About Japan, A teacher's resource

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This site provides educators and specialists in Japan Studies a space for sharing, discussing and developing teaching ideas and resources about Japan, especially as they relate to K-12 classrooms. The site features thought-provoking essays; classroom-ready lesson plans; an area for asking and answering questions; resources including historical documents, maps and images; and member profiles. In addition to user-generated content, the editorial team will develop original materials organized around a theme. The first theme is “Imperial Japan.” We invite you to contribute materials of your own and join the discussion.

Click on the image for a lesson plan about Japan's close but sometimes strained relations with the United States, China and South Korea after the Allied Occupation.

Featured Content

Resource: Starbucks Employees


Starbucks employees, who met as part of a company gathering, posing in front of a Starbucks stand at Ueno Station in Tokyo in October, 2007.

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Resource: Anime - An Annotated Filmography for Use in the Classroom


In this filmography, Japanese historian and anime and manga expert Antonia Levi recommends anime movies to use in the grade K-12 classroom. For each movie, she gives a synopsis, suggests age appropriateness, and offers points of discussion.

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Resource: Crown Prince Akihito's First Birthday observed by Young Women's Patriotic Association


Picture of the Showa branch of the Young Women's Patriotic Association showing their allegiance to the Imperial Family on the first birthday of then Crown Prince Akihito on January 10, 1935.

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Essay: The Meiji Restoration Era, 1868-1889


In this essay, historian James Huffman outlines the history of the critical transition Japan underwent between 1868 and 1889, as well as providing some background about the events leading up to this period of rapid societal change.

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Resource: Saigo Takamori Statue


This statue of Saigo Takamori, a leader in the Meiji Restoration and later rebel against the Meiji government, is a famous meeting point in Ueno Park in Tokyo.

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Lesson: Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Taisho Modernists

Grade Level: Secondary
Subject Area: English and Language Arts

The modernist literary movement is commonly characterized by experimental styles and themes. Literature produced in Japan during the Taisho Period shares many characteristics with this global movement, as students will discover by analyzing literature from this period such as Akutagawa Ryûnosuke’s short story "In a Grove," (1922) as well as Kurosawa's film Rashômon (1950), a later film based on Akutagawa’s works.

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