Japanese CultureBy

Brooklyne Garman

Promise Spaeth

EDE 300

Schooling In A Culturally Diverse Society

Unit: A Japanese Culture Study

Grade Level: Pre-K through 3rd Grade

Lesson: We will learn about the Japanese culture by examining their traditions and lifestyles.

Objectives: To learn about and develop an appreciation for the Japanese culture.

We will do this by examining the:

-Geographical Location

-Foods

-Clothing

-Language

-Temples and Shrines

-Artwork

-History and Geography

Materials Needed:

-Resource Book

Strei, Lynita. (2000). Countries and Cultures For Young Explorers Japan. Grand Rapids: McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishing.

-Pencils

-Crayons, Markers, Colored Pencils

-Scissors

-Ingredients For Specific Recipes

Website

http://www.aolsvc.maps.aol.com/research

http://fp.edu/ljohnson/religion.html

http://www.fix.co.jp/kabuki/kabuki.html

http://www.us-japan.org/edomatsu

http://artisandevelopers.com/web/tokyo

LocationFour large islands and several smaller islands make up the country of Japan, located in the Pacific Ocean. Japan is northeast of Asia. Tokyo is the capital.

Activity

In the picture below is a map of Japan. Color the country of Japan green. Color the Pacific Ocean blue. Color the continent of Asia red.

Food

Rice is a staple food in Japan. Green tea, eggs, omelets, toast, battered & fried vegetables, chicken, beef, fish, and sushi are very common at meal time. Chopsticks are used in place of silverware.

Activity

In class, we will prepare Japanese Rice.

Ingredients:

24 cups rice

12 cups water

Bring water to a boil and stir in rice. Cover and then remove from the heat. Let is stand until all the water is absorbed and fluff.

Clothing

The traditional dress in Japan is a long robe called a kimono. It is made of cotton or silk.

Activity

In the picture below is a traditional Japanese kimono. Color the kimono . Please use very bright and vivid colors.

Language

The official language of Japan is Japanese. They use Kanji characters instead of the alphabet.

Activity

We will learn how to count to ten in the Japanese language. Ichi (EE-chee) One

Ni (NEE) Two

San (SAHN) Three

Shi (SHEE) Four

Go (GOH) Five

Roku (ROH-koo) Six

Shichi (SHEE-chee) Seven

Hachi (HAH-chee) Eight

Ku (KOO) Nine

Ju (JOO) Ten

Temples and Shrines

A shrine is a place where the Japanese go to pray and worship. The word Shinto means “way of the gods.” A Shinto shrine always has a large gateway where they enter, called the Torii.

One of the ways to pray at a Shinto shrine is by leaving a strip of paper with a prayer tied to a sacred place within the shrine.

Temples and ShrinesActivity

1.) Make a classroom Torii

2.) Secure it to the wall or around the classroom door

3.) Decorate with paint, markers, crayons, or construction paper

4.) Each child will write a goal for the class on a stripe of paper and attach it to the gate.

5.) Remove one goal each day and read aloud to the class.

Torii

Japanese Arts

Kabuki is a type of theater that began in Japan three hundred years ago. In this theater, the actors are men. Even the female roles. They wear fancy costumes and lots of colorful make-up. Their faces are white with painted eyes and mouths. They use swords, music, dance, and samurais in their plays.

Japanese Art Activity

Explore Kabuki on the Internet.

It was designed by a Kabuki actor, who still performs in Japan.

1.) look at the steps to applying the make-up

2.) listen to the sounds of the traditional music

3.) listen to the actors’ calls

Kabuki Make-up

History and Geography

Tokyo was once called Edo. The city streets were filled with teahouses, Kabuki theaters, shops and markets, and small houses. Edo was the capital of Japan during Tokugama Shogun. Shoguns were military leaders, hundreds of years ago. They were very powerful and had many servants. The shogun trained fighters, what they call samurai, to protect them. They were brave warriors who would do any thing for their shogun. The samurai wore swords and became masters of them. This type of fighting has been passed down from generation to generation, called martial arts.

Japan is made up of four large islands and lots of little islands. It is very mountainous and has lots of volcanoes.

Mount Fuji is a volcano in Japan that is not active. Even thought volcanoes can be disastrous, the hot earth heats up the water to make steamy hot springs. Japan has half the population of the United States and is the size of Montana, if all the islands were pieced together. Zojoji Temple

Japan