Japan

Japan "The Land of the Rising Sun "

= By: Timothy Mitchell =  =Introduction: = Japan is composed of 126,475,664 individuals; mainly Japanese, Korean, and Chinese people who are spread out over four main islands that total 377,835 rugged and mountainous sq. km. 99% of the population is literate, which shows a strong educational system. The main language spoken is Japanese and the main religions are Shinto, Buddhism, and Christianity. The government that runs the California sized nation is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. Their natural resources are fish, small amounts of coal, iron, oil, and minerals; and their agricultural output is rice, vegetables, sugar beets, eggs, fruit, milk, meat, and fish. Their industrial output is machinery and equipment, steel and non-ferrous metals, textiles, autos, chemicals, electrical and electronic equipment, ships, and processed foods. The island maybe small, but Japan is considered one of the finest countries in the world. 

How Japanese's general view of arts and education is reflective of their culture
At a young age "children of four or five are able to play the violin in solo performances and in string ensembles." This is thanks to the Suzuki method which exposes children from birth to music played by professionals and their mothers. They are also given a violin that is fit for them to exercises with and music that sparks their interest. Practicing is a regular thing also to advance in their learning of music. "The Suzuki approach embodies a number of features of Japanese culture: There is the deep respect for art, and an appreciation of the and craft that are necessary if someone expects to enter into and ultimately master tradition." This is an excellent example of how much art is embedded in Japanese culture and how important it is to the population of Japan. If they didn't have art they wouldn't be "Japanese" because to embrace art is to embrace their Japanese's traditions. This ultimately shows that arts and education is reflected in the development of the next generation and is a key element to being Japanese. The Suzuki method also shows that the community and family take an active role in educating their children and exposing them to the arts. They embrace art and make sure they are surrounded by it through their buildings, education, and many other aspects of their lives.

media type="youtube" key="uBASyLJ-_W8" height="315" width="420"

A well known art form that embodies Japanese's culture and might be over looked, is martial arts. There are many different kinds of martial arts that derived from Japan; Aikido, Judo, Chanbara, Karate, and Kendo. These different arts have different movements and techniques that make them unique to other forms of martial arts. Karate is one of the most popular of the arts. "Most of the martial arts were imported from China. They were gradually modified by the Japanese until more arts were developed. Archery and sword-fighting are the main two arts amongst them." It is a recreational exercise practice by many but few call it a life style. The Japanese view of art has crafted a beautiful, but deadly way to fight.

media type="youtube" key="qitZYMoEaCg" height="315" width="420"

=Katsushika Hokusai: = 

Biography
Katsushika Hokusai was born in October or November 1760 to an artistic family and died on May 10, 1849. He painted during the Edo period and was the leading Japanese expert on Chinese paintings. His influence came from different painters and works, but most notably Sesshu. Hokusai started painting at the age of six, encouraged by his father’s work. “Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景, Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei?, c. 1831) which includes the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s.” He created the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views because of his fondness of Mt. Fuji and as a response to the domestic traveling boom. The Great Wave and the series it came with made Hokusai a world renowned artist that captivated individuals with art that some may have had little exposure to.

//Thirty-six Views //
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Great Wave: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Rainstorm Beneath the Summit: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Inume Pass: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Ejiri in the Suruga Province <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Tama River in Musashi Province <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Richard Lane concludes, "Indeed, if there is one work that made Hokusai's name, both in Japan and abroad, it must be this monumental print-series...".

=<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">AIT Art Organization: =

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Brief history and purpose
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">AIT (Arts Initiative Tokyo) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">“AIT was begun by six art curators and organizers in 2001 in Tokyo. At that time we felt that Tokyo lacked spaces in which to think about, learn and discuss art. Non-profit laws had also just been passed, and we decided to apply for official non-profit status from The City of Tokyo in 2002.” It is a small functioning body that gives room for people to practice and discover many aspects of art. AIT has maintained an international presents by working with different organizations around the world such as ASEF (The Asia-Europe Foundation), Singapore / Asia Link, Australia / Autonomous Culture Center, Weimar / California College of the Arts, USA / and many other organizations with the goal to instill art into the world population. They have developed different programs such as MAD and their residency program throughout the 11 years it has been in service to the public. This organization has become another avenue in which people can seek and find artistic knowledge, or expand on their already known knowledge.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">MAD (Making Art Different)
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">MAD is one of AIT’s core programs that was installed in 2001. “It is a contemporary art school, with no formal affiliations to institutional educational establishments.” It consists of lectures that promote the arts and teach along a broad range of subjects in the arts; they offer such courses as Curatorial Studies, Art Basic, Art/ Non Art, Art Industry, Artist, Forums, Art Picnic, Art Nuts and Workshops. The lectures range from art history since 1990 to art being created today; it helps enhance artists knowledge which ultimately makes its students a better artist. Their are also workshops offered which develops different artistic skills. The program consist of visits to museums and galleries to submerse its students in the arts and give them a diverse exposure to different types of arts. Students in the MAD program are able to create their own program by taking whatever classes they want to have their experience unique to them which increases their interest in learning. Anyone can attend this program. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">AIT does not offer in school programs, and I could not find an organization that did. My conclusion to this finding is that I believe the Japanese education system has taken it upon themselves to instill a rich art program in their schools that their is no need for outside organizations to come in and add art to the schools.

=<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">School arts programs: = <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Japan sees the development of creativity as a prerequisite for functioning in modern society and has creativity as an aim for their educational system. In 1995 they introduced an emphasis on creativity as a major curriculum component. This change came about to adapt to the social and economic changes, and for the fear that the prior system was resulting in excessive competitiveness, bullying, and refusal to come to school. This displays the importance of creativity to Japanese educational system and the belief that art can have a positive impact on all aspects of education. “The most important objectives for education in the twenty-first century include nurturing children’s capacity to cope positively with changes in society, as well as providing a sound base for fostering children’s creativity.” Visual art and music are compulsory at age 15. Despite the movement to make art an aim in their educational system, in high school creativity is lacking, which indicates other goals and expectations in higher grade levels.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Arts are included at a young age but excluded in higher grades in traditional K-12 schooling
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Japan includes the arts in their educational program more so in the beginning of the student's educational development. They are put into the learning system in many ways as integration or as its own discipline. "Music is an integral part of the elementary school core curriculum. It includes singing, instrumental performance, and appreciation of both Western and Japanese music. From the 1st grade, children learn to play melodies and simple harmonies on small keyboard and wind instruments. They also receive formal instruction in reading music. Musical expression and improvisation of simple accompaniments are encouraged through the use of various percussion instruments. All children are exposed to a common core of Japanese and Western classical works, including Bach, Handel, Beethoven, and Schubert." This musical education adds to the already exposure of music by the Suzuki method. Children are encouraged to participate in music in and out of school. Students are also exposed to art as well. "The Japanese arts curriculum provides an organized approach to the acquisition of some fundamental artistic skills and to the process of artistic creation. Instruction in drawing and painting proceeds from the use of pastel crayons to the use of watercolors in the upper grades. Training in formal composition and the use of special techniques such as perspective, depth and dimension, and light and shadow begins in the 3rd grade. Printmaking starts with paper prints in the 1 st grade and culminates in carved woodblock prints in the 5th and 6th grades. Sculpture is approached in a similar fashion. Beginning in the 3rd grade, students are taught to make preliminary sketches and later to draw plans or make models for objects they wish to construct." As the education progresses art starts to slowly go away from the curriculum. "High school environment shifts the student to a lecture-centered and systematic learning mode which is alternatively lauded for its high levels of achievement in math and science and criticized for its monotony and lack of creativity during a time geared towards competitive examinations when an intensive selection process occurs." Just as in America art requirements lessen as students go father in their educational career. I believe the reason that creativity is abundant in the lower grades and scarce in the higher grades is because different goals and standards are set for their children at different times in their educational development. Math and science is a major standard that the Japanese curriculum has, they rank in the top spectrum (3rd) in terms of science and math education in the world (far away from the U.S.). Programs in Japan are ensuring opportunists to view authentic stage arts, promoting culture activities, and support hands on cultural projects.

=<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px; text-align: center;">Conclusion: =

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How does this compare to your own personal experiences with arts education?
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">I feel that the practices installed in the Japanese education system are similar to the American system. I was encouraged to create at a young age and was surrounded by things that would allow me to do so. Even though I only had one art class a week in elementary school, art was still integrated in the subjects that we learned in class. As I got farther into my educational career art was starting to become scarce. In Middle School I only had one art class for one semester a year, and in High School I was able to take art classes whenever I wanted, but was discouraged to because I was only required to take one credit to graduate and I had to fill my schedule with other classes I needed to take in order to satisfy my requirements to graduate. Just as the amount of art declined over the years in my school, so does Japan’s exposure as well. I believe this happens because there are other priorities that the schooling system has. In a cultural since I feel that Japan encourages people to be more creative and surrounds them with more art than I am or even was at a young age. Art doesn't seem to define being "American", where as art defines being "Japanese."

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Surprises
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">What really surprised me about learning Japan’s practices is how young they start to expose their children to art. The Suzuki method to teach children to play violin was very interesting and different then America’s approach to exposing its children to the arts. It surprised me that they start to train the children from birth to be musically inclined by exposing them to music and crafts violins to fit a child’s hands so they can practice at a young age. In America children are exposed to pictures and different kinds of art, but were never truly encouraged to engage in an art form such as music. I wasn't fully exposed to learning to play music until 6th grade; at this point Japanese children have already been experts at playing the violin for close to 7 years. Ultimately the passion and determination to teach young children art and creativity surprised me.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">//How Cultures Educate,// Howard Gardner //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Present State of Arts Education in Japan, //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Akiyama Takasu //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The Arts, Creativity and Cultural Education: An International Perspective, //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Caroline Sharp and Joanna Le Métais <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">http://www.education-in-japan.info/sub1.html#sub102 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4142.htm <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">http://www.katsushika-hokusai.com/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">http://members.tripod.com/h_javora/jed6.htm <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">http://www.therichest.org/world/worlds-largest-economies/
 * //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quotations and Citations //**

http://www.typesofmartialarts.com/japanesemartialarts