Intertextual Riceball

Summer in Japan

2011-11-29T01:05:00.002-05:00

For those interested in studying in Japan at a relatively low rate, consider going on a GW exchange summer program at Akita University.

Click here for more information.

I will write more soon.

A Graduation Story

2011-05-15T06:09:00.001-05:00

--This is an entry I wrote for my original blog about... oh, a million years ago--

May is a bittersweet time of the year for me. Like many of my students, I celebrate the end of the academic year, relieved that I have once again survived it--in spite of the fact that summer school starts up immediately following graduation. *sigh*

But, as elated as I am, I am also saddened by the thought that I will no longer see J majors who graduated. They all say that they'll keep in touch. They all say they'll drop by when they're in town. But rarely do they ever show up in my office again, and often when they do, it is usually for a letter of recommendation or some other similar request. But that's okay. Better that than nothing at all... I guess.

It is with this feeling that I go to the local burger and beer joint near school and drink a beer, toasting both the end of the year and the departure of the seniors. Some of my students know that I go there after the ceremony and so they drop by. This year hoymahal grom and fuafuahamu came by. One brought her parents and we had a nice chat. She asked me to tell her parents a graduation story and so I told them a true story--which I will tell here at Prudy's request--that occured a few years back.

Financial Freedom

After a hot graduation ceremony on the Ellipse of Washington's National Mall, I was sitting at the bar of the local burger joint sipping Foggy Bottom brew with M. Immediately to my right were three other patrons who had obviously just come from the ceremony as well--a Dad, a Mom, and a newly graduated young lady.

Well, M and I are chatting when I notice Dad ask the bartender for a pair of scissors. Now I've heard people ask for napkins, menus, a pen, but never a pair of scissors. Curious, I allow my attention to drift toward this guy sitting two seats over.

With a nod of appreciation, Dad takes the pair of scrissors and cuts the edges around a napkin. The daughter begins to pester Dad--What are you doing? Cut it out, Dad. Mom is oblivious. Dad then lifts his beer, takes the cardboard coaster that was beneath it, and now begins to cut the corners of the Newcastle Brown advertisement. The daughter seems to have given up, simply rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Dad, seemingly satsified with the scissors edge, props up his elbow on the counter and sticks his hand out toward his daughter, palm up.

"What?" She asks quizzically.

"Hand it over," he sighs.

"What are you talking about, Dad. Hand over what?"

"You know what," he says, stiffly poking the air with his outstretched hand.

Horror wells up the daughter's eyes. It betrays a true and palpable fear. I can tell because her face is juxtaposed to Mom's face which is now manifesting mock horror--you know the look: eyes opened wide, mouth agape, hands held up in surprise.

"Today?" The daughter asks helplessly. But Dad says nothing. He shakes his open palm resolutely in front of her again. Shoulders slumped, the daughter opens her purse, takes out her wallet and produces a credit card.

"Really, Daddy? Today?"

Daddy--I can't help but chuckle--nods appreciatively as his daughter places the Visa card regretfully onto his open palm. He slowly grips it, wrapping it up with his fingers. He squeezes it lightly as if carressing it, confirming the name and account number with his thumb, then transfers it from his right hand to his left.

"Ah, freedom," he sighs, as he picks up the scissors.

The bartender, M and I roar with surprise, as the daughter sits there stunned at this public spectacle of Dad sending her off toward financial independence by cutting up her credit card--HIS credit card--into little bitty pieces.

Summer at GW

2011-04-14T15:17:00.001-05:00

The events in Japan have made it difficult to study in Japan Study abroad canceled spring semester for those studying in Japan, and they recently canceled the summer programs. This means that many students who were thinking of going to study in Japan can no longer do so.

Well, the Japanese program is running a Summer Institute this year for Japanese language and Culture. The Institute is an intensive 11 credit program for eight weeks that offers Beginning or Intermediate Japanese learners as well as the Culture through Film course. This 11 credit program is being offered at a discount of over 30%. In other words, it's like paying for the language and getting the film class for free! (Yes, this is a GW program...)

If you already took First or Second year Japanese language, you can still take the film class by itself--although there is no discount for this. :-( You all know how hard it is to get into the Film class, and I will be teaching it for the first (and maybe only) time since 2006.

If you are interested in the Institute or have any questions, please contact me. (Contacting me does not obligate you to take the courses so please feel free with any questions.) You can also come and talk to me in my office. I office hours are always posted online at:
http://leohanami.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-schedule.html

Hopefully, this may help some of you in your degree program since many were thinking of getting credit from Japan.

Spring 2011

2011-02-18T12:27:00.003-05:00

How is it that I teach one less class but feel busier (and not posting)? Oh yeah, I'm coordinator of the Japanese program now. But the start of semester rush and other responsibilities have more or less settled down and it's time to do... more work.

Number One Priority: Promote our Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture. Please contact me if you have any questions. I will have more on this soon.

Priority Two: Request a full time position. Our colleague, Shoko Hamano, continues her duties as Language Center Director, which is good for her, but leaves the Japanese Program minus one full time professor--and a good one at that. So while I've requested a one-year extension for our visiting full-time position--Mitsuyo Sato, another good one--a visitors position is only for two years max, so we've got to do something for the following year, perhaps a solution that is a bit more permanent and, hopefully, helpful for the development of our program.

Priority Three: Finish up a paper I'm working on and submit it to a journal. I don't want to perish, but sometime I wonder if its not inevitable. Burning candles at both ends is more than demanding--teaching a full load, administrative work as coordinator, and publishing. Hmm, am I burning that candle from the middle, too?

Priority Four: Oh yeah, prepare for class and grade... Wait, shouldn't that be priority number One?

Need a Letter of Recommendation?

2010-12-18T14:30:00.002-05:00

If you are a current or former student and would like a letter of recommendation from me, then please read the following policy and guidelines.

Eligibility

You must have completed at least one of my courses. If you are applying for graduate school, you should have taken at least two courses, of which one required you to submit papers or essays. *Freshmen applying for non-academic part time positions are exempt from this requirement if they are currently in my class for at least eight (8) weeks.
You must have visited me in my office and talked to me at length on at least three (3) different occasions prior to your request. As a result of these visits, I should know your name without referring to a class list, and at least three of the following four: 1. Your school; 2. your major; 3. your interest in Japanese language and/or literature; 4. where you are from. If you are wondering whether or not I remember you, then chances are I don't know you well enough to write a strong and convincing letter of recommendation. I cannot write a recommendation for any student based solely on a grade or one aspect of the student's performance, such as writing ability, project presentations, or language proficiency. NOTE: I will fill out language proficiency/evaluation forms for students who have completed any of my language courses within two years of completion of the course.
I reserve the right to refuse a request for a letter of recommendation for any reason. But in general, I will refuse because I don't know you well enough, or I don't think I can write you a solid letter of support.

Making a Request

A request for a letter of recommendation is a special request: In effect, you are asking for the time and effort of the writer. All such requests should be made in person at the convenience of the writer not the recipient. If you have a request, please come see me in my office during office hours. If you cannot physically come, a letter or phone call is sufficient. Faxes and emails should be a last resort. A request at the end of class--Hey sensei, can you write me a letter of recommendation? I need it by Friday!--tells me that the student regards the letter of recommendation as a simple, informal, and maybe even unimportant component of the application process. As perhaps an unintended consequence, I end up writing a letter that reflects the student's attitude.
Your request must be made within two years of the last course you took from me--young people can change so much in just two years, that I would find it difficult to write anything with confidence--with the exception of those who have kept in touch with me continuously since that last class. (Regular correspondence through email or calling me on the phone counts, IM-ing me with a "Wazzup!" or writing on my fb wall, maybe not.)
You must make your request for a letter during the first fourteen weeks of a given semester. I will not consider requests at the end of the semester, particularly during Final Examinations. If you make a request without contacting me directly at other times--i.e. during summer or winter break--I cannot guarantee timely delivery due to unforeseeable variables, including availability of computer/printer, research schedule, summer school schedule, vacation.

Submissions

The following must be submitted together.
Necessary forms for the recommendation. If there is no specific form, or if recommendations are to be sent online, submit the name and address (or URL) of the institute(s) to which you are applying, typed on a separate sheet of paper with your name on it.
Sign the waiver. Most, if not all, applications require your signature to waive your right to view the letter of recommendation. If you do not waive this right, I will not write you a letter. As a matter of principle and policy, a confidential letter of recommendation is no longer confidential if you do not waive this right. There is no exception to this. If you have already had a letter sent in for you and you did not waive this right, I can no longer write a letter for you.
Copy of your "Statement of Purpose" or proposal if required by the institute(s) to which you are applying. An initial, rough draft is sufficient.
Copy of your current resume.
Copy of your most recent transcripts. Unofficial transcripts are sufficient.
Copy of one graded paper or essay you submitted to me as course work with my comments on it. Do not send an ungraded paper or a paper for another class (I am not qualified to judge writings in other fields). Students who only took language courses(001-2; 105-6) are exempt. Copies will not be returned.
If you are not presently a student or if you do not need to submit a "Statement of Purpose" with your application, submit a short one-page letter/essay addressing your current circumstances and goals.

Timetable and delivery

Make your request for a Letter of Recommendation and submit all of the above material at least three weeks before the deadline.
Submit all material to me in person during office hours. If you cannot deliver it personally, please mail your request to me with all pertinent material.
Please confirm your request--by e-mail or telephone--one week before the deadline. I admit that there are times when I may forget.
If you cannot pick up your recommendation, you should provide for each letter a large, self-addressed envelope--approx. 9" X 12" --into which I can enclose the letter sealed in its own GW envelope. Requests without postage will be sent through the... um... GW mail system... If you include postage, please enclose it separately.
As policy, I write only one letter of recommendation per request per institute. If you lose the recommendation, I will NOT provide another one.
As a courtesy, you should refrain from asking for recommendations to a large number of institutes at any single time. (Large=more than five) Sending letters to different institutes is not just a matter of changing names. And I would rather prefer to avoid writing "To whom it may concern" letters. After the initial crafting of the letter, this requires 1. typing in the address; 2. ensuring that each appearance of the institute and program is changed and spelled correctly--I incorporate the name of the program and/or institute at least twice into the body of each letter; 3. occasionally tweaking the language to fit the program--a letter to a graduate program for literature is different than one for linguistics, an Asian studies program requires more focus on Japan than an international affairs program; 4. signing the letter; 5. filling in appropriate information on the institute's own cover sheet; 6. matching each letter with the appropriate cover sheet; 7. finally addressing and sealing the envelope. This takes about 15-20 minutes. If I was an automaton, it would still take me at least two hours to prepare eight different letters after crafting the letter. So, again, show courtesy.

Other Considerations

I respond to requests for letters of recommendations with the intent of helping the student fulfill his or her goals and aspirations. Consequently, I attempt to provide what the institute requiring a recommendation wants: As much pertinent info about you as I know, which typically includes not only your grades, but your analytical abilities, your academic potential, your leadership qualities, your social sensibilities, and others.
I address these concerns by pointing to things such as:
- Intellect: Good writing and analysis in essays/papers
- Seriousness: Solid attendance, including not being tardy
- Responsibility: Assignments--homework and papers--turned in on time
- Demeanor: A regard for others in a group setting (class) as manifested in a notable lack of unnecessary chatting or disruptive tardy entrances, as well as cordial attitudes, actions and comments/responses toward classmates
- Leadership: Volunteering in class, participating in study abroad sessions, demonstrating a willingness to advise underclassmen
...just to name a few.
The submissions that accompany your request, as well as the totality of your presence in my class and office, help me to craft a solid, convincing and, hopefully, successful letter. In other words, YOU are the person who determines whether a letter of recommendation is good or not because ultimately, I need something to work with.
This should go without saying, but you should know that I will be very honest in my letter. If I don't think I can write you a solid letter, I will tell you so. This is not to be mean to any one particular student, but to be fair to all my students. By being honest, I am being fair to all my past students, and I am giving a fair opportunity to all my future students.
If you have read this far, then you have probably come to the conclusion that writing a letter of recommendation is a serious endeavor for me. If you think that the recommendation you require is just a formality--that it is "no big deal" and can be whipped out with minimal effort--then please consider asking someone else.
Consider these issues if and when you decide to ask me for a letter of recommendation.

Contact Information

Academic Center, Rome Hall 460.
Phone: 202-994-0050

Mailing Info

East Asian Languages and Literatures
The George Washington University
Rome Hall 469
801 22nd Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20052

(update history: 2005.02.09; 2006.01.20; 2007.05.01; 2009.01.22; 2010.12.18)

Amazing student

2010-12-11T11:17:00.004-05:00

Some of my students are pretty amazing. This one posted on my facebook wall:

Sensei, I was supposed to do homework but instead I watched a documentary on Haruku Murakami on youtube. I'm reading Wind Up Bird Chronicle while listening to Jazz.

What a multi-tasker! Watching a documentary, reading a book and listening to jazz. He should leave his brain to science. ;-)

End of Fall 2010

2010-12-09T10:55:00.000-05:00

Classes are over but grading is not. A final exam in bungo--literary Japanese--a final paper for the Genji class, and an annotated bibliography for the proseminar.

Y'know, there was a time when I used to like grading. But for the life of me, I can't remember why. Power? Authority? Hmmm... I don't think so. That wouldn't be a very good reason. An honest reason, maybe, but not a good one. Suffice it to say that grading, now, is rarely at the top of my To Do list. It's usually buried way down along with paying taxes and dealing with squirrels.

From GW Today

2010-10-25T16:08:00.006-05:00

" The Japanese Language and Culture Institute is an 11-credit program that integrates the study of the Japanese language with culture through film. Students choose between a basic and an intermediate language course, depending on their proficiency, and all students take the same film class, where they watch Japanese movies with English subtitles. "

To read more--and to see a photo of our Aerobics-in-Japanese class (that's Mrs. Onigiriman up front)--click this link to the original article.

Summer Institute: Award Winning Teachers

2010-10-14T13:51:00.007-05:00

Alright... It's the middle of October and I've been gearing up for our Summer Institute already. The proposal is in and I hope the powers that be will accept it. I've made some changes from last year--no more "semi-immersion" approach. It was too difficult to monitor without having to be with students 24/7 and I'm sure they get enough of me in class as it is.

I'm still working out the details, but one thing is for sure: The two regular full-time faculty who will be teaching this summer are also recent award winners for innovative teaching.

Assistant Professor for Teaching, Takae Tsujioka, will be team teaching Intermediate Japanese (JAPN 006) with Rika Seya. Tsujioka sensei is the recipient of the 2010 Bender Teaching Award. I can vouch for her teaching skills. Whenever I go to her class to observe, I always come away in awe, and often end up stealing some of her ideas to incorporate into my own language courses.

The other award winner will be teaching Beginning Japanese (JAPN 005) along with Wakana Kikuchi, and that teacher is......... me. Those who know me, pretty much see me as outgoing and, well, narcissistic. I'm actually quite modest and reserved... but I'll tell ya' anyway: I was fortunate enough to receive the 2010 Robert W. Kenny Award for Innovative Teaching. (Okay, did it sound like I just couldn't wait to tell you?) Unfortunately, I can't vouch for myself, especially since I'm "borrowing" ideas--with permission, of course--from Tsujioka sensei. Then again, the award was for my literature course, Love and Politics: The Tale of Genji.

Anyway, as details are confirmed, I will post information about our Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture over the coming months.

JET: Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program

2010-10-11T14:43:00.001-05:00

If you’re a senior and you’re considering applying for JET, take note: Their website—http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JET/—says that the 2011 application will be available on October 25th, 2010, but Japanese major Rebecca Rowe (GW ’10) says it’s available online now. Be sure to go to their website for all relevant information. The Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) is the largest program for English instructors in Japan, sponsored by the Japanese government. Each year 800-1000 American young professionals are selected to teach English in Japanese public schools. A small percentage of our participants also work in local government offices on international relations projects. This past summer, the local Japanese embassy sent approximately 75 new participants from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, to join a total of nearly 5,000 participants throughout Japan. Be sure to check out their site if you are interested.

Japanese Chat Room--日本語を練習しましょう

2010-10-05T17:39:00.003-05:00

The Japanese program staff started its Japanese Chat Room, a gathering where students of all levels studying Japanese at GW can come to practice the skills they have acquired in class. It is also an opportunity to meet other students and teachers (!) you do not know... yet.

There have been three Chat Rooms so far—including the Mount Vernon Language Café--and we have had a warm response from student, mostly beginning level. It is an art to speak to first year students in Japanese for an hour--how many ways can you say, "My name is..." "I am from..." "My major is..."??? Whew! I'm not sure how many ways we said it but it was fun. But I hope students from second, third and fourth year come as well, because...

As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, studying in the classroom gets you all the basic tools and information you need to speak, but to become fluent, you must practice… and practice… and practice. So I hope we get to see you participate in our Chat Rooms sometime during the semester. The remaining schedule is as follows.

October 8 (金) 佐藤 11-12am, Rome 470
October 14 (木) 浜野 5-6 Phillips 210A
October 19 (火) 瀬谷 2-3 Eckles Library, Mt. Vernon Campus
October 27 (水) はなみ　5-6 Phillips 210A
November 5 (金) 辻岡　3-4, Room Phillips 210A
November 12 (金) 佐藤 11-12am, Rome 470
November16 (火) 瀬谷 2-3 Eckles Library, Mt. Vernon Campus
December 1 (水) 浜野 5-6 Phillips 210A
December 7 (火) 瀬谷 2-3 Eckles Library, Mt. Vernon Campus

If you’re studying Japanese, take advantage of these opportunities. It should be fun, rewarding, and best of all, no quizzes.

Fall Semester

2010-10-02T09:26:00.005-05:00

Jeepers. It's already October and Fall semester is in full swing. I meant to write a bit more about summer session but a colleague teaching one of the classes fell ill and I had to cover the class for the rest of the summer session. Teaching two intensive courses left little time to do things like blogging. Happily, the colleague is recuperating and getting better, but I was exhausted.

Rest was in order... but right after grading finals I participated in series of workshops to learn about the tools for creating and implementing online courses. After which, I helped to organize the Japanese Program retreat to discuss and plan our methods of assessing students--and thereby assessing ourselves. Before I knew it, Fall semester was here, and I found myself preparing for classes.

I regret that I didn't get to touch my research... Wait... Did I say "regret"? What I should have said is "afraid". Like, I'm afraid of that tap on the shoulder... "Dude, did you publish anything this year?" *shudder*

Freer Gallery

2010-07-11T10:27:00.002-05:00

On June 10, we went to the Freer Museum on the National Mall for a tour of Japanese Art. Our docent, Jo Kinkaid--in the middle of the right photo--led us through a detailed explanation of the various exhibits.

On the train on the way back from the Museum, I took a head count--1-2-3...8-9... um... Who's not here? I wondered out loud. Sara, Nidhi, er... Abe, Kamilah, uh... Rachel, Debbie went to her internship, Jon said he's stay behind... Alex! Where's Alex? Wasn't he just here?

Well as best as I can remember this is what happened: At the Smithsonian station, we had noticed that a westbound train had just entered the station. We hurried down the escalator to the platform and hopped onto the train. But Alex didn't make it before the door closed. Fortunately, all the students were adults and it wasn't likely that any of them--certainly not the studious Alex who came from Iowa--would get lost. As I waited at the turnstiles at Foggy Bottom, Alex came strolling down the concourse toward the exit turnstile.

"Glad your back," I said in relief.

"I just got on the next train," he said, rather matter-of-factly, seemingly bemused at why anyone would have to worry...

Summer Weekly Lunch

2010-06-03T09:13:00.002-05:00

For the Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture, we usually ate lunch together everyday. Of course, that depended on the students--some of whom insisted that they wanted to eat on their own. But every Thursday the Institute bought lunch for everyone and nary was there a student who insisted on eating out.
The first pace we ordered from was a fast food place found in 2000 Penn. It was... um... unsatisfying. I don't want to go into details as I am not a professional food critic, but if you want to eat quasi-Asian food, do not buy it in 2000 Penn. You have been warned.

Fortunately, there were better options for us. One place we tried was Kaz's Bistro. It was pretty good. The Thursday bento box special is chicken teriyaki and came with salad and sushi. But except for the specials, Kaz's can be a bit pricey for our budget. So we actually ordered out from a Korean place that serves both Korean and Japanese food. It's called Yee Hwa 李花. The first time, we order Bi bim bap, which is a Korean rice bowl of spicy meat and vegetables. I kind of liked it. Other days we ordered more conventional Japanese food such as teriyaki beef, salmon or chicken. (Okay, before you say anything, I am aware that these are not strictly Japanese, that in fact teriyaki "meats" are mostly an American invention--or more likely the invention of Japanese Americans who adjusted this style of cooking to their American palates and and the availability of certain meats.) In the photos above, we ordered tempura--full disclosure: strictly speaking it was vegetable tempura and shrimp fry; if you want to know the difference, send me an email.

So anyway, during these meals, we attempted to speak Japanese, to foster a Japanese language eating environment, but many students hung out with friends and chatted away in English. I thought about putting a stop to this, but I soon realized that students at different levels of Japanese who didn't know each other before summer session, soon became friends through these joint lunches. So I had to make a choice, divide them by language ability and foster their Japanese skills or to allow them to develop friendships--Japanese courses being the link--and figure out a different venue for language. I decided that it would be easier to create a different language venue than to foster an environment they themselves created to make friends. As far as I can tell, they are becoming very good friends, indeed, and I do not regret my decision.

So we will be eating our way through the summer every Thursday, making friends.

Summer Session Begins

2010-05-19T09:09:00.003-05:00

The Japanese Institute for Language and Culture has begun and I cautiously optimistic. All students actually showed up and they are rather enthusiastic. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the summer institute will be successful and productive.

Graduation 2010

2010-05-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to the class of 2010. Glad to see you graduated without incident. Always a good thing. It was a pleasure meeting the parents of some of my favorite students and see where they actually got their genes from. I was very impressed.

Classes are over...

2010-05-01T15:01:00.003-05:00

...and all that's left are Finals. Believe me when I say, I do NOT like to give bad grades, but I also do not give out grades like candy. You have to earn it, so study hard.

Kudos Ryan

2010-04-23T05:24:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to Ryan Buyco, graduating senior and Japanese major, who has been accepted into the Asian Studies program at the University of Hawai'i starting Fall 2010. Ryan was also recently accepted into the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme and had been weighing his options, until he just got an email informing him that the Asian Studies Program at Hawai'i has awarded him a $15,000 Starr Fellowship for Academic Year 2010-2011:

The Asian Studies Starr Fellowship Committee was impressed by your academic preparation, and your commitment to research that crosses national boundaries in Asia. We hope to see you in the Fall.

Well, Ryan, this is great news and I hope that it narrows down your options.

Congratulations, again

Summer Session 2010

2010-04-21T06:50:00.000-05:00

Just got the word recently that out Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture is a go. I will be adding information as we go along, but for now we have about 9 or 10 students. Six will be taking Intermediate Japanese with Seya Sensei, the rest will be taking Beginning Japanese with Kikuchi sense and me. All will be enrolled in the Japanese Culture through Film course with Heusch sensei. Students who have elected the residential option will be housed in Ivory Tower, much to the delight of our proctor, Miki Furuya, a rising junior who will be living with the students for tutoring and advice.

If there is anyone who is still interested, deadline for the residential option is Friday, April 30.

I'll keep posting stuff as information becomes available.

JET Kudos

2010-04-16T06:04:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Marissa Lubong and Ryan Buyco, graduating seniors and Japanese majors, for being accepted into the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme. Spencer Barnes, another graduating senior and Japanese major--incredibly, double majoring as a student from GW's School of Business--was selected as an alternate. If past history is any indication, there is a good chance he will get in too. I'd congratulate him too, but I don't want to jinx him.

Unfortunately, not all of our students who applied got in, as this program has become highly competitive recently, particularly with the dearth of job opportunities these days. But each was outstanding and qualified, and I have no doubt that they will find other opportunities soon. So keep pluggin' away. Your time will come.

Meeting Sulu

2010-04-07T06:12:00.005-05:00

My brother is art director at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. He came by in January to set up an exhibit at the National Archives called Fighting Democracy. My brother invited me and the missus to the exhibit's unveiling and soiree. It was a nice exhibit called Fighting Democracy. Apparently, it is a "traveling" exhibit that has been to New Orleans, Tuskegee, and soon to Memphis at the Martin Luther King Museum.

While the exhibit was nice and the food adequate--actually much better than most of the fare I get at school functions--the highlight of the evening was meeting George Takei. Musubichan was so excited to meet a celebrity. I have to admit that meeting Sulu was more interesting than addressing Senator Dan Inouye in the elevator: "By all means, after you, Sir." Yeah, that's all I could muster.

Anyway, it was a nice evening, but even nicer was getting reacquainted with my brother who stayed at our place for a week. Living out in Virginia/DC, you kind of lose touch of the people who are important to you, especially family.

Japanese Summer Institute: Movies, Museums, and Karaoke

2010-03-11T13:09:00.003-05:00

Okay, so the title sounds kinda crazy. Karaoke? Haha. I'll do anything to get my students to actually vocalize Japanese--whether they understand it or not.

The action of voicing new and unfamiliar words--its pronunciation, intonations, and rhythms--help a language learner become more familiar and hence more comfortable with speaking Japanese. So if they're going to voice Japanese, why just limit it to the dialogue and exercises in a textbook? Why not sing along with J-pop?

Not that I should be the model of a perfect student (long story), but I sang Japanese songs a lot in my early years of learning Japanese and it helped me a lot.

Anyway, I felt compelled to write this post when I read this article published in the CCAS Newsletter. It's nice to get a write up in the school newsletter, but I'm sure the word karaoke will raise a few eyebrows, so I wanted to elucidate just a bit.

Major Fair--postscript

2010-03-09T12:34:00.007-05:00

Thanks to all those who came to the Major Fair tonight to show your support! The Chinese teachers were like: "Wow, you guys are like a family. You help and support each other." Indeed, one student looking to minor wanted some advice and Marshall and Natasha (right) were talking to him giving him pointers--Yeah, avoid bungo at... all cost!--and the Chinese teachers were so envious to see our Japanese majors pitching in without having to be asked! I felt like a proud papa. :-P

Japanese Institute for Language and Culture

2010-03-01T12:40:00.002-05:00

Just to let you know, summer session IS ON... well, if we get enough students to register, that is.

I've been working since last October to put together a program that will help our students and generate interest in Japanese for those GW students who want a taste of Japanese language and culture and as well as those who are not GW students. Hopefully this is the ticket.

We are integrating language and culture and hope students will feel invested in the program as we try to get instructors and students involved in all aspects of the program, including events outside of class, which is where students can aply what they are learning in class.

I'll have more as information becomes available, but for the time being, click on the flier and take a look at some of the details. Contact me or GW Summer Session for more information.

Become a J major!

2010-02-28T12:29:00.001-05:00

CCAS is holding a Major Fair to help students decide on a major. They want a couple of current majors to come to explain to potential majors what its like to... Um... Fall in with love bungo? Eat three big serving of curry rice? er... ask for a letter of recomendation THREE weeks in advance? :-)

So if you're a major, in the area and have the time, come on by, say hello and support the Japanese Major at the Marvin Center Great Hall March 8, 7-9PM.

Grading Rubric

2010-01-18T09:35:00.004-05:00

Once upon a time (okay, until last semester) I graded in an holistic manner. This means that I read, made comments and applied a grade that represented an amalgamation of all the impressions I had of the paper. While there is nothing wrong with this approach--I'd bet most professors grade in the same way--I always ran into trouble when a student came to ask me about his or her grade.

Now, as I said, I write comments, sometimes detailed comments--at times funny or sarcastic, too--in the margins: "excellent intro" "dic." "This doesn't make sense" "sp" "Good point" "inc. sent." "if you say this here, whe say it there?" "I like this". I will also write copious comments at the end of he paper to spell out what I think is both good and what needs improvement. As a result, I don't get a whole lot of students coming in asking about why they got a certain grade, but every so often they come in.

"Hey, I got a B on this paper, but I thought I'd get at least an A-. Can you tell me what I did wrong so I can get a better grade the next time?"

I will look at their paper and read the comments I wrote, but I've read anywhere between 20 to 50 papers for any given class, so I don't always remember exactly why I write something. The fact that I grade holistically doesn't help me recall either.

Well, fortunately for me, just when I was thinking about what to do, we get a message from those above talking about how we need to spell out "learning outcomes". One step in this process is to detail exactly how we evaluate so we can articulate exactly what we expect from our students and what we see as the learning outcome from an assignment and ultimately from the course. So I set out to analyze and break down my mental process so students may gain a better idea of how I evaluate an essay, thereby allowing them the opportunity to write a better paper. The result was the concrete rubric of criteria below. You will notice that I apply a letter grade to each section which represents a percentage of your entire paper. This is, of course, a general outline of how I grade and, to a greater or lesser extent, I am still influenced by the general impressions I develop as I read. I'm only human.

Still, please consider these criteria as a check list when you write your paper. If you successfully follow them, chances are you will get the grade you want.

Grading Rubric
Structure/Style (25%): A) Information organized in a logical and interesting sequence with balanced sections and clear transitional sentences. B) Information organized in a logical sequence but progression is not smooth. C) Information is poorly organized; difficult to follow. D) Stream of consciousness approach. Introduction→ Body [Motivation→ Argument 1 w/evidence→ Argument 2 w/evidence→ (Argument 3 w/evidence)]→ Conclusion	Idea/Knowledge (25%): A) Demonstrates a firm understanding of the topic/subject and knowledge of its details. B) Demonstrates an understanding of the topic/subject but manifests a few errors in the details. C) Demonstrates a tentative understanding of the topic/subject and manifests errors in the details. D) Demonstrates little to no understanding of the topic/subject.
Argumentation (25%): A) Presents an argument with an original point of view, providing convincing evidence in a logical manner. B) Presents an argument with evidence that is logical but mostly regurgitates the position and evidence of others—previous scholars or in class discussion. C) Presents an argument based on thin or incomplete evidence. D) Presents an argument that is wholly unconvincing—evidence is inconsistent, unrelated or illogical.	Presentation—Grammar and spelling (15%) A) Virtually no spelling or grammatical errors B) No more than 2 obvious errors C) 3-5 obvious errors D) More than 5 errors
	Layout (10%) Typed Margins: 1” Line spacing: 1½ Word count included Long quotes: Indented Paginated, page numbers☺ Font: Times New Roman, Arial, 12 point Citations: formatted correctly (both inline and footnotes). A) properly formatted; B) missing 1 item; C) missing 2; D) missing 3 or more

New Semester

2010-01-14T02:00:00.002-05:00

The semester as begun. This semester, I'm teaching J-Lit in Translation and Beginning Japanese II. I haven't taught Lit in Translation in a couple of years so I'm kinda apprehensive. I'm sure my students can tell I'm nervous. I'm also teaching Beginning Japanese for the first time in... 6 years? It's been a while so I get kinda nervous there too. It's only the first week of school and I'm already a nervous wreck! But I look forward to the semester because I just love to teach Japanese.

H1N1

2009-10-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness I haven't exhibited flu-like symptoms like many of my students have--or claim to have: "Sensei, I am exhibiting flu-like symptoms and am unable to attend class today." Hmmm... sounds like a cut and paste job from an email sent by the dean. Oh well, what can you do? I have yet to exhibit anything–knock on wood–but you never know. So I got my seasonal flu shot and am anxiously waiting for the H1N1 vaccine. Of course, if I catch something, then maybe I can take off and rest for a week or so. I'm sure some of my students would appreciate a reprieve from my weekly quizzes and writing assignments.

Anyway, I got an email from President Obama asking me personally to spread the word about their new Flu.gov website. Yes, I get an email from him often, like everyday, sometimes three times a day. Of course, much of it goes something like, "with your tax deductable support we can..." But seriously, the email comes directly from him...

Anyway, everyone, check out the site for the latest info on H1Ni, and please stay healthy and germ free. And always wash those hands!

Language Tea Time

2009-10-19T11:45:00.002-05:00

Anyone wanna join me for some Japanese?

The Sigur Center for Asian Studies Presents:

LANGUAGE TEA TIMES!

Chinese Tea Time

When: 4:00 - 5:00 PM

Japanese:
October 22, November 12

Where: The Sigur Center for Asian Studies, 1957 E St, NW
Suite 503, the Chung-Wen Shih Conference Room

Summer Japanese at GW--Tell your friends... well, maybe not yet...

2009-10-12T23:30:00.006-05:00

Every summer we want to offer a summer course for Japanese language but for whatever reason, students do not come. I have to believe that there is interest out there, but we can never get enough enrollment. So this year, with a little encouragement from the Dean's office--specifically Assistant Dean Keller--I've cooked up a proposal that I hope will garner interest. Remember, this is a proposal for now. We will see if it flies...

Intended goals of program
Summer courses at most universities—including GW—tend to be individual, unconnected classes offered as a means for students to fulfill GCRs or to graduate on time. The idea of this Taste of Japanese Language and Culture program is to offer an integrated learning experience incorporating language and culture to inspire students about Japan while passing the summer in an educationally productive manner.

Dates of classes & total contact hours
An eight (8) week program from May 17 to July 9 as per GW’s academic calendar 2009-10.

Intensive Basic Japanese will meet for three hours, four days a week, Monday through Thursday for a total of 93.3 contact hour (excluding the Final Exam day).
Intensive Intermediate Japanese will meet for three hours, four days a week, Monday through Thursday for a total of 93.3 contact hour (excluding the Final Exam day).
Japanese Culture through Film will meet three times a week, one meeting will be 2.5 hours for screening and discussion of film, the other two meeting will meet for one hour (a full 60 minutes). Total contact hours total equals 36 hours

Targeted audience
The primary target audience is GW students who wish to accelerate their Japanese language learning schedule. However, by integrating language and culture together, we also hope to attract non-GW students and the public at large.

Draft syllabus & timeline
Both Intensive Language courses can be held from 10 AM in the morning to 1:50 PM with a 10 minute break and a 40 minute joint lunch with students and instructor daily.

Sabbatical Report

2009-09-30T15:19:00.003-05:00

Brief summary of the original plan

Little new work has been done on the aesthetic principles of Japanese poetry. Many of the current articles and books reiterate the research of Robert Brower and Earl Miner in their forty-nine year old classic, Japanese Court Poetry (Stanford, 1960). A number of aesthetic principles need to be updated, and during the sabbatical, I intended to focus on a search through documents to identify, collect and collate all relevant material, and write initial drafts of my findings which would lead to a series of articles on different poetic and aesthetic principles specifically addressing outdated research.

Summary of sabbatical activities

I began the sabbatical by focusing on collecting further examples of the application of the aesthetic/poetic principle, yūgen (幽玄 lit. mystery and depth), by Fujiwara Shunzei in poetry matches by going through matches he judged starting from the Shigeie Poetry Match of 1166 to the Sengohyakuban Poetry Match of 1201. I have identified thirteen—and I believe all—instances of yūgen in extant documents. Previously, I have determined that this principle—unlike the anachronistic interpretation by many previous scholars who believed that yūgen was applied to “mysterious” content—was applied in reference to poems that manifested an unstable text, poems that had more than one meaning. This instability was based on the poems reference to archaic elements that were somehow sensed but not readily explained. The noted Japanese scholar, Kubota Jun, reached a similar conclusion but makes reference to archaic grammatical patterns. My research, on the other hand, suggests that this is an overly convenient conclusion; analysis of Shunzei’s application of the term does not refer to just any archaic element—would the phrase “thou hast” in a modern English poem render it “mysterious and deep”?—but rather specifically to older texts with which the connection is not obvious.

The absence of an obvious and direct association with other texts is in contradistinction with another poetic technique of the same era known as honkadori. A crucial prescription for this compositional technique was to borrow more than one poetic segment (ku) from a source poem and incorporating it into your own poem. Moreover, the borrowing must be an obvious reference to a previous poem. As the leading poet of the early 13th century, Fujiwara Teika, noted in his poetic treatise, Maigetsushō, “[borrowing] should be done in such a way that it is clear that the older poem has been used.” While all scholars of premodern Japanese literature recognize the distinction between yūgen and honkadori, there seems to be a misconception when analyzing their role in critical method. David Bialock indicates that Teika was “deeply committed to the concept of the text as a stable, fixed entity,” but then indicates that the Shinkokinshū “conceals a vertical depth reaching back or down into the intertextual space of the tradition, an intertextual space which it in fact generates out of its own textual practice.” While I agree that Teika’s approach suggests a commitment to a “stable, fixed entity,” this seems to contradict his idea that the Shinkokinshū—the eighth Imperial Anthology of which Teika was one of the compilers—reached into an “intertextual space” which “generates out of its own textual practice.” His comment suggests that honkadori—with its clear relationship with older poems—was a form of intertextuality. This is, in my opinion, far from correct. Intertextuality as defined by Julia Kristeva or Roland Barthes promotes quite the opposite: the text is an unstable, unfixed entity.

Still, Bialock’s assertion is understandable to the degree that honkadori is intertextual in nature. A poem that incorporates this technique can technically have more than one meaning—the straight-forward meaning suggested by the original text itself and the alternative meanings rendered when the source poem is also taken into consideration. However, the fact that the prescription for honkadori requires that it be “clear that the older poem has been used” strips away any pretense to the instability of the text. This is not intertextuality. It is contextuality.

Departure from original plan

In the contemporary field of Japanese literature, the feud between traditionalists and post-structuralists is alive and quite palpable. By training and personal philosophy, I am inclined to the post-structuralist notion of the instability of the text. However, I also understand the necessity to ground the text in some sort of “reality”, a context within which a text derives meaning from the circumstances of composition, the background of the writer, or the era in which it was written. What this boils down to is that I believe that a critical and ultimately successful reading of a text is based on an understanding and acceptance of both of these two dialectically opposed views, and I find fascinating the idea that Heian poets seemed to reflect this stance by accepting and applying both the technique of honkadori and the principle of yūgen.

As a result of this new insight, my initial goal of identifying, collecting and collating the various aesthetic principles of Late Heian poetry was temporarily put on hold. While these are important goals to which I will return, I found it more important—and for me, more exciting—to pursue this dichotomy between honkadori and yūgen, contextuality and intertextuality, within the framework of Late Heian court poetry. As a result, much of the sabbatical was spent searching for further examples of honkadori, analyzing premodern interpretations of its application, and the reading of secondary sources concerning yūgen, honkadori, text and intertextuality, all of which led me to the above conclusion.

Results and Contributions

This deviation from my sabbatical proposal, however, is not so much a departure from the original plan but an augmentation and expansion of my ultimate goals: an understanding of post-modern thinking in premodern Japan. It is of great interest to me to analyze 1000-year old court texts that seem to reflect the critical methodology that is so much a part of the landscape of 21st century academia. The results of my work, I am currently assembling into a rough draft and hope to submit for journal publication by the end of the year. Further research and eventual publication of these findings would open the eyes of colleagues, contribute to my field of premodern Japanese literature, and hopefully to the field of humanities in general.

Other activities

Beyond my research endeavors during the sabbatical, I remained active in and committed to the business of the University, the Columbian College of Arts and Science, the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, and to the Japanese Language and Literature Program and its students in the following ways:

Served on Departmental Search Committee for Chinese Language, Teaching Instructor position, East Asian Languages and Literatures. 2008-9.
Participated in Sophomore Major Fair, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, February 2009.
Participated in CCAS Celebration, Bachelors Degree greeter, May 16, 2009.
Participated in University Commencement, May 17, 2009.
Maintained a presence in the Japanese Program by advising students online and in person, writing letters of recommendations, etc.
Served as Haiku judge for the Mid Atlantic Association of Teaching Japanese (MAATJ)—an organization of Japanese teachers in the DC, MD, and VA area. Judged, ranked and commented on over 70 haiku submissions by students of Japanese language from elementary to high school.

New Semester, New Academic Year 2009-10

2009-08-23T16:43:00.002-05:00

The sabbatical is over. *sigh* I did quite a bit of research, although I have yet to organize it into a coherent paper. I'll be working on that over the next few months. Aah, context and intertext, honkadori and yuugen. Sometimes I wonder if it is stimulating the gray matter...or frying it.

Anyway, I hope that majors come see ASAP once the semeser starts so we can go over your schedule of classes to ensure timely progress. I hate it when students find themselves in a not-enough-credit-units/requirements-to-graduate debacle. It often turns into an ugly situation. So even if you're a sophomore or junior, be sure to drop by, okay? I'll be in from Day One (that's August 31 for those who don't know), Monday through Thursday. And as my regular Riceballs already know, you're more likely to catch me in the PM than the AM.

My Dog Ate It

2009-07-19T13:36:00.001-05:00

God love the Japanese. They come up with the craziest inventions, such as the Head Stabilizer for those who fall asleep on the train, or the Cuddle Pillow for the lonely among us. But I read that the toy company, Takara Tomy, is reintroducing its dog interpreter, the Bowlingual. This contraption claims to analyze a dog's bark and interpret its emotional state. This is rather ridiculous, as it would seem to me that most people can read the emotions of man's best friend relatively easily. A wagging tail is a happy dog, flattened ears is fear/aggression, a whimper suggests pain.

But then, you never know. I'm wondering if this electronic translator can interpret an elevated level of stress, such as in a lie detector. As an instructor, I come across my share of students who forget to do their home assignments. Indeed, I had one student who came home from Thanksgiving break swearing that the paper he wrote on his parents' computer--suggesting he didn't have the file to print--was destroyed by his dog. He even presented me with the shredded remnants of the paper he somehow saved from the jaws of his pet.

This old and tired excuse--my dog ate it--is seemingly effective because the only other witness to the crime is the perpetrator who cannot communicate the truth. But if this Bowlingual could somehow interpret Spot's emotions when confronted with the now unreadable shreds of evidence, well, Takara Tomy might have something that I might buy.

FYI: This post has been slightly fictionalized. :-)

Twitter

2009-03-07T19:50:00.003-05:00

I had heard of Twitter quite a while ago when the people at RBJ began tweeting--I think that's the verb--with each other. I resisted. I swore that I have enough sites to my name at places like Blogger, Hotmail, Aim, LiveJournal, Flickr, MySpace, etc. I figure that it was enough. I even have a Jaiku account which is I think similar to Twitter, so I thought, "Why bother?"

Well, it seems that everyone on TV is talking about Twitter. It's like the Facebook for 2009. So what did I do the other day? I registered.

Unfortunately.... Someone already is using my screen name. I mean seriously, my name is so unique--riceball man--why would anyone want to use it? Worse, I don't think this person is using it because s/he has no updates, no followings, no followers. What's up with that?

Anyway, I don't know when I'll be tweeting, but I've come to the conclusion this is a good way to maintain a presence/relationship with former students, provided they have a Tweeter account. So if you do and you want to keep in touch, follow me and I'll follow you back.

Obama's (non) State of the Union Address

2009-02-25T02:01:00.003-05:00

It is customary for a president to be seated for a year before he gives a State of the Union Address, so Obama's speech last night was not really a State of the Union. Even though the talking heads on TV treated it as such--my poison is MSNBC--it wasn't. It was more like the Hopeful State of the Union, the way Obama envisions how his stimulus package will work out when implemented. There were a few promising moments, but he grabbed my attention when he got to education. This is the first time I can remember any president speak so publicly about the necessity of HIGHER education--education beyond high school--and how it will hold a place of prominence in his policy.

It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship.

But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country — and this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

As a college professor, I'm not embarrassed to admit that I got misty eyed when I heard this.

カレーライス

2009-02-13T10:47:00.008-05:00

J-Major Curry Party 2008

The Japanese dish, curry rice, is a common dish. Curry is most readily identified with India, but Japanese curry--if memory serves correctly--did not come from India but from England. The British colonized India, imported curry, altered the flavor and style to match there palette and made it their own dish. The Japanese in the Meiji period, importing many things from the West including cuisine, adopted curry from the British and adapted it to their own taste buds. Indeed, the popular dish "rice curry" ライスカレー--not to be mistaken with curry rice--is closer in to the British rendition of curry than with the original Indian curry, which seems to have dozens if not hundreds of different recipes.

The basic Japanese curry is a dark thick sauce made from a roux and includes onions, carrots, potatoes and meat, either beef, chicken or pork and is generally served with rice--karee nanban is curry served with udon and karee pan is a donut (usually) filled with curry. It is easy to make and even easier to eat--i.e it takes very little chewing to swallow, which is not exactly good for your digestive system.

This distinction between "curry rice" and "rice curry" is more than semantic in Japan. Curry rice カレーライス is served on top of the rice and is the typical serving style in homes and Japanese diners. But for the more sophisticate who eat curry in western-styled diners, hotels and high end department stores, the curry is called rice curry ライスカレー: served in a gravy boat separate from the rice. To me, the taste is virtually same but but the presentation requires a re-ordering of the name.

Further, it is (not so) important to note that curry in Japan is never served with gohan, the Japanese word for "rice," but rather with raisu, the Japanese pronunciation of "rice." This has nothing to do with the actual rice. Curry rice and rice curry are both served with cooked Japanese short grain rice, not the long grain rice of Thailand (Jasmine) or India (Basmati). So what is the difference? Beats me. No Japanese has ever convincingly explained this to me except to say that curry rice is considered a "Western" dish (go figure) and so it is natural to use the Western word to represent the rice as well. Of course, when I ask why they call a "cutlette bowl" katsudon instead of katsu-booru, I am met with consternation. This also works with curry noodles: Why karee nanbam カレー南蛮 (curry of the southern barbarians) instead of karee nuudoru. Yes, I can be such a provocateur.

Anyway, why am I talking about curry? Well, every year I have a curry party for Japanese majors--no I take that back. There was one year when I didn't. I was too busy--which is my usual explantion, and I'll leave it at that. This year, I'm on sabbatical and am unsure if I should have another one. These parties began when the school administration offered a modest sum of money to promote student-teacher interaction. This modest largesse dissipated in a couple of years, but the "demand" for the party never waned so I continued it--except for that one year--at my own expense. A couple of years ago, Hamano sensei began to provide funds to cover some of the cost which was very helpful. But I wonder if there is any demand or need for such a party when I am on sabbatical.

If you think we should hold our J-major Curry Party, leave me a comment. Since there are more than 20 majors, I hope to see a goodly number of responses. That would surely convince me.

Margi

2009-02-09T21:17:00.008-05:00

Just want to note that one of our Japanese majors (2008) was recently accepted into the PhD program at UC Berkeley and Yale University for Japanese Literature. Marjorie Burge did excellent research at a level that rivals what I did as a graduate student in premodern Japanese Literature when she studied with me last year. She had spent a semester in Korea and a year in Japan and was researching classical documents that she believed provides linguistic clues to the close relationship between Paekche (Korea) and Japan. She maintained high standards throughout her academic career here that got her recognized by GW for Outstanding Achievement. She was nominated as a Distinguished Scholar (ESIA) and recognized as a member of what Vice President Lehman referred to as the "2% Club", the top two percent at GW. [photo]

Congratulations Margi.

One Day Fireman

2009-02-09T21:08:00.003-05:00

Mere words cannot express how moved I am at how our J majors grow. Good job, Jacob Heller (2007), even if is was only for a day. :-P

Speaking Japanese

2009-02-04T14:48:00.003-05:00

When speaking Japanese, non-native speakers need to remember to be polite.

Most languages have at last two levels of speech. In general, they are formal and informal. In the US, this is especially true in business. You call people Mister, unless told otherwise. You speak and act politely, unless you become very familiar with your superior. Do you slap you boss's back and tell him "Good job, dude"?

In Japanese, the line is even more pronounced. Unfortunately for most Japanese learners, a Japanese speaker will not correct a non-native speaker when they speak informally. Many Americans will come back from Japan thinking their Japanese is all that. I certainly have many students like that as well. And for the most part, their confidence is well founded. Their Japanese is relatively fluent and unobstructed by the fear of using the wrong word.

However, if they are too informal with me, I will always correct them. I don't mean to be a hard-ass, but someone needs to correct them because if and when they return to Japan for work or graduate study, they cannot talk informally when talking to a business colleague or professor. They have to learn to turn the formality switch on and off in any given situation. And the level familiarity rarely has anything to do with it. I worked at a Research Center for two years in Japan and became very familiar with my bucho (division chief). We often drank together, and he is the one who dubbed me the "American who speaks English". But one night while drinking, I spoke to him a bit too familiarly. Now, in Japan, drinking often excuses an error in judgment, and most will laugh it off the next day. But my error in being too familiar with my bucho put me in his doghouse for two weeks. He literally did not speak to me during that time, relaying messages to me through others.

The bottom line is--been there, done that. So I tell my students to speak to me formally whenever they decide to speak to me in Japanese. If they think I am a hardcase, then so be it. I take it upon myself to be their practice partner, their opportunity to learn how to turn that formality switch on and off.

Christmas Present

2008-12-25T05:08:00.005-05:00

Tuesday would be the only day I go to school this week and next, and guess what? I get a package. There's no one on campus, no one in the department, except me and the chair.

"It's either work or an important Christmas card," I tell Mr. Fedex.

"It's from a Xianting," the delivery dude said and looked at me in anticipation.

Aaah, Xianting. A former student who graduated a year ago. She was one of the best and most insightful students I had in my Lit in Translation course. She often came to office hours to say "hi" and chat a bit, and we got to know each other pretty well considering that she never studied anything else related to Japan. She told me that she wanted to invite me to a "distinguished student dinner" last year, but refrained as it conflicted with my late class. I ended up going anyway when another "recognized" student asked me. I never pass up a free dinner.

Anyway, I saw Xianting at the end of Finals period last year. She came by the office to say "good-bye" and that she enjoyed the classes from her "favorite teacher." We hugged and she left for bigger and better things on the West Coast. Besides the occasional random comments on Facebook, that was the last time I heard from her. Until Tuesday.

"Ah, my girlfriend in California," I smiled at the delivery dude.

He grinned as I signed for the package. He descended down the hall seemingly pleased at the thought he was delivering joy instead of work over the holiday season.

I knew better, of course. As any experienced professor could have easily deduced, inside the package was a request for a letter of recommendation. *sigh*

Merry Christmas to all!

My Current Schedule

2008-12-21T13:02:00.004-05:00

Click the office hour or course for details. I am back from sabbatical starting Fall semester 2009 and will be holding regular office hours. Of course, you can always email me.

Growing Pains

2008-12-10T19:26:00.003-05:00

Since the inception of the Japanese Language and Literature Major Program in 1996, the goal has been: 1) To provide Japanese language instruction to all GW students that meets real-world objectives, goals that realize language proficiency in real-world situations. 2) To provide education in Japanese literature and culture to GW students that encourages diversity in thought and flexibility in opinion. 3) To establish a regionally and nationally recognized program by graduating competent students in the field of Japanese language and literature, and by disseminating cutting-edge research through publications by its faculty.

Over the past five years, we have striven to fulfill these goals, and the results suggest that we have had a degree of success, given our resources. With three full-time faculty, we have 1) improved the quality and timeliness of instruction so that the average student can reach the advanced language levels and still expect to graduate in four years (sometimes three); and 2) maintained a consistent number of Japanese Majors and a lower attrition rate. Since Spring '03, we have maintained a consistent number of Japanese Majors. In Spring 2003, there were 20 declared majors; in Fall 2008, there are 20 declared majors. Enrollment in advanced Japanese courses has also remained consistent. An average for fourth year Readings in Modern Japanese (JAPN 107) has been 16 students, and Literary Japanese (JAPN 109) 12 students―with 18 students this year. We have also addressed a previous weak spot―no highly advanced Japanese courses for students who entered GW with advanced placement or have studied abroad―with the course Advanced Conversation and Composition (JAPN 121-22).

And yet, we suffer from growing pains as expanding is proving to be a difficult. My main concern is a lack of course offerings that go beyond basic language an literature instruction and highlight the specialties of full-time faculty. Our goal of encouraging diversity in thought and flexibility of opinion is partially addressed through advanced language and literature survey courses. However, these do not take full advantage of the resources available in the program and at the university. Specialized literature or linguistics courses would provide our students with greater insight to Japanese and an opportunity to broaden their minds to different ways of thinking. It would have the added advantage of fostering pride in faculty efforts, encourage further research, and compel them to stay on the cutting edge of their field.

The dilemma: Not enough time. The full-time faculty members carry a teaching load that is equal to or greater than those of similar programs at others institutes. Prof. Tsujioka carries a 3-4 course load; I teach 3-3, a well as a proseminar course that I cannot count toward my teaching load (JAPN 198). Prof. Hamano's indefinite reassignment to the Language Center simply compounds the problem. In an ideal situation, the hiring of two full-time faculty would allow the program to grow, produce and contribute.

One full time position would be a hire to cover the void left by Prof. Hamano's reassignment. A specialist in Japanese linguistics or Japanese literature with experience or expertise in language teaching would fill this vacuum. The second hire would be for a teaching specialist for language instruction. This position would reduce the continual need to rely solely on part timers and stabilize instruction with staff who would have a vested interest in the advancement of the program. Further, it would partially free full time faculty to teach courses in their own field of specialty, thereby privileging students, creating opportunities for advanced research―and greater visibility for the University, and lay the ground foundation for a possible graduate program.

As you might discern, I'm simply wishing...

Tale of Genji

2008-12-05T09:13:00.004-05:00

Next Fall semester, I have an extra slot to teach.... ha! Like I need more courses to teach! I've applied for the Dean's seminar to teach a course on The Tale of Genji.

Genji, the Shining Prince, was not just about a dilettante and playboy, although I can understand such comments by students in a survey course of Japanese literature. But when a student compares this icon of Japanese literature to a suspect on MSNBC’s “To Catch a Predator”—even in jest—I am compelled to consider a course dedicated to a deeper appreciation of one of the masterpieces of Japanese literary history, The Tale of Genji. A Dean’s Seminar would provide an appropriate venue for such a course.

Misconceptions concerning the Genji are not limited to my students. The Japanese novelist and nun, Setouchi Jakuchō, regards Genji’s actions as more than seduction: “It was all rape, not seduction.” If Setouchi—a recognized “expert” on classical literature in Japan—can make such a comment in a New York Times interview (1999.05.28), then comments such as those uttered by my students should not surprise anyone. Using an abridged version to accommodate a survey course, that covers more than a thousand years of poetry, chronicles, diaries and essays, simply compounds the problem. All available abridged versions primarily cover the early chapters when Genji is young and sexually active. As a result, even an astute reader such as Virginia Woolf fails to capture all that the Genji has to offer. In a review of the first volume of Arthur Waley’s Genji translation, Woolf writes: “Some element of horror, of terror, of sordidity, some root of experience has been removed from the Eastern world so that crudeness is impossible and coarseness out of the question, but with it too has gone some vigour, some richness, some maturity of the human spirit.” (Vogue, Late July, 1925) Such conclusions, based only on the first few chapters, are unfortunate but inevitable. Time, effort and, of course, reading the entire text are necessary to appreciate fully the Tale of Genji.

The Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu (b. ca. 973-d. ca. 1014), provides a view into the culture of the Heian court, a place both foreign yet somehow familiar. For example, political power was controlled by a branch of the Fujiwara family, a control based on political maneuvering: Through the mid-Heian period, Fujiwara leaders arranged for their daughters to become the primary wives of succeeding emperors, ensuring their position as imperial advisor/regent by virtue of being the grandfather of the crown prince. In the Genji, this legitimacy is challenged when the Genji—charismatic and beautiful since birth—is born of a lesser imperial consort. His mother is literally bullied to death and the emperor’s primary wife reveals herself to be an evil step-mother, coddling her own son the crown prince while tormenting Genji. The emperor, all too aware of the situation, ensures his son’s safety by assigning Genji to a distant branch of the imperial line, thereby disassociating him from any issue of succession.

However, knowledge of the political and cultural realities of the time is not the only requirement to appreciating the Genji. Japanese literature is notorious for its open-endedness. Anyone who has read “In a Grove” by Akutagawa Ryūnoske—later made into the film Rashōmon—will have experienced the Japanese sense of non-closure. This is certainly the case in the Genji, in which the main character dies with one quarter of the story remaining. The narrative continues, focusing on Genji’s descendants and how they are influenced by his past actions, whether by karmic affect or a confluence of circumstances. The effect on the reader is an appreciation of the open-endedness of life as portrayed in a story that seems to continue on regardless of the absence of the protagonist. Life goes on no matter who dies.

A course on the Tale of Genji will deal with topics such as these, through readings of the main text and selected secondary sources. The main text is a recent translation by Royall Tyler (2001). The fact that it is in translation should not detract from any appreciation of the tale; Tyler has provided a translation that is remarkably faithful to the original, making it just as accessible as the Genji monogatari translated into modern Japanese for college students in Japan. Secondary sources will provide insights that will lead to deeper discussions and analyses of the story. Ultimately, the course will reveal the vigor, richness and maturity of the human spirit in the Genji that was lost on Woolf, while encouraging diversity in thought and flexibility in opinion for GW Freshmen through an understanding of a world centuries away.

Okonomiyaki party

2008-11-20T22:10:00.001-05:00

We had our annual okonomiyaki party for bungo students. Yes, we had fun as usual.

Previous Courses

2008-11-20T04:16:00.004-05:00

The following are the syllabi for previous classes taught at The George Washington University. Some of the information may be outdated; it is provided here only as a general guideline when deciding which class to take. Requirements pertaining to a given class in a given year can vary. Current syllabi--hard copy or Blackboard link--will be provided in class. For courses and course description of all Japanese courses at GW, see the the University Bulletin Course Catalog.

For specific questions or further information, contact me at: hanami{at}gwu.edu

To read a syllabus, click on one of the following links:

On composing haiku

2008-11-02T09:11:00.004-05:00

On November 1, I woke p at 4:30 in the morning--people who know me would be shocked at this--showered and dressed, and waited for my ride to pick me up at 6 AM to take me the annual conference for FLAVA--Foreign Language Association of Virginia--held in Richmond, VA. The teacher and current president of MAATJ--Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese--drove the two hours from Northern Virginia to Richmond, where I gave the Keynote talk on composing haiku for K-12 students at the MAATJ chapter at the FLAVA conference. Those in attendance were primarily elementary to high school teachers, mostly from Virginia, with a few from Maryland.

I talked about strategies of how they might teach haiku composition in Japanese to their students. I covered the basics, of course: 5-7-5 structure, season words, etc. I also suggested strategies to excite students: No grammar in haiku!!!! I also suggested compositional principles to jazz up their poems.

Actually, I have been the judge of their annual haiku contests for the past three years and told them that some of their students were very imaginative and often conveyed many of the techniques found in haiku written by the master, Basho. One technique might be called "funneling" as in the following poem by Basho.

あけぼのや白魚白きこと一寸
In the dawn / the white fish, it's whiteness / one inch

The poem suggests a loneliness born of an image of a single puny white fish with the dawning sky as its backdrop. The technique is to begin the image with something large--the dawn--and funnel into a smaller size--a school of whitefish, then focusing on the size of a single fish by looking at its color--or perhaps its absence of color, especially in contrast to the red sky of dawn.

A high school student from Langley High produced the following.

つよい風　たこをすいあげ　くもの上
Strong wind / blows the kite up / above the clouds

This poem also suggests a desolate loneliness represented through a kite. A strong wind (large presence) pulls the kite into the sky above the clouds, the kite, of course, getting smaller as it ascends. The image of a kite dominated by the wind suggests a desolation, and the progressively smaller kite is a lonely site indeed. And yet, it is a beautiful image.

In any event, it was a nice meeting and I had a nice albeit embarrassing time. I get kind of flustered when people kind of fawn over me: "Oh sensei, this way please." "Oh sensei, would you like more coffee?" My old man used to like this kind of attention, but I find it awkward as I don't really see myself as worthy of any special attention.

Alumni Weekend

2008-09-26T22:17:00.007-05:00

This semester has been hectic. My colleague has been reassigned and most of the work we had divided between the two of us has been placed in my lap. It's the end of the 4th week, and I can't wait 'til Christmas. But then, I always say that around the 4th week.

Anyway, this weekend was Alumni Weekend at our school. I started this Friday participating in a workshop on the issues of teaching Chinese characters. It was interesting enough as the faculty members from Chinese, Japanese and Korean all had different approaches and methods of teaching. The basic philosophies are so different. In Chinese, there are a kazillion characters to learn, but they are usually read in one way, whereas in Japanese, each character maintains its original Chinese pronunciation--although it has been altered significantly by the Japanese--as well as a Japanese pronunciation that was applied for semantic meanings. To make matters worse, depending on when the character and concept arrived in Japan, there can be two different Chinese pronunciations, and if there are related semantically there can be two (or more!) different Japanese readings.

女： female. Chinese: nyu. Japanese: (Chin) nyou, jo; (Japn) onna, me.

Anyway, the workshop was nice enough. From 3 PM, I signed up to stay in our department to welcome any alumni who decided to drop by for Alumni Weekend. But as we were setting up our conference room, we noticed a large suitcase tucked under the desk we keep in the hallway. A colleague and I asked the others if they knew anything about it. No one knew. The suitcase was rather dirty, pushed beck beneath the desk in an obvious attempt to conceal it, and had a sticker on its side that read: "Screened: Dubai International Airport." We decided that maybe security should take a look at it.

When the campus police came, they immediately determined that it was suspicious, they blocked access to the area--which actually blocked us into our corner of the building--and contacted their supervisors who then came to confirm the threat. The building was evacuated and we descended down the back emergency stairwell. Soon, the campus police presence was everywhere, sirens whirred as police vehicles cordoned off the streets around the building, and explosive-sniffing German Shepherds went in and out the building.

After two hours it was safe to return. As we waited, my colleagues and I talked with a member of the Homeland Security response team--yes, they took this very seriously--and he said they had identified the owner of the suitcase. I suppose we'll read about who and why soon enough in the school newspaper--I don't expect it to be even a blip on the media radar on a day when the Obama-McCain debate dominated the news cycle.

I was hoping to get some grading done while waiting for any possible alumni to show up, but the events of the afternoon squashed that plan. But ultimately, there was no bomb and everyone was safe. I guess that was as good a way to start the weekend as any.

PostScript: I did get to meet two alumni this weekend--Allison and Clark Munson. They seem to be doing fine, enjoying married life and successful careers.

If you teach it, they will come

2008-09-18T23:28:00.000-05:00

最近仕事が目が回るほど忙しくなったけど、それでもこの仕事が好きだ。好きな専門――古典文学、平安和歌、文語など――を教えられるし、いつも若者に囲まれているから、最高だと思う。うちの学校では日本語・日本文学も専攻にできるので、懸命に学生をリクルートしたり、日本へ留学させたり、大事に育てているつもりだ。

授業では、僕は熱心だ。学生が僕と同じくらい熱くなるためだ。日本文学は面白くて美しいだけではなく、有意義な文学だ、と主張する。言葉の意味は固定している、と思うようなアメリカ人に、日本文学のテキストの意味の柔軟性を見ろ、と。言葉の意味が文脈によって変化することを把握すれば、政治のプロパガンダやニュースの操られ方も分かってくる。文学は勉強のし方によっていろんなものを得られるぞ、と励ます。

しかし、この前、予想外のことがあった。

日本語は難しいから、文学を教える場合、どの大学では、英訳による日本文学 (Japanese Literature in Translation) のクラスは必要だ。これは入門みたいなもので、アメリカ人の学生にとって、初めて日本文学を味わえるチャンスだ。よって、日本語がまったくできない学生も結構いる。

しかし、今学期、日本語のできない、日本文学も文化も知らない学生二人が僕の授業に出席して、後で日本に留学したいと相談しに来た。日本語は知らなくても留学できますかって。先生の講義を聞いて興味がわいたって。日本に行ってみたくなったんだって。

はっきり言って、とてもうれしい。でも、本当に日本へ留学してそこで悪い経験してたら、僕のセイになるのかな、と心配で心配で。

JAPN 111 Japanese Literature in Translation (2008)

2008-09-03T03:34:00.000-05:00

PURPOSE The course is a survey of premodern Japanese literature discovered through assigned readings and films. It aims to encourage diversity in thought, flexibility in opinion, and an understanding of the role of texts in forming ideas as represented through Japanese literature.

REQUIREMENTS Every student must be registered in JAPN 111. There is no prerequisite for the course. Every student will be expected to have completed the assigned readings by the day assigned. In general, each class will involve a brief lecture—which may include the background, historical context, and possible interpretations of the assigned readings—and group/class discussion in which students will be required to participate. Every student must complete all assignments—reviews, essays, creative assignments. Every student must take all quizzes. The student who cannot attend class due to emergency or illness is still responsible for any assignments due for the class missed. There is no make-up quiz. All readings are in English.

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS Success in the course is contingent on the students' performance in all assignments and exams. Assignments will also be posted here on Black Board. You will be required to do the following:

Short essays—Each essay should be 1000 words, +/- 50 words. See formatting below for specifics. (100 points each) An Essay is a critical response to a specific question. An essay should be viewed as a mini-paper consisting of an introduction, a body, grounds for and support of your position, and a conclusion. Reference to other sources to support your position affords a convincing argument.
Participation and Creative assignments—Credit for participation is based on proactive contributions to in-class discussion--Questions or unrelated comments are not generally considered contributions. Tardiness and absences is considered partial and no participation, respectively. Creative assignments will reflect literary works read for class, including--but not limited to--diary entries, personal essays, and poems--including our poetry match. (Participation 50 pts; Assignments 40 pts, Poetry Match 10 pts)

Poetry match in which all will be expected to contribute two poems. The match will consist of two teams with captains and readers. Poems will be judged by your peers. Captains and judges will be volunteers who will still have to contribute a poem. Volunteers will receive the appreciation of the instructor... (W-A, T-B, L-C for each poem)

The Genji lectures Presentations of key chapters from the Tale of Genji. Presentions will be done in groups. The instructor will designate groups and assign chapters. Each presention should be approximately 15 minutes and may take any form the group decides. The key is to grasp the essential issues of the chapters and present them in a understandable way. Previous students have put on skits, news shows, game shows and puppets (yes, really)... (100 pts, of which 50 is by your group members/peers.)
11 Weekly Online Quizzes on Blackboard—Questions will be multiple choice, true false, matching and short answer. Questions will be taken from all readings and lectures prior to the week of the quiz. While all quizzes focus on more recent material, in general, they are cumulative. Quizzes will be online for a 24 hour window from 6AM Tuesday to 6AM Wednesday. There is a 15 minute limit for each quiz and a quiz can only be opened once. If your computer malfunctions, or you otherwise cannot take the quiz, you may take a hard copy make-up quiz in my office by Monday before the next quiz. Questions on make-up quizzes are different from online quizzes. Your lowest quiz score will be dropped. See below for makeup policy. (20 x 10 = 200 pts.)
Midterm exam—The midterm is an in-class exam that will reflect the quizzes but will also include a creative assignment and IDs. There will also be a take home essay component. (200 points)
Final Exam The Final will be a take home exam equivalent to two essays/assignments. (200 pts)

QUESTIONS The instructor maintains an open door policy—if my office door is open, feel free to come in. If you have further questions or concerns, please see the instructor during office hours or make an appointment. All students are encouraged to come by and visit.
Blackboard: All communications and schedule changes will be on Blackboard. Please go to gwu.blackboard.com, log on to this class. and familiarize yourself with it. BE sure to check Staff Information for my “real” email address.

Grading will be based on total of points of all required assignments, 1000 pts. equaling 100%.

Grading on participation and in-class assignment will be based on the student's effort and demonstrated knowledge of the reading material assigned that day.
Makeup policy—There is no makeup exam except in cases of verifiable emergencies—i.e. Doctor’s note, accident report, police report. One quiz may be made up for any (or no) reason. A second makeup requires a verifiable excuse or is subject to a 10% penalty. No more than two makeup quizzes. Makeups must be made up within one week. In-class assignments cannot be made up. I will drop the lowest quiz grade, with the exception of makeup quizzes which cannot be dropped.
Late assignments— Tardiness is not tolerated, but late assignments will be accepted WITHIN ONE WEEK of due date. In case of verifiable emergency—illness or accident—you will be entitled to a one-week grace period. Be sure to contact the instructor ASAP with appropriate verifiable documentation. Late assignments without an acceptable reason and documentation will be automatically downgraded by 10%. If you cannot make class due to an emergency, hand your paper in early or have a friend hand it in for you. Ultimately, however, you are responsible for the submission of your own paper.

Formatting Careful thought should be put into ALL submissions--Essays, and Final exam essays. Grades for all submissions will be based on the following critieria:

Structure

ntroduction, including topic/theme/aspect to be discussed.
Body one, expansion of topic/theme/aspect; including reason for choice, argumentation/position, supporting documentation.
Body two, evidence to support position.
Conclusion, summary of paper.

Clarity

Correct speling (oops, I mean, spelling).
No typos.
Appropriate diction, which means understandable word choice and usage.
Adherence to English grammar, including subject-verb agreement, and the absence of run-on or incomplete sentences.

Response

Originality
Insight

Generally speaking, high grades (A) will be given to those who fulfill all three of the above successfully; good grades (B) to those who fulfill two of the three, and average grades (C) to those who fulfill only one.

Advice

Clarity is of great import. If I have to read a paragraph (or the entire paper) twice to understand it, then your structure or grammar is not clear. Each word, sentence, paragraph and section must make sense with each other as the paper builds toward a conclusion. Consider having a friend--one who is not in the class--read your paper to see if she/he can understand it.
Avoid the stream-of-consciousness approach to writing. Consider preparing a one-page outline. Being able to see the structure of your paper in one glance will give you an idea if your thoughts are logically connected.
Originality will influence your grade as well. Typically, students regurgitate what has been discussed in class; while this is not necessarily bad, it lacks originality. Previous students who have received high grades approach questions from a different angle or take an original (some may say argumentative) position.
Some students have submitted structured papers with very original topics, but ill-advised diction or sloppy grammar have doomed them to a B.
Similarly, other students have had original topics and a flair for words, submitting papers that were actually enjoyable to read. However, if they failed to provide documentation or evidence to support their position, then their structure was weak (they submitted a personal essay instead of an academic paper) and did not receive a high grade.

If you have any questions, please fell free to come and see me. However, refrain from asking me to proofread any draft (which some students, amazingly, have done).

Formatting

Word count should be strictly observed.
Do not attach a cover sheet.
Put your name on every page. You do not need to provide your student number, name of course or instructor on the first page.
A brief title is appropriate for all submissions; a regurgitation of the question/issue is not.
Type and format ALL submissions in a manner consistent with college-level work. You should:

space lines a minimum of 1.5, maximum double.
make all margins one inch.
use font size no smaller than 12 points; font face of Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier.
indent long quotations.
italicize or underline book titles, use quotation marks for article titles, format citations appropriately.
do not provide a bibliography since citations should be complete.

If you are unfamiliar with formatting, follow the guidelines found in the MLA Handbook, The Chicago Book of Style, or any other recognized guidebook on academic style.

Text: Required

Steven D. Carter, comp. Traditional Japanese Poetry : An Anthology, Stanford University Press, August 1991. PL 782.E3 T7 1991 ISBN: 0804722129

Helen Craig McCullough, trans. Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology, Stanford University Press, August 1991. PL 777.115 .C57 1990 ISBN: 0804719608

Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, abridged, Royall Tyler, trans., Viking Press, 2001.
Text: additional

Various chapters/articles will be distributed in class or through Blackboard.

Introduction to Bungo (2008)

2008-09-02T03:28:00.002-05:00

Purpose Introduction to Classical Japanese is a course that aims to familiarize the interested student to classical texts in Japanese. It will explain grammar and expose the student to "authentic" Japanese. The course will be conducted mainly in English.

Requirements Every student must be registered in JAPN 109. No auditor is allowed. Prerequisite for the course is JAPN 106 or equivalent.

The course will offer instruction in basic literary grammar, focusing on the conjugations of verbs, adjectives, and auxilliary verbs, as well as case particles, conjunctive particles and emphatics. This will lead to readings of early modern texts that incorporate this style.
Ultimately, this training should prepare the student to read early modern texts, such as pre-WWII government documents, newspapers and journal accounts which were written in literary Japanese.

The course will include readings, grammar / vocabulary / translation quizzes, and two exams. All quizzes and exams are cumulative.

Class participation is mandatory; consequently, regular attendance is required. A total of three (3) absences for the semester is allowed for cases of illness or emergencies. The student will be required to read and translate any portion of the assigned text or be prepared to discuss or explain the grammatical structures under discussion. Your participation will be graded on your attendance and preparedness.
There will be one group power point presentation reviewing grammar prior to the midterm; evaluation will be partially peer-graded.
One quiz may be made up for any (or no) reason. A second makeup quiz requires verifiable excuses—i.e. doctor’s note, accident report, police report—or is subject to a 10% penalty. No more than two makeup quizzes. A quiz must be made up within one week. The lowest quiz grade is dropped, excluding makeup quizzes. Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class. Each quiz will be collected promptly 15 minutes after the quiz is distributed, so do not be late for class; you will not receive extra time.
There will be two midterms, and an in-class final. There is no early final, so do not schedule a flight home during finals period except in case of emergency. There is no makeup for any exam except in cases of verifiable emergencies.

Text There is one dictionary required for the course; and should be available at the bookstore. Other texts will be distributed in class.

金田一春彦編、『現代新国語辞典』学研

If you prefer, you may use any of the following dictionaries as well.

Kitahara Y., ed. Zenyaku kogo reikai jiten, Shougakkan.
Sato S., ed. Yousai kogo jiten, Meiji Shoin.
Koujien, Iwanami shoten.
Kokugo Daijiten, Shougakkan

Optional Text—available through most Internet book sellers.

Helen McCullough. Bungo Manual. Cornell East Asia Series, 1993. ISBN: 0939657481

Tentative Grading schedule Midterm exam 25%, quizzes 25%, project 10%, class participation and attendance 10%, final exam 30%.

Blackboard All communications and schedule changes will be on Blackboard. Please go to gwu.blackboard.com, log on to this class. and familiarize yourself with it. BE sure to check Staff Information for my “real” email address. Do not use my gwu account.

If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to contact the instructor during office hours, after class or make an appointment. E-mails are always welcome.

Intertextually speaking

2008-08-31T06:03:00.003-05:00

Japanese is so intertextual. Everything spoken relies on the listeners understanding of a wide range of cultural and social elements. Nouns and verbs are abbreviated without a thought, and grammatical sentences that are perfectly fine in Japanese would be nonsensical in English.

JAPN 107 Readings in Modern Japanese

2008-08-20T03:06:00.001-05:00

Purpose The course, Readings in Modern Japanese, aims to broaden the Japanese reading ability the student is expected to have acquired to this point, as well as bring up for discussion aspects of contemporary culture as seen through contemporary literary texts and essays. It will go beyond the grammatical lessons and pattern practices of basic Japanese and expose the student to "authentic" Japanese.

Requirements Every student must be registered in JAPN 107. No auditor is allowed. Prerequisite for the course is JAPN 008 or equivalent.

The course will offer shorts stories and essays of Murakami Haruki for reading and discussion concerning any socio-cultural insights. The student will be required to prepare, read and translate any portion of the text assigned. The student must also be prepared to discuss pertinent issues regarding any work assigned.

Class participation is mandatory; consequently, regular attendance is required. Student participation will be based on attendance and preparedness. You will be evaluated by obvious indicators of preparedness, such as your ability to read text smoothly, to recognize kanji readings, and to demonstrate a least a modicum of understanding of the text.

During the course of the semester, there will be weekly quizzes—on Tuesdays there will be vocabulary quizzes based on completed readings, and on Thursdays there will be text quizzes based on the readings. There will be occasional sight passage quizzes. One quiz may be made up for any (or no) reason. A second and third makeup quiz requires verifiable excuses—i.e. doctor’s note, accident report, police report—or is subject to a 10% penalty. No more than three makeup quizzes. A quiz must be made up within one week. The lowest quiz grade is dropped, excluding makeup quizzes. Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class. Each quiz will be collected promptly 15 minutes after the quiz is distributed, so do not be late for class; you will not receive extra time.

There will be two midterms, and an in-class final. There is no early final, so do not schedule a flight home during finals period except in case of emergency. There is no makeup for any exam except in cases of verifiable emergencies.

Text The instructor will provide reading texts. The following dictionary is required: 金田一春彦編、『現代新国語辞典』学研.

Tentative grading schedule The Final grade will be determined as follows: 10% class participation/preparation; 30% All quizzes and in-class assignments; 20% + 20% Midterm exam; 20% Final exam.

Blackboard All communications and schedule changes will be on Blackboard. Please go to gwu.blackboard.com, log on to this class. and familiarize yourself with it. Be sure to check Staff Information for my “real” email address.

Japanese Online Most computers can display and produce Japanese. In Windows, XP you need to install the Japanese in Regional Settings. On a Mac, you can activate Japanese under System Preferences => International.

If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to contact the instructor during office hours, after class or make an appointment.

Graduation 2008

2008-05-20T06:48:00.001-05:00

My Office

2008-04-09T18:56:00.005-05:00

Messy as usual

I gotta stack of papers to grade: Midterms for Bungo (literary Japanese) from last week, and today's Lit class midterm. Well, it's the 12th week of the semester so its really a latter-term exam. I do this to bring relief to my students. They are usually drowning in study during the 7th through 10th week when every other profs gives midterms. My students don't have to worry about my courses until now, when they have nothing else to do... well, relatively nothing else to do. It also allows me to test them on more stuff, exactly eleven weeks worth of stuff. I mean, what's an exam if its not comprehensive, right?

Okay, okay, I'm going. Back to work...

Onigiriman Philosophy

2008-01-20T07:04:00.000-05:00

We are the sum total of our own individual experiences. As a result, everything we think, say, and interpret is tainted. While we may try to offer objective "facts", these facts are arranged and presented through the prism of our own experiences. As such every memory we recall, every event we interpret is our own subjective perspective of the truth.

Curriculum Vitae

2008-01-17T20:34:00.003-05:00

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
9/96-Current: The George Washington University, Washington, DC. Assistant professor for the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. Instruction and lectures on Japanese language (all levels), literature, film and culture; Japanese Major Advisor; Acting Coordinator for Japanese Language and Literature (2008).

6/95-8/95: Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Instructor for the Department of Asian Languages in Intensive Third-Year Modern Japanese. The course dealt primarily with improving Japanese reading ability to prepare students for advanced work and research, and focused on non-textbook sources, including essays, magazine and newspaper articles, and literary short stories. (Also 6/88-8/88 and 6/93-8/93)
6/89-11/89: Development Associates, Cupertino, CA. Developed and taught introductory conversational Japanese course. Course designed for professionals interested in understanding basic Japanese.

6/89-8/89: Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Teaching Assistant for the Department of Asian Languages in First-Year Modern Japanese. (Also 6/87-8/87)
10/85-3/86: University of California, Los Angeles. Teaching associate for the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures in Advanced Modern Japanese.
10/83-6/84: University of California, Los Angeles. Teaching assistant for the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures in Elementary Modern Japanese. (Also 4/86-6/86)

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

1/91-3/93: National Institute for Research Advancement (Sôgô kenkyû kaihatsu kikô), Center for Policy Information Research. Secretary for overseas affairs. Responsibilities included correspondence with overseas research institutes, and the development, coordinating and editing of English publications.

EDUCATION

9/86-3/97: Stanford University, Stanford, CA. Graduate Division. Ph.D. degree in the Department of Asian Languages. Concentration: Medieval Japanese Poetry. Dissertation topic: The Priest Jakuren and his Poetry.
1/90-3/91: Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan. School of Letters and Science. Conducted dissertation research in the Department of Japanese Literature as non-matriculated research student. Concentration: Shinkokin Poetry.
4/83-6/86: University of California, Los Angeles. Graduate Division. Master of Arts degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures, June, 1986. Concentration: Classical Japanese Literature.
10/84-9/85: Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Institute of Language Teaching. Non-degree Advanced Specialized Japanese. Concentration: Japanese language.
6/84-8/84: University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Summer program in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature. Intensive Elementary Modern Chinese.
4/81-3/83: University of California, Los Angeles. Bachelor of Arts degree in Japanese Studies, March, 1983.
9/75-1/81: East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA. Associate of Arts degree, general education, June, 1980.

AWARDS

Nominated GW University Service Award, 2010.
Robert W. Kenny Prize recipient, 2010.
Nominated for the Bender Teaching Award 2006.
Nominated for the Bender Teaching Award 2003.
University Facilitating Fund Grant. Funding to promote the research of faculty at The George Washington University. 2002-3
Japan Fund Grant. Supplemental dissertation research funding awarded by the Institute for International Studies, Stanford University. 1991
Stanford Graduate Fellowship. Awarded by the Graduate Division of Stanford University. Three-year full tuition and stipend. 1986-89
UCLA Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award. Awarded by the Academic Senate Committee on Teaching for performance as a teaching assistant in first-year Japanese instruction. 1984
Chancellor's Achievement Award. Awarded by East Los Angeles College in recognition of academic achievement. 1980

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Publications, Papers and Presentations

“Teaching and Composing Haiku in the Classroom.” Keynote speaker at the Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese at the Foreign Language Association of Virginia Annual Conference, November 1, 2008.
“Context and Intertext in Japanese Literature,” Foreign Service Institute Training Center, Arlington, VA, May 2008.
"Loosening the Links: Considering Intention in Linked Verse and Its Consequences," in Matsuo Basho's Poetic Spaces: Exploring Haikai Intersections, ed. Eleanor Kerkham (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), 2007
"Composing Haiku and Senryu." Greater Washington Association for Teachers of foreign Languages 2006 Fall Conference, 2006.09.
"Identifying Elements of Japanese Culture Through Film." Mid-Atlantic Region/Association for Asian Studies Conference. 2003.10.
"Reading, Writing, and Creating in Japanese on a PC." The Seventh Virginia Japanese Pedagogy Workshop. 1999.06.
"The Priest Jakuren and His Poetry: A Reflection of Late-Twelfth Century Poetics." Diss. Stanford University. 1997.03.
The Washington & Southeast Japan Seminar; paper on Interacting with Tradition: Intertextual Engagement in Shinkokin Waka, at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. 1996.11.
"The Confidence to Live! Experiencing the Buraku Liberation Movement." Translation of story by Kariya Ryuichi, in Diversity in Japanese Culture and Language, John C. Maher and Gaynor Macdonald, eds. (London: Kegan Paul International), pp. 178-201. 1995.
Tama International Friendship Club. Tama City, Tokyo. Volunteer translator for newsletter, "Information for Daily Life in Tama City." 1993-94.
NIRA's World Directory of Think Tanks 1993, National Institute for Research Advancement. Coeditor. 1993.
International Crossroads (periodical), National Institute for Research Advancement. Coeditor. 1991-93
"Japanese Court Poetry in the Noh Plays of Zeami." Journal of Asian Culture, Vol. X. University of California, Los Angeles. 1986.
"The Priest Jakuren." Journal of Asian Culture, Vol. VIII. University of California, Los Angeles. 1984.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Committees and Other University Service

Acting Program Coordinator for Japanese Language and Literature, East Asian Languages and Literatures, GWU. Fall 2008.
Serving as Library Representative for Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, GWU. Fall-Spring 2001-Current.
Served on Language Center Study Group, and Chaired Pedagogy Subcommittee, CCAS, 2003-04.
Committee on Technology, Co-chair, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, GWU. 1998-2004.
Student Appeals Committee, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, GWU. 2003.
Athletic Council, GWU. 2002.
Japanese Language Instructor Search Committee, East Asian Languages and Literatures, GWU. 2002.
Website Coordinator, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, GWU. 1996-2002.
The Luce Scholars Program, Preliminary Screening Committee, GWU. 2001, 1997, 1996.
Rhodes Scholar/Marshall Fellowship Preliminary Screening Committee, GWU. 2000.
NCAA Certification, University Steering Committee, GWU. 1998-99
NCAA Certification, University Subcommittee for Academic Integrity, GWU. 1998-99
Contemporary Japanese Studies Search Committee, The Elliott School of International Studies, GWU. 1997-98
Served as Departmental Computer Liaison to Computer Information and Research Center (CIRC). 1996-97.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES: Japanese Related Activities

Ongoing: Co-edited Japanese Language Program Newsletter. Dissemination of current news and information for students studying Japanese. 1-2 per semester.
2006 - 2008: Haiku judge. Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese. Judged and commented on Haiku composed by students from elementary to high school who study Japanese in the Mid-Atlantic region.
2002: Co-coordinated The Twelfth Mid-Atlantic (formerly Virginia) Japanese Pedagogy Workshop. Workshop focusing on creative strategies to engage students in the Japanese classroom. (June 1-2)
2000: Served on the Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship selection committee.
1999: Recited and commented on two poems by Matsuo Basho on Washington DC public radio WETA (90.9FM). (April 30)
1996-99: Reconfigured Japanese Language Program. Reconfiguration and restructuring of the current program to accommodate the new major in Japanese. Current accomplishments: accelerated pace of instruction to prepare students for upper division courses and independent research.
1997: Co-coordinated The Seventh Virginia Japanese Pedagogy Workshop. Workshop designed to share and exchange ideas on the effective use of "authentic" material in the classroom. (May 31-June 1)
1998: Presented talk to Downtown Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) Washington, DC. On "Sakura, Cherry Blossoms in Japan" in preparation of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

ORGANIZATIONS

Current: Association of Teachers of Japanese, Boulder, Colorado.
Current: Association of Asian Studies, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Current: The Washington & Southeast Japan Seminar, Washington, D.C.
1987-88: Stanford University, Department of Asian Languages. Graduate representative.
1983-84: UCLA Graduate Students Association, Communications Council. Vice-president and treasurer.
1983-84: UCLA East Asian Languages and Cultures Graduate Association. Graduate representative.

Introduction

2008-01-17T20:28:00.006-05:00

I'm an assistant professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at The George Washington University. I teach Modern and Classsical Japanese Language, as well as Classical Japanese Literature.

My current duties as an instructor focus on enhancing the reading abilities of advanced students. This includes reading contemporary fiction that is relatively easy to comprehend: 村上春樹 Murakami Haruki, 星新一 Hoshi Shin'ichi, etc. I also encourage students to learn bungo, or classical Japanese; besides reading the Classics such as 伊勢物語 Ise
monogatari or 方丈記 Hojoki in the original, bungo is a must for those who want to conduct research in Japanese history, political science or economics using pre-World War II sources.

My research interests focus on the influence of texts and contexts on reading, particularly as they pertain to late Heian and early medieval Japanese court poetry.

Once upon a time at UCLA:
Clockwise from back left, Hillary, Terry, Stephanie, Alan, Weiyon, Masaya, Roger Ebert, Kim, Yuka, Tsukasa, Yan, Yasuko, Ken and unidentified. (I can't remember her name. Can someone remind me?)

Brief Bio:

Born in Los Angeles, CA. Graduate of Loyola High School, East Los Angeles Community College (AA), UCLA (BA and MA), and Stanford University (PhD). First learned how to speak Japanese effectively at age 17 at Mikawaya, a Japanese confectionary in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Learned to read and write Japanese during college. Research interests include Late Heian poetics, renga linked poetry, and Japanese film and pop culture. See curriculum vitae for more detail.

More unnecessary information

There really isn't much more to know about me. But if you're interested in detail, take a look at my Curriculum Vitae, although there really isn't much to it. I also have a family homepage that I try to keep up. You can also email me at my school address, but know that you do so at your own risk; I am notoriously bad at answering my mail, as my students will gleefully attest.

Updated 2008.12.07

Contact

2008-01-17T15:45:00.009-05:00

Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures

Academic Center, Rome Hall 460.
Phone: 202-994-0050
E-mail: hanami{at}gwu.edu
facebook
twitter

Office Hours

Click here for current office hours and course schedules.
Excludes school holidays.
By appointment.

Or just drop by anytime my door is open.
CURRENT STUDENTS always get priority over others.

Updated 2009.1.17 iLhAnaMi

JAPN 112 Japanese Literature in Translation (2008)

2008-01-13T03:53:00.001-05:00

PURPOSE The course is a survey of modern Japanese literature discovered through assigned readings and films. It aims to encourage diversity in thought, flexibility in opinion, and an understanding of the role of texts in forming ideas as represented through Japanese literature.

REQUIREMENTS Every student must be registered in JAPN 112. There is no prerequisite for the course. Every student will be expected to have completed the assigned readings by the day assigned. In general, each class will involve a lecture—which may include the background, historical context, and possible interpretations of the assigned readings—and group/class discussion in which students will be required to participate. Every student must submit all required work listed below. The student who cannot attend class due to emergency or illness is still responsible for any work due for the class missed. There is no make-up exam. All readings are in English.

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS Success in the course is contingent on the students' performance in all assignments and exams. Assignments will also be posted on Blackboard. You will be required (tentatively) to do the following:

Class participation and assignments—All students are expected to have read the material for class; level and accuracy of participation in any discussion will be noted and evaluated. Impromptu homework and in-class assignments—such as haiku poems and group work—will be graded as well; in-class assignments cannot be made-up. Absences will be graded as non-participation. (10%)
Quizzes—There will be 11 weekly quizzes. They will consist of multiple choice, fill-in and short answers. The quiz will be online through Blackboard Tuesdays for a 24 hour period from midnight to midnight. Be sure to take it. See below for makeup policy. (20%)
Essays (@ 1000 words)—There will be two essays, critical responses to specific questions. An essay should be viewed as a mini-paper consisting of an introduction, a body--grounds for and support of your position--and a conclusion. Reference to other sources to support your position affords a convincing argument. (30%)
Late-term exam—There will be one midterm late in the semester—Wednesday of the 12th week. It will consist of questions similar to those on the weekly quizzes, as well, IDs and a short essay. (20%)
Final Exam—Final exam will be take home exam that will include Identifications and an essay. The exam will be available on Blackboard 48 hours prior to the date and time of the scheduled exam. (20%)
Graduate students taking the course for graduate credit will also be required to submit a research paper. See instructor for further detail.
Formatting should be consistent with college-level work. See Grading Policies below.

Grading Policy

Grading on participation and in-class assignment will be based on the student's effort and demonstrated knowledge of the reading material assigned that day. In-class assignments cannot be made-up.
Makeup policy—There is no makeup exam except in cases of verifiable emergencies—i.e. Doctor’s note, accident report, police report. One quiz may be made up for any (or no) reason. A second makeup requires a verifiable excuse or is subject to a 10% penalty. No more than two makeup quizzes. Makeups must be made up within one week. In-class assignments cannot be made up. I will drop the lowest quiz grade, with the exception of makeup quizzes which cannot be dropped.
Late assignments— Tardiness is not tolerated, but llate assignments will be accepted WITHIN ONE WEEK of due date. In case of verifiable emergency—illness or accident—you will be entitled to a one-week grace period. Be sure to contact the instructor ASAP with appropriate verifiable documentation. Late assignments without an acceptable reason and documentation will be automatically downgraded by 10%. If you cannot make class due to an emergency, hand your paper in early or have a friend hand it in for you. Ultimately, however, you are responsible for the submission of your own paper. Be sure to contact the instructor ASAP with appropriate verifiable documentation.
Final grade will be based on the total of all assignments, weighted accordingly as outlined above. In case of verifiable emergency—illness or accident—you will receive a one week grace period.
Submissions—All submissions will be graded for content—structure, clarity, substance—and for appropriateness in formatting, especially with regard to citations.

All submissions should have a solid structure, clarity—i.e. correct spelling, appropriate grammar—and substance—i.e. good insights and/or originality is not reflected in a regurgitation of class discussion or the readings.
All submissions—essays, assignments, homework—must be typed.
Word count should be strictly observed , +/- 50 words—i.e. a 1000 word essay should range between 950 to 1050 words.
Do not attach a cover sheet.
Include the following: your name, the due date, the word count. If you are using MS Word, click on Tools, then Word Count; it will automatically count all the words in your document. You do not need to provide your student number, course or instructor name.
A brief title is appropriate for all submissions; copying and pasting the question/issue is not.
Type and format all submissions in a manner consistent with college-level work. Follow these guidelines:

Space lines approximately 1.5 spaces.
Set margins at one inch.
Use font size no smaller than 12 points; font face of Times New Roman, Arial or equivalent.
Indent long quotations.
Italicize or underline book titles, use quotation marks for article titles, format citations appropriately.
A bibliography is unnecessary in a short paper since citations should be complete. Citations for books used in class are unnecessary, but an inline page referent is obligatory
For other formatting issues, follow the guidelines found in the MLA Handbook, The Chicago Book of Style, or any other recognized guidebook on academic style.

A brief title is appropriate for all submissions; copying and pasting the question/issue is not.

For more information on structure

QUESTIONS The instructor maintains an open door policy—if my office door is open, feel free to come in unless I am speaking to another student. If you have further questions or concerns, please see the instructor during office hours or make an appointment. All students are encouraged to come by and visit.

Blackboard: All communications and schedule changes will be on Blackboard. Please go to gwu.blackboard.com, log on to this class. and familiarize yourself with it. BE sure to check Staff Information for my “real” email address.

Literature in Translation

2007-11-27T18:37:00.001-05:00

And here I thought I had caught up with all my work

Excuse me while I prepare for next semester, even as I struggle to keep pace with this semester. I will be teaching J-Lit in Translation, as I always do, and am considering adding a few new books, so I will be listing books that I might consider. Just think of this post as me talking to myself. But please feel free to comment on any of the books you have already read, or if you have an suggestions.

The class is a survey course, so the books should be basic and representative of the author, and the authors should be representative of J-Lit. So that should narrow it down to, say, 40 poets and authors? But I only have 15 weeks.

Early Modern

Until recently, I have had students by an Early Modern anthology put out by Columbia University Press. The selection is wide and varied, and the book is relatively inexpensive given its breadth. But I think there might be too much variety. I would rather have more samples of Basho--at least one entire travel journal and maybe even a complete haikai series--and more selections by Saikaku. There is perhaps too much stuff that is not necessary for a survey course. So this year, I've decided to choose just two books and perhaps supplement them with some handouts.

Basho's Journey: The Literary Prose of Matsuo Basho. Trans. Barnhill, State University of New York Press. #0-7914-6414-8
Saikaku. Popular fiction. I can't figure out a book yet. Anyone have any suggestions?

Meiji

Natsume Soseki, Kokoro. Trans. McClellan, Dover Publications. #0486451399
Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories, Trans. Rubin. Penguin Classics. #0143039849

Mid-20th century

Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Seven Tales, which include the novella "Portrait of Shunkin" and other strangely half-misogynistic, half-masochistic stories like "Tattoo", "Aguri" and "Bridge of Dreams". Vintage. #0679761071
Kawabata Yasunari, Snow Country. "Izu Dancer" OR The Old Capital. Trans. Holman. Shoemaker & Hoard. #1593760329

Post-War

Enchi Fumiko, The Waiting Years. Trans. Bester. Kodansha International. #477002889X
Feminist tale... well, feminist for a woman writing in the 1950s. But its about a woman who has been abused all her life--husband cheats on her, even brings his mistress home to live with them--but finally gets her revenge when she... well, I won't spoil it for you.
Mishima Yukio. "The Boy Who Wrote Poetry", Confessions of a Mask. Peter Owen Ltd. #0720610311
Both of these tell the story of the Mishima everyone seems to forget about, unless you're gay. Confessions is semi-autobiographical, describing Mishima's own struggles to somehow capture masculinity, while realizing that he is unable to deny his attraction to day laborers and a certain classmate in an all boy school.

Post-modern

Abe Kobo, The Boxman; film Face of Another. I think most people are famliar with Woman in the Dunes, which is okay, I guess, as a reflection of the loss of identity through corporate society. But Abe does a better job of the loss of identity and isolation in the modern world in The Boxman--the main character literally lives in his box--no, no, no, he isn't homeless, he actually wears it 24/7! And The Face of Another deals with a man who loses his face in a chemical (modern) accident, but creates a new one with a newly invented material (modern, again) so he can eventually seduce his wife as a stranger. Admit it. You wanna read both of them now, right?
Nakagami Kenji, The Cape. Trans. Zimmerman. Stone Bridge Press. #1933330430
Violent, sexist and representative of Japan's untouchable class, the burakumin.
Murakami Ryu, 69. Trans. McCarthy. Kodansha Amer Inc, #4770019513.
I'd rather read Coin Locker Babies, but I think its too long.
Murakami Haruki, Elephan Vanishes. trans. Rubin. Vintage. #0679750533

This list is pretty threadbare... I will be adding and subtracting from this list so you can just ignore me while I work.

edoption #1045559

Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693. Five women who loved love. Translated by Wm. Theodore de Bary, with a background essay by Richard Lane, and the 17th-century illus. by Yoshida Hambei. 1956 PZ3 .I235 Fi
Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693. Great mirror of male love / Ihara Saikaku ; translated, with an introduction, by Paul Gordon Schalow. 1990 PL794.N37 E5 1990
[ 7 ] Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693. Life of an amorous man. Translated by Kengi Hamada. Illus. by Masakazu Kuwata. 1964 PZ3.I235 Lg
[ 9 ] Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693. Tales of Japanese justice / by Ihara Saikaku ; translated by Thomas M. Kondo, Alfred H. Marks. 1980 DS 21 .A83 no.24
[ 10 ] Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693. This scheming world. Translated by Masanori Takatsuka and David C. Stubbs. GW 1965 PL898.I38 S3
[ 11 ] Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693. Worldly mental calculations : an annotated translation of Ihara Saikaku's Seken munezanyo / by Ben Befu. -- 1976 PL 794 .S413 1976

JAPN 198-99 Proseminar: Readings for the Major in Japanese Language and Literature

2007-09-05T04:03:00.001-05:00

Course Description
This course is designed for the major in Japanese language and literature. It aims to provide the student with the necessary technical and methodological tools to write a successful research paper on a Japanese topic. Specifically, the course content will deal with the following topics.

Reference material for Japanese: Where to find them, how to use them.
Transliteration: Romanization and Japanese.
The limits of translation: Translation as interpretation.
Methodology: What is text, context and intertext.

General Course on Linguisitics: Saussure.
Orientalism: Said.
Mythology: Barthes.
Difference: Derrida.

Requirements: Fall Semester
Sessions spent to discuss the general technical and methodological aspects of writing a research paper. Besides the assignments and readings for discussion, you will be required to prepare for your topic, present a general outline in class and submit an annotated bibliography of material you intend to use in your research paper. The topic should be related to Japanese linguistics, literature or culture. You also have the option to do a translation.

Requirements: Spring Semester
The semester is spent writing your paper. You will be required to meet with the instructor at least once a month (4 times) with progress reports before final submission. An initial or rough draft is not required but recommended by Spring break. The research paper should be approximately 7000 words long. A translation should be of similar length excluding a 2500 word introduction.

Onigiriman Defined

2007-01-20T07:08:00.001-05:00

onigiri (oh-nee-gee-ree) n. a ball of rice eaten with or as a meal in Japan. To create, lump a handful of cooked rice into the lightly salted palm of one hand. Place umeboshi (salted plum) in the middle and with the other hand, squeeze the rice together forming a trangular shape. Umeboshi may be substituted with other fillings, including salted-salmon bits, dried bonito flakes and konbu (seasoned kelp). Wrap in nori (dried seaweed sheet) prior to eating.

Onigiriman (oh-nee-gee-ree-man) pn. a living Japanese rice ball born in the US. Male. Umeboshi substituted with a combination of narcissistic tendencies, a heap of sarcasm, a pinch of cynicism and a whole lot of attitude. Can and will communicate in both English and Japanese. Can drink 10 pints of beer in one sitting, but will get plastered after only three if someone else is buying (conditions may vary). Approach with caution; befriend with open mind. Wrapped in nori seaweed to hide pot-belly. Sunglasses de rigor.

JAPN 110 Readings in Classical Japanese (2007)

2007-01-18T03:32:00.000-05:00

Purpose Readings in Classical Japanese is a course that aims to familiarize the interested student to classical texts in Japanese. It will explain grammar and expose the student to "authentic" Japanese. The course will be conducted mainly in English.

Requirements Every student must be registered in JAPN 110. No auditor is allowed. Prerequisite for the course is JAPN 109 or equivalent.

The course will continue to offer instruction in literary grammar, focusing on the conjugations of verbs, adjectives, and auxiliary verbs, as well as case particles, conjunctive particles and emphatics. This will lead to readings of excerpts from standard literary texts, beginning with the Hojoki. The student will be required to read and translate any portion of the text assigned by the instructor. The student must also be prepared to discuss or explain the grammatical structure of any portion of the text.

Required Work
Success in the course is contingent on the students' performance in all assignments, quizzes and exams. Assignments will also be posted on Black Board. You will be required to do the following:

Class participation and assignments: All students are expected to have read the material for class; level and accuracy of participation in any discussion will be noted and evaluated. Absences will be graded as non-participation, in-class assignments cannot be made-up. (10%)
Quizzes: All quizzes will be cumulative. (30%)
In-class Midterm, which will include grammar questions, class texts as well as sight passages. (30%)
In-class Final exam will be similar to the midterm; cumulative. (30%)

Text There is one dictionary and one reference book for the course; and should be available at the bookstore. Other texts will be distributed in class.

Kitahara Y., ed. Zenyaku kogo reikai jiten, Shōgakkan.
Sato S., ed. Yūsai kogo jiten, Meiji Shoin.
Kōjien, Iwanami shoten.
Kokugo Daijiten, Shōgakkan

Optional Text
Helen McCullough. Bungo Manual. Cornell East Asia Series, 1993. ISBN: 0939657481

If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to contact the instructor during office hours, after class or make an appointment. E-mails are always welcome.

JAPN 108 Readings in Modern Japanese (2007)

2007-01-18T03:11:00.001-05:00

Course Goals
Readings in Modern Japanese is a course that aims to broaden the Japanese the student is expected to have acquired to this point, as well as bring up for discussion aspects of contemporary culture as seen through contemporary texts. It will go beyond the grammatical lessons and pattern practices of basic Japanese and expose the student to "authentic" Japanese.

Requirements
Every student must be registered in JAPN 108. No auditor is allowed. Prerequisite for the course is JAPN 008 or equivalent.

The course will offer newspaper texts, essays, and literary works for reading and discussion concerning its socio-cultural insights and impact. The student will be required to be prepared to read and translate any portion of the text assigned by the instructor. The student must also be prepared for discussions concerning the text in class in Japanese. Discussion will be primarily in Japanese.

Class participation and assignments: All students are expected to have read the material for class; level and accuracy of participation in any discussion will be noted and evaluated. Absences will be graded as non-participation, in-class assignments cannot be made-up. (10%)
Vocabulary Quizzes: All quizzes will be given on the first day of new material. This is to ensure that all students will be equipped to read and comprehend the text as we read it in class. All quizzes will be cumulative. (20%)
Essay (500 words) is a critical response to a specific question, which will be posted on Blackboard 48 hours before the due date. An essay should be viewed as a mini-paper consisting of an introduction, a body—grounds for and support of your position—and a conclusion. Reference to other sources to support your position affords a convincing argument. (30%)
In-class translation exams will consist of one class text and one sight passage. Class text translations must be polished; the sight passage will require a literal translation. (20%)
Final take-home exam will consist of two essays responding to questions, of which one is based on class text, another on new text. (20%)
Formatting should be consistent with college-level work. This means that you must type your assignment and format it with one-inch margins, 12 pt. font (preferably Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier), 1.5 to double spacing of lines, indentation of long quotations, italics or underline for book titles, quotation marks for article titles, etc. Follow the guidelines found in the MLA Handbook, The Chicago Book of Style, or any other recognized guidebook on academic style.
QUESTIONS: The instructor maintains an open door policy--if my door is open, you can come in. If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to contact the instructor during office hours, after class or make an appointment. All students are encouraged to come by and visit.

Grading Policies
Grading on participation and in-class assignment will be based on the student's effort and demonstrated knowledge of the reading material assigned that day.

Submissions Careful thought should be put into ALL submissions--Essays, and Final exam essays. Grades for all submissions will be based on the following critieria:

Structure

Introduction, including topic/theme/aspect to be discussed.
Body one, expansion of topic/theme/aspect; including reason for choice, argumentation/position, supporting documentation.
Body two, evidence to support position.
Conclusion, summary of paper.

Grammar and content

Clarity
Correct speling (oops, I mean, spelling).
No typos.
Appropriate diction, meaning understandable word choice and usage.
Adherence to English grammar, including subject-verb agreement, and the absence of run-on or incomplete sentences.

Substance

Originality
Insight

Generally speaking, high grades (As) will be given to those who fulfill all three of the above successfully; good grades (Bs) to those who fulfill two of the three, and average grades (Cs) to those who fulfill only one.

Advice

Clarity is of great import. If I have to read a paragraph (or the entire paper) twice to understand it, then your structure or grammar is not clear. Each word, sentence, paragraph and section must make sense with each other as the paper builds toward a conclusion.
Avoid the stream-of-consciousness approach to writing. Consider preparing a one-page outline. Being able to see the structure of your paper in one glance will give you an idea if your thoughts are logically connected.
Originality will influence your grade as well. Typically, students focus on the strict class lines, but since this is a topic discussed in class, it lacks originality. Previous students who have received high grades for this topic approached it from a different angle or took an original (some may say argumentative) position.
Some students have submitted structured papers with very original topics, but ill-advised diction or sloppy grammar have doomed them to a B.
Similarly, other students have had original topics and a flair for words, submitting papers that were actually enjoyable to read. However, if they failed to provide documentation or evidence to support their position, then their structure was weak (they submitted a personal essay instead of an academic paper) and did not receive a high grade.

If you have any questions, please fell free to come and see me. However, refrain from asking me to proofread any draft or idea (which some students, amazingly, have done).

Formatting

Word count should be strictly observed, give or take 50 words—i.e. 450 to 550 words.
Do not attach a cover sheet.
Include the following: your name, the date, the word count. If you are using MS Word, click on Tools, then Word Count; it will automatically count all the words in your document. You do not need to provide your student number, name of course or instructor.
A brief title is appropriate for all submissions; copying and pasting the question/issue is not.
Type and format all submissions in a manner consistent with college-level work. You should:

Space lines approximately 1.5 spaces.
Set margins at one inch.
Use font size no smaller than 12 points; font face of Times New Roman, Arial or equivalent.
Indent long quotations.
Italicize or underline book titles, use quotation marks for article titles, format citations appropriately.
A bibliography is unnecessary in a short paper since citations should be complete. Citations for articles used in class are unnecessary, but an inline page referent for longer pieces is obligatory

For other formatting issues, follow the guidelines found in the MLA Handbook, The Chicago Book of Style, or any other recognized guidebook on academic style.

Final grades will be based on the total of all assignments, weighted accordingly as outlined above.

Tardiness is not tolerated. All late papers will be graded down one grade (A to B, B+ to C+) each week it is late, so do not be late. If you cannot make class due to an emergency, hand your paper in early or have a classmate hand it in for you. Ultimately, however, you are responsible for the submission of your own paper. In case of verifiable emergency—illness or accident—you will receive a one week grace period.

Misty-eyed

2006-03-30T18:43:00.003-05:00

I made the mistakes of showing Grave of the Fireflies in class today. I've shown three WWII- related films--McCarthur's Children, 24 Eyes and Black Rain, so I didn't need to show another one. But I wanted to show at least one animation, and decided on Fireflies.

*sigh*

The story is about a teenage boy and his four year old sister trying to survive on their own during the air raids of Osaka in WWII. Their father is at war in the navy. In an air raid in the beginning of the film their house is burned down and their mother dies. Seita doesn't tell his sister, and struggles to deal with the death by himself. He takes his sister to their aunts place in the suburbs of Osaka, where they are initially welcomed, but soon treated as a burden--two extra mouths to feed during at time when food is severely rationed. The aunt welcomes the bartering goods that come with taking care of Seita and Setsuko: their connections as the offspring of a naval officer and their mothers silk kimonos. But once rations are depleted and there are no more kimono to trade for food, they are treated as parasites. Seita is a proud boy, willing to try to live by himself and his sister. He is not about to put up with the insults and frigidity of his aunt.

So Seita and Setsuko find an old, deserted storeroom dug into a knoll next to rice fields. There they initially eat the rice they brought and buy what they can with the money left to them by their mother, but they soon start scooping field snails (ç”°èžº) from the rice fields and search for nuts and berries in an attempt to survive. But life is hard. Seita even begins to cheer air raids because he can loot the houses of people who have fled to bomb shelters. Still, the food is scarce, and little Setsuko gets weaker and weaker.

I won't spoil the ending, but you should know that the story avoids any expression of sentimentality. It is hardcore story telling about the hard lives of children caught in the middle of a war waged by adults. It is a fantastic movie and NONE of my students left the room. There are usually a few who sneak out during the middle of other films, but no one left this one. At the end of the movie, my eyes started tearing up--man, this story is so freakin' sad! Ah shit, I CAN'T let my students see me all misty-eyed! So I started taking deep breaths, trying to hold back the tears. I stretched my arms above me, squeezing some composure back into myself. Damn, I shoulda left and gone to my office! But behind me, I heard a bunch of different people sniffling. When the film ended and I turned on the lights, a number of people had reddish eyes. I had to laugh.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one crying," I squealed, as I whisked away the moisture from the corner of my eyes with my fingers.

They had to laugh, too.

怖かった

2005-12-02T07:11:00.001-05:00

月曜日の朝、胸が痛くなって目が覚めた。ウォ～... 何なんだ、と思った。先月、ちょっと手がしびれていた時もあったけど、「まさか」と思ってこの心痛を無視しようとした。学校に行って、授業も教えた。ずっと胸が痛かったけど、朝の鋭い痛みはなかったから、いいかな、と信じ込もうとした。でも、うちに帰って寝ようとしたら、またその鋭い痛みがまた始まった。殆ど眠れなかった。

朝起きたら、むすびちゃんと話したら、「ちゃんとお医者さんに見てもらった方がいいんじゃないの」という結果になって、しぶしぶ病院に行った。

病院で症状を説明してから、ＥＫＧ（心電図）をやってもらった。その結果を先生が話してくれて、結局は、ＥＫＧによると心臓には異状はなさそうだ。

「じゃ、この痛みは？」と、僕が訊ねたら、

「こうみたいですよ」と先生が頬を膨らました。「要するに、大腸にガスが溜まっていて、腸を膨らましてる。異様に膨らむと、それは痛いさ」と。

ホッとすべきか、赤らめるべきか。ハァ～...

その後、ＣＶＳに行って、GasXという薬を買って帰った。溜まってるガスを分解してくれるはずで、それから下の方へ光の見えるところまで移動するだろう。ハァ～。

左の漫画を拡大するにはクリック。

懐かしい給食

2005-11-11T05:27:00.001-05:00

前回のポストに小学校の給食はあまり美味しくなかったと書いたが、給食の時間は面白くなかったわけじゃない。

うちの学校では、全校の生徒が同じカフェテリアで食事をしていたが、約四百人の生徒たちが一遍に食事の出来るほどの広い場所ではなかった。よって、時間をずらして、学級別に食べていた。幼稚園から三年生まで、十一時半から順番に食べて、十二時からは四年生から八年生までだった。しかし、上のほうは逆順で、四年生の給食は一番最後だった。そのころの僕たちは、カフェテリアの外で列に並んで待ちながら、つまらない話をして時間をつぶしていた。

「夕べのテレビ見た？」

「いや、宿題は終わってなかったから、見れなかった」

「そう？Laugh In は面白かったよ。でも、あのゴルディ・ホーンってホントにばかだよね」

「まぁね、でも可愛くない？」

「うん、うん」

といったような、中身のない会話ばかりだった。この調子で給食の時間を過ごしたが、ある日、くしゃみの事件が起こった。火曜日のスパゲッティの日のことだった。

忘れてもいいくらい普通のトマト味のスパゲッティを食べながら四五人の友達とわいわい話していた時に、僕のそばに座っていた友達がいきなりくしゃみをした。「ブレス・ユー」と僕が言ったら、向い側の友達が急にケラケラと笑い出して、くしゃみをした友達に指を差していたのだ。

「ナヌ？」

と思って隣の友達の顔を見たら、彼の右の鼻孔からスパゲッティの麺一本が垂れていた。そう、友達がちょうどスパゲッティを呑み込もうとしていた時にくしゃみをしてその勢いで鼻から一本出た！

「ギャハハハハハ」と笑いが止まらなかった。今思うと友達は可哀そうだったけど、当時の僕らはそんな同情は出来っこなかった。だって、その友達はその一本のスパゲッティを鼻から取って、また口に入れたのじゃ！

「ギャ～」と、益々お腹を抑えながら笑い続けていた。

ハ～。こんな事件を思い出すと、「給食の時間は楽しかったよね」、とため息を。

給食

2005-11-04T13:09:00.002-05:00

僕はメリノールというカトリック教の小学校へ通った。この学校は、日本人のカトリック信者のために創立した教会に所属する学校だったから、そこで幼稚園から小学校八年（日本の中二に当たる）まで勉強した生徒たちは日系人だったのだ。今のアメリカでは、こういう学校は違法で存在しないけど、当時は、60年代のマティン・ルーサー・キングとその人権運動以前の時代であったから、我々に日系人にとっては、こういうようなところはあってしかるべきところだっていた。

しかし、人権や差別問題から守ってくれるような組織にしては、学校給食にはあまり力を入れなかったのだ。ホット・ランチと言って、確かに日本の冷たい弁当や米国の（当時の）粗末なサンドウィッチより栄養バランスはずっとよかったかもしれないけど、我々ガキにとってはあまりおいしくなかった。その日その日のメニューが決まっていて、皆まったく同じものを食べていた。一番記憶に残ってる「定食」はエッグ・フー・ヤングだった。日本の、蟹の入っていない「かに玉」みたいなもので、あんかけは塩っぱかたし、この「かに玉もどき」はたくさん作らなくてはいけなかったから、いつも冷めていた。立派な「ホット・ランチ」だった。半分食わず、先生の見てないときに捨てた時も多々あり。

ハ～。当時の高級料理といえばステーキとポテトだったから、中華もどきはいいほうだったかもしれない。でも、おかげさまで、いい面もあったといえる。我々は現代の肥満問題を避けることができた。

病気アガリ

2005-01-10T18:57:00.002-05:00

クリスマス辺り気管支炎になって、全く大変だった。殆ど一週間はドウンだったけど、今やっと元気になった、とは言っても、やはり体調は百パーセントじゃないみたい。スタミナがなくなって、ちょっと買い物行ったら、すぐに疲れる。情けなくて恥ずかしいくらい。ちょっと調べたら、気管支炎から回復するには数週間かかるようだ。

やれやれ。

要するに、やっと治ったところで学校へ戻らなくちゃ。何か、冬休みは台無しだったみたい。あ～ぁ。目茶つまらないんだ。

でも、ある学生のお陰で、新しいミュージック--ま、僕にとって新しいけど--楽しめた。Do As InfinityのDo The Bestを狂ってるかのように毎日何回も聞いてる。

〝We Are〟、〝遠くまで〟、〝深い森〟、〝冒険者たち〟やら最高。何でもっと早く知らなかったかな？

さて、次は誰かな？拓君が教えてくれるかな？へへへへへへ

さらば

2004-12-29T19:04:00.002-05:00

この一週間は、いつあっても最低な一週間だったけど、ちょうどクリスマスに重なると、耐え難い。
昔、がきの時にロスの日本人町で働いていた和菓子屋の会長さんが他界しました。この会長さん、うちの社長のお母様で、和菓子屋で働いていた人を自分の子供のように大事にしていた。ま、そこで働いてた人たちは、「おばさん」の恩の受け取り方はそれぞれだったけど、僕は感謝していたのだ。

ちょうどそのころ、うちの両親が仲が悪く、「家」　いえ　にいても「家うち」の雰囲気は薄かった。そこよりも、和菓子屋の皆さんと、おばさんが作ってくれたご飯がよっぽど美味しかった。そこで毎晩九時まで働いて、終わったらおばさんを連れて帰って、僕は帰ったらもう十時過ぎで、ちょっと勉強して寝れば、自分の「うち」のまずい空気をあまり吸わずに済んだ。

今年の夏、父の葬式に出たときにびっくりしたのは、おばさんが来なかったこと。母の葬式に出てくれたというのに、父の葬式には絶対出ると思ったから、聞いて見たら、「最近調子が悪い」ということだったので、家まで会いに行った。やはり、ちょっと体は弱っていたのだが、ちゃんと話せて、握手して、ギュッと抱きしめることもできた。ささいな話しかしなかった。そしてただの十分か十五分だけだった。でも今思うと、それでもよかった。それが、おばさんとの最後のひと時でした。

さて、こんな僕にとって重大な人物が亡くなったと聞いたら、どうなったと思う？熱を出した。マジで。そしてただの熱じゃねぇべぇ。四十度も出した。結局インフルエンザで、抗生物質呑めば治せた。

が、熱が下がって、頭がちょっと冴えてきて、おばさんのことをどういう風に考えた、どういう風に思い出しても、事実は変わらない。

おばさんがもう帰ってこない。

JAPN 185-86 Directed Reading

2004-09-20T04:42:00.003-05:00

PURPOSE--To provide individual instruction for advanced readings in Japanese material for students majoring (or sometimes minoring) in Japanese. As policy, the course is restricted to students who have exhausted all other advanced course options--JAPN 107-8, JAPN 110, JAPN 121-22, JAPN 162, JAPN 198-99. We prefer that students take courses that we already offer so we don't have to add unnecessarily to our teaching load.

PERSONALLY--I have offered Directed Readings to some majors under extraordinary circumstances--time conflicts, high advanced language ability, etc. Directed Readings with me focuses on Classical Poetry as that is my field specialty and that is the only topic I could offer to justify my time away from other responsibilities.

REQUIREMENTS--Students who decide to study with me:

Must be registered in JAPN 185 and/or 186.
Must have completed JAPN 109 (Bungo).
Will study Classical material, mostly Heian poetry (my field of expertise) or some aspect related to it (which is actually everything in Heian period Japan).
Must meet with me each week for two (2) hours throughout the semester, during which the student will report on and discuss their readings and research for the week. Inability to report and/or discuss will be evaluated as unsatisfactory work and will affect the final grade accordingly.
May incorporate their sork in this class to advance their research agenda for their Proseminar thesis paper (JAPN 199).
Accept that tardiness and absences will affect the final grade accordingly. (In general, the student without a verifiable excuse will receive an F, no more than one excused absence per semester.) I offer Directed readings on Tuesdays 4 to 6 PM.
Will be assigned a term paper, as well as perform additional work at my discretion.

TEXTS: Texts will be assigned according to the interests/focus of the student and/or instructor.

JAPN 105~6 Intermediate Japanese (1998)

2003-05-20T22:07:00.000-05:00

Please note that JAPN 5~6 is no longer offered.

Purpose: Intermediate Japanese (Japn 007) is a course that aims
to expand the Japanese language ability the student is expected to have
acquired to this point. It will go beyond the grammatical lessons and
pattern practices of basic Japanese, and expose the student to
"authentic" Japanese, in preparing the student for future independent
readings and research in Japanese.

Requirements: : Every student must be registered in Japn 105.
Prerequisite for the course is Japn 004 or equivalent or permission of the instructor.

The course will offer textbook material, as well as
relatively simple literary and journalistic texts for reading. The
student will be required to read and translate any portion of the text
assigned by the instructor. The student also must be prepared for
simple discussions concerning the text in class in Japanese.

I ususally teach this course in the summer when there is enough interest.

As a language student, you are expected to learn and retain
material previously studied at all times. There will be weekly
quizzes/exercises every Friday (translation/kanji/sight comprehension),
two midterm exams and a final exam, all of which are cumulative. There
will also be impromptu quizzes on current material. PLEASE NOTE that
there are ABSOLUTELY NO make-up quizzes (except in cases of sudden and
verifiable illness).

Class participation is mandatory; consequently, regular
attendance is required. A total of six (6) absences for the semester
will be recognized in cases of illness or emergencies.

Textbook: Photocopies of selected texts; photocopying costs will be announced later.

Open door policy: All students are welcome to see me on any
matter of concern; if my door is open, it means that I'm available. If
you have questions or concerns about the grammar, or the translation,
or an exam, or studying in Japan, or your progress, feel free to step
in; if I'm not in, then come after class or make an appointment at your
convenience.

JAPN 001-2 Basic Japanese: Summer Session (2003)

2003-05-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

Purpose: Basic Japanese (Japn 001 and 2) is an introductory
course in that will provide the student with a firm grounding in the
basic grammatical structures necessary for further study. It will
entail learning the Japanese script, grammatical lessons and pattern
practices, all of which will lead you to "authentic" Japanese in the
future.

Requirements: : Every student must be registered in Japn 001-2.
There is no prerequisite. The student will be required to read and
translate any portion of the text assigned by the instructor. The
student also must be prepared for simple discussions concerning the
text in class in Japanese.

As a language student, you are expected to learn and retain
material previously studied at all times. There will be frequent
quizzes (approx. 12 in each session), one midterm exam and a final
exam, all of which are cumulative. PLEASE NOTE that there are no
make-up quizzes (except in cases of sudden and verifiable illness or
injury).

Class participation is mandatory; consequently, regular
attendance is required. A total of four (4) absences for the semester
will be permitted in cases of illness or emergencies.

Textbook: The course will provide a textbook specifically
tailored for GW students. The cost, including the Kana computer
program, is $20 for 001 and $15.00 for 002.