Manga Museum

In Kyoto, is the Manga Museum. This would be a cool place to visit. Look at this collection of Manga!

Wow! I am interested in historical WWII Kamishibai. 

Apparently, 450 pro-war Kamishibai were produced/presented during the World War II era.

Other interesting facts:

* Kamishibai stories were written for boys (shonen), adventure or a period piece, and for girls (shojo) -- melodramas, featuring young girls as protagonists and focused on more down to earth scenarios, like a girl being teased in class. 

I want to find these favorites from the 1930s: Golden Bat and Tiger Boy -- two boy favorites; Snow White -- a favorite of the girls.

* Kenya Matsunaga cofounded the Japan Educational Kamishibai Association in the mid-1930s to "combat the scurrilous reputation of street-corner kamishibai."

* Tokyo survey in the 1930s found of 1,943 8-year-old schoolboys, 515 watched kamishibai stories more than twice a day. Kamishibai were banned in many schools and neighborhoods! According to the Manga Kamishibai book, "Officials claimed that kamishibai caused traffic problems because of the crowd of kids, that it was unhygienic because candy was passed along by dirty hands, and that the riotous compositions and colors were 'too stimulating' to young minds."

Primary sources for the 7/8

The students on the 7/8 team will be studying Hiroshima. I'm collecting some primary sources for them.

https://sites.google.com/a/ismanila.org/wwii/home/the-war-s-end/hiroshima-nagasaki

http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/beyond-the-textbook/25484

http://www.inicom.com/hibakusha/
Voices from people who survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I chose a voice from this site for my kamishibai.

http://atomicbombmuseum.org/6_testimonies.shtml
More voices.

http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/peace/english/survivors/index.html
Voices from Nagasaki

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/mpmenu.asp
This site has authoritative information on the atomic bomb blasts

Last Hiroshima Bomber: "I'll Do It"


Nagasaki
http://www.exploratorium.edu/nagasaki/index.html

Photos from Hiroshima and Nagasaki
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/pages/ww2/ -- WARNING! Some are very disturbing.

Potsdam Conference documents and more (Japan)

Potsdam Conference: U.S. National Archives

Primary Sources from the Manhattan Project -- Gilder Lehrman.org

Secretary of War Henry Stimson to President Truman (Teach History)

Press release from President Truman (Truman Library) Aug. 6, 1945

Leaflet dropped over Japan (Teach History)

Bombing survey (Teach History)

George Washington University: The Atomic Bomb and end of WWII -- primary sources

Worksheet from the Wisconsin Historical Society

I love this!

I love the piano chords! Notice the big and bold images and the audience interaction.



Notice his assistant. She's licking a lollypop. The Kamishibai man used to sell candy to children as a way to earn some money.

The art

Jenn Hart is our amazing art teacher at Folsom. I am so excited to collaborate with Jenn on this project.  When I started explaining the Kamishibai countertop stage, Jenn's face glowed and she exclaimed: "We could make the stage with the kids." Her enthusiasm for art knows no bounds! I found a link that really hones in on the creation of art for the storyboards: http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2011/10/kamishibai-is-a-form-of-visual-and-participatory-storytelling-that-combines-the-use-of-hand-drawn-visuals-with-the-engaging-n.html

Here's another link that discusses building a mini Kamishibai stage and boards: http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/lesson-or-activity/create-mini-kamishibai-lesson (This Asian Education site has some very nice resources.)


But I really like the idea of presenting with traditional 15 inch by 10.5 inch boards. My research continues ...

Essential questions for the 3/4

These are the questions Dr. Robinson focuses on: What is culture? What are cultural categories? What are cultural expressions?

This photo gives insight into her first question. Culture is the way a group lives and get its needs met. Culture is passed on.

On the surface are food, dance, music, visual arts, language, celebrations, homes, pets, fun, games, clothing, jobs.

I love the idea on delving deeper than the tip of the iceberg into values and beliefs. Culture is much more than what you see. But, as Dr. Robinson says, we find the deeper we delve, the most similarities we find.

So, I am hoping teachers and students will chime in with comments about what questions they have about Japan ... About what I should bring back from Japan. Please add your comments and suggestions, 3/4 Team! Arigato!

More on Japanese festival

Here are some photos from the bow shooting demonstration. As you can see the target is not far away. I am wondering if this is because the gym was filled with people. The art form is very disciplined. From picking up and placing the bow to aiming and shooting the bow, the athlete was very deliberate and took plenty of time.

Japanese festival

Here are some photos from the Japanese festival at St. Michael's College. We need to bring students there next year. Lots of hands-on activities, such as trying on a kimono and bow shooting, learning Japanese phrases and more. I loved the bonsai.