February 9

We first talked about the midterm exam, and about the papers. We decided that the midterm exam would be due on March 7, and that the question for the same would be distributed on March 5.

I said I'd get together some resources to help students think about formulating a paper topic and beginning their research. In broadest terms, the paper ideally should:

explore some aspect of literature and art in Japan; or at least,
explore some aspect of literature or art in Japan; and preferably,
explore some aspect of literature and/or art in Japan, and not be a comparative study of Japanese art/literature and that of another world area.

Discussion:

We talked about the differences between the indigenous religion of Japan--its modern name is Shintô (literally, the way of the gods) and Buddhism. Both Shintô and Buddhism have had a great impact on Japanese art; they've managed to co-exist fairly peacefully thoughout Japanese history in part because they address different aspects of life.

There was a handout that contrasted these two systems; take a look at it and make sure you understand the terms it lists.

Keywords:

kami (deity)
shrine
Amaterasu
Ise Jingû
Izumo Taisha
Buddha
bodhisattva
temple
Four Noble Truths of Buddhism
karma (deeds, actions)
nirvana (extinction) and Enlightenment
Amida
Kannon
Yakushi
sutra (Buddhist scripture)

We visited the website of Ise Jingû and took a look at some of its interactive modules.

We started to look at some of the images from Chapter 3, including Izumo Taisha, Ise Jingû, Hôryû-ji temple, and the Tamamushi Shrine (not to be confused with a Shintô shrine).

HANDOUT:

Japanese religions: Shintô and Buddhism

FOLLOW UP:

For Chapter 3, Asuka and Nara

Take a look at the film of Hôryû-ji temple on the Blackboard site
Pictures of Hôryû-ji and Tôdai-ji are at Oriental Architecture (click on the left for Japan and then on the left again for each site)

LOOKING AHEAD:

For Chapter 4, Heian

Take a look at the film of Byôdô-in on the Blackboard site.
Other views of Byôdô-in are available at the following sites:
Bowdoin's Japanese garden (interactive garden tour)
Oriental Architecture (virtual tour; click on the left for Japan and then on the left again for Byôdô-in)