1. Brief summary of this semester: • When I Whistle (approximately 2.5 weeks: ) • World Lit papers 1 & 2 revisions (1.5 weeks) • Hard Times (3 weeks) • Review of Heart of Darkness (1 – 2 classes) • IB dead week and mock exams, March 5 – 16 • Clear Light of Day (HL only) (3 weeks) • Review for IB exams (2.5 weeks) • IB exams, May 2 – 22

2. JAPAN

3. The Japanese Aesthetic aesthetic(s): branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty; also, a particular theory or conception of beauty or art (Merriam Webster) To the Japanese, aesthetics are a basic part of daily life rather than an academic or philosophical discipline. The ancient ideals into which Japanese aesthetics are traditionally divided are: WABI: transient and stark beauty SABI: beauty of natural patina (sheen on surface made by age and use) and aging YUGEN: profound grace and subtlety

4. Calligraphy A highly esteemed branch of traditional art in Japan

5. Modern Japanese Literature • Japan’s defeat in WWII greatly influenced writers • disaffection • loss of purpose • coping with defeat • A stress on the inner lives of characters is often evident in Japanese fiction • Buddhist tradition emphasizes self knowledge and the impermanence of the material world • Alienation in the modern urban jungle is another common theme

6. Japanese high school students and seifuku

7. Japan in WWII • The Axis Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Imperial Japan is created in 1936 • Japan at war with China from 1937 • Hoping to dominate Asia, in December 1941, Japan attacks and conquers U.S. and European possessions in the Pacific • At its peak, Imperial Japan’s possessions include Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, parts of China, Malaysia, French Indochina, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Philippines, Burma, parts of India, and other Pacific Islands • Japan defeated in numerous naval battles in 1942 • Japanese navy decisively defeated by the U.S.; Japan surrenders when U.S. invasion of home islands becomes imminent (15 August 1945)

8. Modern Japan

9. Shusako Endo1923 - 1996 • Among Japan’s most renowned 20th Century authors • Unique perspective as a Japanese Catholic (baptized at age 11) • Born in Japan, but moved to Dalian (Japanese occupied Manchuria) as a child • Began college as medical student, but shifted to literature with focus on French Catholic writers • Worked at munitions factory when WWII interrupted his university studies • Suffered from poor health: spent 2 years in a hospital; thought poorly of Japanese medicine

10. Endo: themes and motifs • Complex moral dilemmas • Christianity; oppression of Japanese Christians • Outsiders, foreigners, alienation • Hospitals, patients, doctors, disease

11. When I Whistle, 1974 Setting: Kansei, Western Japan

12. Sumiyoshi – Ashiya - Nishinomiya Kansai…. Western Japan

13. WIW: themes- generation gap; clash in values between old and new Japan- futility and tragedy of war; also, its effects on a generation that has known it- Japanese hierarchies and social norms- acceptance vs. ambition- honesty and integrity- brief encounters that give life meaning

14. WIW: symbols & motifs • Aiko’s fountain pen • the color white • the beach (and its changes) • Nada (and its changes) • trains • diseases (cancer, TB) • weather

15. Traditional house and apartment building Useful References Fusuma and traditional futon preparation Ofuro

16. Bean Cakes Obi – the ‘belt’of the kimono Useful References Japanese Calligraphy

17. Sources • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aesthetics#Wabi-sabi • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_literature • http://alicetocracy.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/serafuku-a-japanese-school-uniform/ • http://zackleey.blogspot.com/2011/06/japanese-high-school-boys.html • http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/cultural/hj/japanesecalligraphy.html • http://calligraphy-expo.com/eng/AboutCalligraphy/Hieroglyph/East.aspx?ItemID=1589 • http://interestingfacts-themur.blogspot.com/2009/02/art-of-japanese-calligraphy-short.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_calligraphy • http://www.chocolate-fish.net/img_-2669 • http://www.japanesecuisine.info/culture-of-japan/modern-japan • http://tokio-tokyo.blogspot.com/2010/10/tokio-cidade-dos-games-das-animacoes.html • http://www.dipity.com/tickr/Flickr-shinjuku/ • http://www.nybooks.com/galleries/david-levine-illustrator/1982/nov/04/shusaku-endo/ • http://www.crisismagazine.com/2011/shusako-endos-borrowed-faith • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shusaku_Endo • http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Fool-Peter-Modern-Classic/dp/0720613205 • http://www.amazon.com/When-I-Whistle-Shusaku-Endo/dp/0720614376 • http://www.amazon.com/Volcano-Shusaku-Endo/dp/0720614309