2010 Annual Japanese Edu

Japanese Education and
Visual Arts
This workshop will provide participants with both an
overview of the Japanese model of education based
on my trip to Japan with the Japan Fulbright Memorial
Fund Teacher Program, and the skills and resources
to adapt and teach a variety of traditional Japanese
art forms.
Friday, November 12, 2010

What is a JFMF anyway?
was
The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) Teacher
Program, sponsored by the Government of Japan, provides
American primary and secondary school teachers and
administrators with fully-funded short-term study tours of
Japan.
The program is designed to increase understanding

between the people of Japan and the United States by
inviting U.S. elementary and secondary educators to visit
Japan and share their experiences with fellow Americans
upon their return.

First, some generalizations
about Japanese culture:
It is a very group-oriented, team-based culture that values

social harmony. Politeness and indirectness drive social
interactions.
The US is a guilt-based culture, whereas Japan is a

shame-based one. The simplest contrast between them is
when someone has not done something wrong, but others
believe they have. In a guilt culture, one would protest their
innocence and fight the accusation. In a shame culture, what
other people believe is a powerful motivator, so you strive not
to bring disgrace to yourself, your family, or your social group

Structure of Japanese education:
The Ministry of Education dictates policy, curriculum and

approves textbooks nationally.
At the Prefectural level, Boards of Education hire

teachers, select textbooks and methodologies, and
manage senior high schools.
At the Municipal level, Boards of Education select

textbooks, determine methodologies, and manage junior
high and elementary schools.
Kindergarten and Senior high school are NOT compulsory

but almost all children attend
Centrally administered tests determine placement in

senior high schools and universities.

Public vs Private
With the exception of some prestigious private

schools, the public schools are more highly
regarded. Private schools are often viewed as
back-up schools for students who do not pass
entrance exams.
The most attended private schools are Juku, or

cram schools.

Issues in Japanese Education
Outside class time is completely student managed. During

recess, lunch, and daily school clean-up, the students are not
monitored by teachers or administrators.

Ijime
In this environment,
bullying has grown into a
major problem.
In a society that values

similarity over
difference, people who
stand out in any way are
often targets of bullying,
especially in the high
pressure atmosphere of
Japanese schools.
The nail that sticks up

gets hammered down

Ijime
Ijime takes a less

physical form and has
been compared to the
type of bullying that girls
in the US experience.
Unlike the US, where

bullying tends to be
initiated by students
with social or emotional
issues, ijime is carried
out by average students

Tokokyohi
There are an increasing number of students who

are truant from school.
Called school-refusal syndrome, students skip

school due to anxiety or fear.
The phenomenon extends beyond school and

often leads to hikikomori, or acute social
withdrawl

Concerns expressed by Japanese educators:
Many students are not motivated to prepare for

learning.
Over the years, test scores have maintained a

steady decline in Japan.
Critical and creative thinking is not encouraged in

the curriculum or testing which are almost
exclusively multiple choice.

Survey Results:
Teachers:
Respect for teachers declining, large class size (as much

as 40 to 1), difficultly enforcing discipline, monster
parents
No independence in curriculum, but freedom in methods,

worked within grade level or subject area teams
Homeroom teachers serves as counselors, no corporal

punishment, suspension, expulsion, discipline is talking
to student or parents
No school secretary, teachers manage school, long

hours, teachers avg 2+ hours of overtime (home between
6-10 pm), teachers work during summer vacation

Reading, Math, Science
Literacy rate 99% since the 1940s

3 separate scripts in use:
kanji (Chinese characters) 2000 in elementary
hiragana (used for words not expressed by kanji)
katakana (used with foreign words)
Coop education, manipulatives are newer and more

common in elementary, there is push for more
activities and appreciation, thin textbooks
Integrated lessons, required 110 hours/year,

outside in environment, i.e. 6th grade study of
horseshoe crab, not much lab time for science

Educational Practice and Policy:
Arts programs being cut back, in favor of more

focus on fundamentals
Grading based on tests, participation, homework/

notebooks, not much performance evaluation
Classes are heterogeneous groupings, but little

differentiated instruction
tracking starts at secondary level

Textbooks chosen by Boards of Education, with
strong influence of Teachers Union.

Culture
Relatively homogenous culture, emphasis on

fairness/equality, (no gifted programs, token special
education) little differentiated instruction, less
tolerance for outsiders (Koreans/Brazilians)
Rice, fish, pork, chicken, sushi, sashimi, noodles:

ramen, soba, udon, tempura, pickled veggies,
seaweed, natto
Traditional arts and music are being lost, Kyogen,

Kabuki, Noh, are all in decline, graduation theme is
Auld Lange Syne
Holidays are mostly religious based festivals at

Shinto/Buddhist shrines

Take Away
or
My thoughts on how this experience relates to us
The policy of giving students the freedom to make

choices about how they play and manage
interactions with each other is compelling. At the
elementary level students show high self-reliance.

Take Away
or
We should continue to be on guard about the

emphasis we place on testing, considering its
intensity and frequency.

Take Away
or
Critical and creative thinking is in decline and

anything we can do to reinforce or support it is vital
to lifelong learning.

Japanese Art in a Third
Grade Setting

Origami
There are
plenty of
websites, I use
origami-
club.com.
Students go
and learn a
technique,
then have to
teach it to
someone else.

Origami
The site has
good diagrams
and even
animations
from origami-club.com/en/
that show how

to fold. I force
Traditional Cicada
students to
figure these
out on their
own.

Koinobori
Koinoburi are
wind socks
made by
drawing carp
patterns on
paper or cloth.
They are
traditionally
flown in Japan
on Childrens
Day, May 5th.

Koinobori
The trick to this project is giving students the
materials and letting them figure out how to
translate a flat drawing/painting of their fish into
a cylinder form.

Sumi-e
Sumi-e is a style of monochromatic
ink painting where the bold use of
ink strokes and washes allow the
artist to eliminate all but the
essential characteristics from their
subject.
Hanko/Gago in: Hanko is a general

term for the seals used in Japan,
'Gago in' are used by graphic artists
to both decorate and sign their work.
The signatures are frequently pen
names or nicknames; the
decorations are usually favorite
slogans or other extremely short
phrases.

Sumi-e
The Four Treasures refers to the must-haves of sumi-e: an ink
stone, an ink stick, a brush, and the appropriate kind of paper
an ink stone - a stone with a shallow depression carved into it;

it is used to prepare and hold the ink
an ink stick - a black stick composed of pine soot, bound into a
hardened form with resin
a brush - traditionally wolf-hair in bamboo
the appropriate kind of paper - rice paper is the most common
paper used in sumi-e painting

Sumi-e
The Four Gentlemen: The
four basic strokes of sumi-e.
Bamboo plant that is

strong and upright yet
supple & pliant
Orchid symbolizes
humility, retiring and
greatly refined
Chrysanthemum
contemplative and
retiring from political
corruption
Plum blossoms in cold
and fall before they
whither

Suminagashi
Suminagashi, which means literally "ink-floating", is

the ancient Japanese technique of decorating paper
with inks. It is believed to be the oldest form of
marbling, originating in China over 2,000 years ago
and practiced in Japan by Shinto priests as early as
the 12th century.

Suminagashi
Japanese Sumi-e inks were originally used, dropped carefully to

float on a still water surface and then blown across to form
delicate swirls, after which the ink was picked up by laying a
sheet of white rice paper atop the ink covered water.
The process is quite simple and uses the same supplies as Sumi-
e. The only addition is the use of a a wetting agent used to
spread the ink and create blank areas. Recommended wetting
agents include Kodak Photo-Flo, or just ordinary hand soap.

Ukioyi-e
Ukioyi-e used a traditional collaborative system [hanmoto

system] where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher
engaged in division of labor to mass produce prints.
The artist produced a master drawing in ink

An assistant, called a hikko, would then create a tracing
(hanshita) of the master
Craftsmen glued the hanshita face-down to a block of
wood and cut away the areas where the paper was white.
This left the drawing, in reverse, as a relief print on the
block, but destroyed the hanshita.
This block was inked and printed, making near-exact
copies of the original drawing.

A first test copy, called a kyogo-zuri,
would be given to the artist for a final
check.
The prints were in turn glued, face-
down, to blocks and those areas of the
design which were to be printed in a
particular color were left in relief. Each
of these blocks printed at least one
color in the final design.
The resulting set of woodblocks were
inked in different colors and
sequentially impressed onto paper.
The final print bore the impressions of
each of the blocks, some printed more
than once to obtain just the right depth
of color

Resources:
Origami
http://www.origami-club.com/en/
Sumi-e
Japanese Ink Painting, by Naomi Okamoto
http://www.youtube.com/user/kazushimura
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sumi-e/sets/72157594381169650/
Suminagashi
http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~kuroda/room-1e.htm
http://www.suminagashi.com/history.html
http://www.angelfire.com/il/SumieSociety/sumnag.html
http://www.philiptaaffe.info/Critical_Commentary/PLW.php
Koinobori
http://www.ginkoya.com/pages/koinobori.html
http://japanese.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/
holidays/May/song-koinobori.shtml
http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/freshref/nishi.html
http://www.j-higa.net/culture/25carp/carp.html
http://www.watergarden.org/Pond-Info/Koi-Article
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/do/koinobori.html

Resources:
Ukiyo-e
http://woodblock.com/encyclopedia/outline.html#general
http://www.barclaygallery.com/hasui.html
Raku
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Japanese+tea+ceremony
http://shofu.pref.ishikawa.jp/shofu/intro_e/HTML/H_S52901.html
http://www.rakuforyou.com/about.html
http://www.terebess.hu/terebessgabor/raku.html
Japanese paper - http://www.cedarseed.com/pearl/jappaper.html
Japanese Name Translation

http://www.japanesetranslator.co.uk/your-name-in-japanese/
http://www.takase.com/Names/NameInJapanese.htm

2010 Annual Japanese Edu

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Japanese Education and

Friday, November 12, 2010

The program is designed to increase understanding

Friday, November 12, 2010

It is a very group-oriented, team-based culture that values

The US is a guilt-based culture, whereas Japan is a

Friday, November 12, 2010

The Ministry of Education dictates policy, curriculum and

At the Prefectural level, Boards of Education hire

At the Municipal level, Boards of Education select

Kindergarten and Senior high school are NOT compulsory

Centrally administered tests determine placement in

Friday, November 12, 2010

With the exception of some prestigious private

The most attended private schools are Juku, or

Friday, November 12, 2010

Outside class time is completely student managed. During

Friday, November 12, 2010

In a society that values

The nail that sticks up

Friday, November 12, 2010

Ijime takes a less

Unlike the US, where

Friday, November 12, 2010

There are an increasing number of students who

Called school-refusal syndrome, students skip

The phenomenon extends beyond school and

Friday, November 12, 2010

Many students are not motivated to prepare for

Over the years, test scores have maintained a

Critical and creative thinking is not encouraged in

Friday, November 12, 2010

Respect for teachers declining, large class size (as much

No independence in curriculum, but freedom in methods,

Homeroom teachers serves as counselors, no corporal

No school secretary, teachers manage school, long

Friday, November 12, 2010

Literacy rate 99% since the 1940s

Coop education, manipulatives are newer and more

Integrated lessons, required 110 hours/year,

Friday, November 12, 2010

Arts programs being cut back, in favor of more

Grading based on tests, participation, homework/

Classes are heterogeneous groupings, but little

tracking starts at secondary level

Friday, November 12, 2010

Relatively homogenous culture, emphasis on

Rice, fish, pork, chicken, sushi, sashimi, noodles:

Traditional arts and music are being lost, Kyogen,

Holidays are mostly religious based festivals at

Friday, November 12, 2010

The policy of giving students the freedom to make

Friday, November 12, 2010

We should continue to be on guard about the

Friday, November 12, 2010

Critical and creative thinking is in decline and

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

that show how

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Hanko/Gago in: Hanko is a general