•
Unifying and Governing Early Modern Japan: Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
and the Early Tokugawa Shôguns [Reading]An introduction to and excerpts from official edicts written by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the military unifiers of Japan and by the early Tokugawa shôguns. The edicts reveal concerns about both domestic and foreign affairs in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
• Introduction:
Power and Politics in Modern Japan [Reading]
An essay that gives a brief history of the structure
of government in Japan. Emphasis is on the role of the emperor and the
role of the Diet, Japan's legislative body.
• The
Japanese Constitution [Reading]
This unit contains the text of Japan's constitution,
written in 1947. Discussion questions included.
• The
Government of Japan [Reading]
This unit contains basic facts about the structure
of the government.
• Elections
in Japan [Reading/Activity]
An essay explaining how politicians are elected in
Japan. Discussion questions and a student exercise are included.
• Decision-Making
in the Japanese Government [Reading/Activity]
A short essay describing the various organizations
that influence political decisions followed by an extensive role play
in which students debate whether income taxes should be raised or lowered.
• The
Emperor Before and After the Second World War [Audio/Video/Text]
An audio/visual unit on Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989),
who was the emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989. He chose to designate
his reign with the term "Showa" (Enlightened Peace), and he
is sometimes referred to as the Emperor Showa. His reign was the longest
of any monarch in Japanese history.
• Research
Exercise: "Current Events" [Activity]
This unit contains suggestions for using online English
Language Japanese newspapers.
• Land,
the Family and Political Power [Reading]
This short essay describes land cultivation (specifically,
how and who cultivates the land) and the relationship between land ownership
and political power. It also discusses the effect of Japan's mountainous
topography on the relationship between local and central government control.
Discussion questions are included.
for
students 
includes teacher's
note 
multimedia unit
primary source reading
general reading 
includes art