Sumo do, Sumo don’t (Shiko funjatta)1. When the two sumo wrestlers go to recruit others wrestlers,

why does the experienced sumo wrestler not have to wear the mawashi (sumo jockstrap)?

2. Why does the new pro-wrestler Cutie Haruo have to dress like a girl?

3. The tatemae (superficial appearance) of the Kyoritsu sumo club is their participation in the tournament like all other clubs. What is the honne (true feelings) of the sumo club?

4. What will determine whether the male star (of the film) graduates from University?

5. Briefly explain the conflict between continuity and change expressed in this film?

6. Choose one character to explain the relationship between the individual and the group.

7. Does Smiley understand Japanese religion?

Introduction to Japan: Midterm Review

Introduction to Japan: Midterm Review

Start time: 3:00 p.m. (normal class time) Tuesday Apr. 3, 2007 Rooms: LTE (Au to Lee); 1403 (Leung to

Zhang) [lifts 25-26] All material covered until end of Religion Multiple choice and short answer Closed book One empty seat between each person

Our objective, explain Japan’s change and continuity:

by understanding cultural transmission and change

More specifically by understanding the interactions between:

Group orientation Individual expression Universal principals

Cultural Change and Continuity Interactions of group orientation, individual expression and universal principals

shaped by and expressed through...

The Environment: land,natural resources,and isolation;

History: knowledge of the main events, but using them to understand the behavioral legacies;

Society: the patterns and mechanisms of the three concepts; …and their influence on Women, Education,

and Religion

Revealing:

Original and continuous patterns Contradictions and conflicts Complementarities Resolutions

Environment What type of relationship have the Japanese

developed with the natural environment? How has the landscape and agriculture influenced

the development of cooperation and group orientation in Japan?

What influences has isolation had on the development of Japan’s national identity and its relations with the rest of the world?

History OVERALL: What are the bases of Japanese

social and group organization? What were the foundation forms of group

organization and what were the bases of cooperation within and between them?

What universal principles evolved in and entered Japan and how did they influence politics, society and the family?

What forms of individual expression evolved and how were they related to existing or shifting group orientation and universal principles?

HistoryIn other words, understand: The household system; The early Emperor system; The samurai system; Religions; Confucianism; The introduction of democracy and

market economics.

As they impact the balance between the three concepts.

Society How is Japanese society structured? How does one act inside the group as compared

interacting with people outside of the group (relativism)?

What characteristics does a strong individual have? How do formalized universal principles introduced

from the west relate to the traditional understanding of social behavior in Japan?

Can women express themselves and assert their equal rights in what has been a male dominated society?How successful has the education system been in creating a society of equal opportunity and individual expression?Does religion play a significant role in shaping behavior and enriching life in Japan?

Society: women, education, and religion

Women

Where do men and women stand within Japan’s double standard?

What formal recognition of women’s rights are there?

What forces of inertia (positive and negative) keep women in their place?

Give examples expressing women’s opportunities or lack of opportunities in Japanese society.

Education Does Japan’s education system promote a

society of equality or of equal opportunity? How are cooperation and competition

balanced during public school? Why is Japanese university education more

fun than hard work? Why are the Japanese reforming their school

systems?

Religion

• What roles does religion play in Japanese life?

Movie Questions: MC

In the Ballad of Narayama, there is a scene in the rice paddy where Orin (the old lady) favors her grandson over her second son (the stinky guy). Why?

a. She was ashamed of the smell of her second son.b. The second son had been mistreating the grandson.c. The second son was disrespected by the other villagers.d. The grandson was next inline to inherit the household

(the ie).

Movie Questions: MC

Why does the new pro-wrestler Cutie Haruo have to dress like a girl?a. He looks nice in a wig.b. The pro-wrestling organization demands all new wrestlers to put on a costume.c. It was agreed to by the members of his pro-wrestling club.d. Cross-dressing wrestlers are a successful gimmick.

Lecture, References based Multiple Choice

1. The emperor and the imperial system broke down because

a. imperial control of land was lost to privatization of property and the creation of warriors to protect it.

b. the samurai hated the hereditary system and determined to destroy it.

c. samurai clans from all over Japan united into a federation.

d. the last Fujiwara emperor died without a son to succeed him.

Lecture, Textbook based Multiple Choice

Which is the dominant desire of Japanese women today?a. to become career women.b. to run a family business with husband and children involved.c. to have enough freedom from work to spend time with their young children.d. to avoid marriage and spend all their money on trips and brand name goods.

Lecture, Textbook based Short Answer

1. Does hierarchy exist in Japanese society today?

2. Does the Japanese education system result in equal opportunities for women?

Film Based Short Answer Question

1. The movie Twilight Samurai illustrated the beginnings of what fundamental shift in Japan’s social structure?

2. What essential aspect of the samurai system is on display in the battle scene of the movie Ran? Give two examples.

Introduction to Japan: Midterm Review

Start time: 3:00 p.m. (normal class time) Tuesday Apr. 3, 2005 Rooms: LTE (Au to Lee); 1403 (Leung to

Zhang) [lifts 25-26] All material covered until end of Religion Multiple choice and short answer Closed book One empty seat between each person