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Thurdsay , April 24, 2014 AIM : How can multiple representations of the Pacific War experience create a more comprehensive understanding of Japan’s internal and external roles?. Do Now In your notebook, please brainstorm: **What do you know about World War II with regard to Japan?**
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Thurdsay, April 24, 2014AIM: How can multiple representations of the Pacific War experience create a more comprehensive understanding of Japan’s internal and external roles? Do Now In your notebook, please brainstorm: **What do you know about World War II with regard to Japan?** **What does “Pacific War” suggest? Who is involved?”** **What do you not know about Japan’s role in WWII? (i.e., where do you feel an absence of knowledge?)**
Debrief: “Literature of the Lost Home” • Hideo Kobayashi: “Literature of the Lost Home” (1933) • Written during the Interwar years. • What does “the lost home” refer to? • What is Kobayashi suggesting that his readers do? • What is “Japanese” about this piece? What is universal? “History seems always and inexorably to destroy tradition. And individuals, as they mature, seem always and inexorably to move toward its true discovery.” Homework Share: What does “Literature of a Lost Home” suggest about an ‘essential’ Japanese cultural or literary identity?
“Literature of the Lost Home” (cont’d) Kobayashi brings up the topics of Westernization, tradition versus progress, generational differences, and changing definitions of the Japanese identity. All of these topics come into play in the period immediately following Kobayashi’s essay, as Japan becomes a central participant in the Pacific War.
The Pacific War The next several class sessions will focus on literature concerning the Pacific War experience – we will examine several kinds of media which all portray different aspects of the effects of the war; our focus will be less on the war itself, but instead on the postwar experience.
Reading: “December 8th” • Author: Osamu Dazai (OH-sah-mooh Dah-ZAI) • Title: “December 8th” (JuunigatsuYouka) • Written in 1942 In your notebooks: • Summary • One-two central quotes • What is interesting or surprising about Dazai’s writing? (Respond in a complete paragraph).
Homework • In your email, you will receive two texts depicting the late / post-war experience in Japan, written by childhood survivors: • Manga: Barefoot Gen • Novel excerpt: Grave of the Fireflies • Select one of the two texts, and follow the provided instructions to complete a summary and a brief writing assignment. The anime film of Barefoot Gen will also be made available. The film Grave of the Fireflies is not interchangeable with the above text (it’s different) – we will discuss the film in class next week.