Unit: Imperial Democracy and Colonial Expansion, 1890-1945
Grade Level: SecondarySubject Area: Social Studies
In five activity and primary source-intensive lessons that address the major social and political shifts of the period from 1890 to 1945, the authors emphasize that these shifts were interdependent forces that operated on both international and national levels.
Lesson: Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Taisho Modernists
Grade Level: SecondarySubject 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.
Lesson: Empire And Imperial Democracy, 1918-1932
Grade Level: SecondarySubject Area: Social Studies
Utilizing role playing, debate, and primary source analysis, this lesson explores Japanese history during this period in the context of larger issues such as the relationship between imperialism and democracy.
Lesson: National Identity and Literature from Okinawa
Grade Level: SecondarySubject Area: English and Language Arts
Through examples of Okinawan literature and its relationship to the larger genre of “Japanese literature,” the author(s) of this lesson addresses problems in the definition of ethnic and national identities.
Lesson: Striving For Imperial Democracy, 1905-1918
Grade Level: SecondarySubject Area: Social Studies
Using the death of the Meiji Emperor as a key turning point, this lesson analyzes how and why “democracy” grew in Japan during this period. Using the perspective of global history, the lesson contextualizes the complex role of the emperor in Japan.
Lesson: The “I” Novels in the Context of Early 20th-Century Japan
Grade Level: SecondarySubject Area: English and Language Arts
Focusing on developing students’ understanding of how a writer's background affects the way he or she writes about personal experience, this lesson utilizes the literary works of Shiga Naoya and Hayashi Fumiko to show how “I novels” provide insight into both the authors’ backgrounds as well as their reflections on problems of human existence and social life.
