day, then i got B. that was great.
anyway good luck on your studying here.
*by the way if you read any articles from newspaper or stuff like that and post it with your comments, that would be great to this blog. you don't have to write formally, just write anything in an easygoing style. i'll check your posts as a part of your participation grade.
Extra Credit: Fugaku Taiko (Japanese Drum Performance)
The fantastic Taiko performance will be coming to Davidson College!!
Fugaku Taiko performance
January 25th
8:00pm
Tickets $15 non-Davidson college students, $8, Davidson college students.
Davidson College will be selling ticket at Davidson College Box Office starting from December 3rd, 10:00am. Phone number is :704-894-2135. Ticket sale website is:
http://www.davidson.edu/tickets
This incredible taiko drumming ensemble has traveled all the way from the Mt. Fuji area of Japan. Fugaku Taiko, founded in 1977, presents more than 100 performances a year in Japan and around the world. They were also the first taiko group to discover the benefits of taiko therapy for mentally handicapped individuals, and their touring ensemble now features several handicapped players.
Fugaku Taiko's performance is sponsored by the Davidson College Union Board, the Japanese Teachers' Association of Charlotte & Gastonia, and Triangle Taiko.
The performance is made possible in part by the generous support of the Nippon Taiko Foundation. Fugaku Taiko is the first group from the Foundation to visit the Southeastern United States. Don't miss this great opportunity to enjoy the energy and artistry of professional Japanese taiko in your own backyard!
Please spread the word about this fantastic performance!
Please visit this website for more information about Fugaku Taiko.
http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x29125.xml
EXTRA POINT: Also, this is the one of the opportunities to add ONE EXTRA POINT to your final grade. In order to get one, you will come to see this performance, write one page long reflection paper in English, and submit it by next Thursday, January 31, 2008.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Suggested topics for geography-presentations
Here are just the ideas for your geography presentaions.
*You don't really have to pick up the topic from this list. If you want to research something you think interesting, that's great.
=============================================
Hokkaido Region
Ainu people
Northern Territorial Problem w/ Russia (“Hoppo Ryodo”)
Sapporo Olympic
Snow Festival
=============================================
Tohoku Region
Date, Masamune (a Samurai)
Minamoto no Yoshitsune (a Samurai) and Fujiwara Clan
Nebuta Festival in Aomori prefecture
Shogi (Japanese Chess-like game) in Tendo-city
=============================================
Kanto Region
Tokyo as the capital city
Tokugawa Ieyasu (a Samurai)
Takeda Shingen (a Samurai)
Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Samurais)
Buddha statue in Kamakura city
Boshin War in Aizu Wakamatsu city (at the end of Edo era = the end of Samurai’s period)
Niko Saru Mawashi (traditional Monkey performance)
Meiji Shirine
Yasukuni Shrine problem w/ other Asian countries
=============================================
Chubu Regio
Nagoya Castle
Nagano Olympic
Hokuriku region
Tokugawa Ieyasu (a Samurai)
Oda Nobunaga (a Samurai)
Uesugi Kenshin (a Samurai)
=============================================
Kinki Region
Kyoto as the old capital city
Nara as the old capital city
Kobe city
Osaka city
Buddha statue in Nara city
Ise Shrine
Osaka Castle
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a Samurai)
Great Awaji-Hanshin Earthquake
Matsuo, Basho (a Haiku (=short poetry) artist)
=============================================
Chugoku Region
Hiroshima (atomic bomb)
Itsukushima Shrine
Izumo Shrine
Mori Motonari (a Samurai)
Takeshima / Dokdo (or Tokto) problem w/ Korea
=============================================
Shikoku Region
Sakamoto Ryoma (key person for the Meiji Restoration)
Konpira Do Temple
Seto Ohashi (Bridge b/w Shikoku and Honshu)
=============================================
Kyushu Region
Nagasaki (atomic bomb)
Dejima (trading port in the Edo era) in Nagasaki
Satsuma clan and Choshu clan (at the time of Meiji Restoration)
Saigo Takamori / Okubo Toshimitsu / Takasugi Shinsaku / Katsura Kogoro (Samurais at the time of Meiji Restoration)
Okinawa problem w/ U.S.
Origin of “Kamikaze” (Mongolian attacks on Kyushu)
*You don't really have to pick up the topic from this list. If you want to research something you think interesting, that's great.
=============================================
Hokkaido Region
Ainu people
Northern Territorial Problem w/ Russia (“Hoppo Ryodo”)
Sapporo Olympic
Snow Festival
=============================================
Tohoku Region
Date, Masamune (a Samurai)
Minamoto no Yoshitsune (a Samurai) and Fujiwara Clan
Nebuta Festival in Aomori prefecture
Shogi (Japanese Chess-like game) in Tendo-city
=============================================
Kanto Region
Tokyo as the capital city
Tokugawa Ieyasu (a Samurai)
Takeda Shingen (a Samurai)
Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Samurais)
Buddha statue in Kamakura city
Boshin War in Aizu Wakamatsu city (at the end of Edo era = the end of Samurai’s period)
Niko Saru Mawashi (traditional Monkey performance)
Meiji Shirine
Yasukuni Shrine problem w/ other Asian countries
=============================================
Chubu Regio
Nagoya Castle
Nagano Olympic
Hokuriku region
Tokugawa Ieyasu (a Samurai)
Oda Nobunaga (a Samurai)
Uesugi Kenshin (a Samurai)
=============================================
Kinki Region
Kyoto as the old capital city
Nara as the old capital city
Kobe city
Osaka city
Buddha statue in Nara city
Ise Shrine
Osaka Castle
Toyotomi Hideyoshi (a Samurai)
Great Awaji-Hanshin Earthquake
Matsuo, Basho (a Haiku (=short poetry) artist)
=============================================
Chugoku Region
Hiroshima (atomic bomb)
Itsukushima Shrine
Izumo Shrine
Mori Motonari (a Samurai)
Takeshima / Dokdo (or Tokto) problem w/ Korea
=============================================
Shikoku Region
Sakamoto Ryoma (key person for the Meiji Restoration)
Konpira Do Temple
Seto Ohashi (Bridge b/w Shikoku and Honshu)
=============================================
Kyushu Region
Nagasaki (atomic bomb)
Dejima (trading port in the Edo era) in Nagasaki
Satsuma clan and Choshu clan (at the time of Meiji Restoration)
Saigo Takamori / Okubo Toshimitsu / Takasugi Shinsaku / Katsura Kogoro (Samurais at the time of Meiji Restoration)
Okinawa problem w/ U.S.
Origin of “Kamikaze” (Mongolian attacks on Kyushu)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
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