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History

Five years later, remembering Tohoku

Authors
Gary Mukai
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News
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My daughter, Emily, was teaching English at a middle school in Asahi City, Chiba Prefecture, on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program when the 2011 Tohoku earthquake struck on March 11, 2011. Tohoku is a region in the northeast portion of the island of Honshu, the largest island in Japan. Though Asahi City, a coastal city, is not in the Tohoku region, it was still heavily damaged by the resulting tsunami. Several of Emily’s students lost their homes. She was emotionally shaken, of course, but was fortunate not to sustain any injuries.

With the fifth anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami approaching, I have been reflecting upon the tremendous anxiety that I felt that day about Emily’s safety, my wife’s family in Tohoku, and the people of Japan in general. My reflections deepened last week while observing the interaction of SPICE’s Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) students (American high school students studying about Japan) with SPICE’s Stanford e-Japan students (Japanese high school students studying about the United States) in an informal online “social hour.” The RSP and Stanford e-Japan are distance-learning courses that are offered by SPICE.

Stanford e-Japan instructor Waka Brown and RSP instructor Naomi Funahashi organized the social hour to help to build bridges between youth in Japan and the United States. During the latter part of the social hour, RSP student, David Jaffe (Mesa, Arizona), posed the question, “How is 3.11 remembered today?” Among the many Stanford e-Japan students who spoke was Minoru Takeuchi (Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture), who stated, “When the earthquake happened, I was an elementary school student (12 years old). I still remember very well… at that time, I was in school. Some students were very afraid and crying… Maybe after the earthquake, many Japanese noticed the importance of working together, the preciousness that they could meet their friends…” The Japanese students’ sharing of their experiences related to 3.11 extended the social hour far beyond the hour, and the gratitude expressed by the American students to their counterparts in Japan flowed for many minutes in a text-chat box.

Observing the students was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career at SPICE. The Japanese students’ remembrances of 3.11 brought back poignant and difficult memories for me but also provided me with hopeful thoughts on the future of the U.S.–Japan relationship as I witnessed students from across the Pacific forming budding friendships and discussing topics of mutual relevance.
 

Resources for the classroom
 

My hope is that teachers will carve out some time in their curriculum to engage their students in a study of 3.11 as well as its legacies. The study of natural hazards ought to be a core part of school curriculum. SPICE has undertaken many curricular projects related to 3.11. I would recommend that teachers show the film, After the Darkness, which was produced by Risa Morimoto and Funahashi. After the Darkness is a documentary film that touches upon the events of the disaster itself but also focuses on the experiences of two survivors in particular. It is accompanied with free curricular lessons that are accessible to students of various ages. I also recommend a lecture by Professor Emeritus Daniel Okimoto, Stanford University, on “Japan’s Geological Factors,” which is accompanied by a free lesson plan. Another recommended curricular unit is SPICE’s Examining Long-term Radiation Effects, which was produced prior to 3.11 but can help students understand the radiation-related concerns following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. In addition, the film, Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story, is about one of two American JET Program teachers who lost their lives during 3.11. SPICE developed a teacher’s guide for the film that can be freely downloaded from the Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story website. Lastly, I recommend the use of the films from the 113 Project in classrooms. Earlier this week, I moderated a panel discussion that included Wesley Julian (director of the 113 Project), Andy Anderson (father of Taylor Anderson and board member of the Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund) as well as other Americans and Japanese who continue to contribute to relief efforts in the Tohoku region.

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tohoku
A distraught woman carries an elderly woman on her back, away from the piles of debris that are the flattened remnants of what was once a city in the Tohoku region of Japan. This scene comes from a photo taken the day after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a destructive tsunami.
Kahoku Shimpo
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Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks

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Join us Wednesday to celebrate International Education Week! We’ll be conducting our first open webinar at the 2015 Global Education Conference (#globaled15). Drop in to receive some free classroom resources and chat about historical memory, media literacy, perspective/bias, and the legacies of WWII in East Asia.

What: “Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States” webinar (Full description: http://tiny.cc/r1bv5x)
When: Wed, Nov 18 @ 4:00pm PST / 7:00pm EST
Where: Online at tiny.cc/SPICEatGEC15 (Choose your time zone to view full conference schedule.)

During and after the webinar, use hashtag #DividedMemories to live-tweet with us and our friends at Shorenstein APARC.

Rylan Sekiguchi

616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, C332
Stanford, CA 94305-6060

(650) 725-1486
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Rylan Sekiguchi is Manager of Curriculum and Instructional Design at the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Prior to joining SPICE in 2005, he worked as a teacher at Revolution Prep in San Francisco.

Rylan’s professional interests lie in curriculum design, global education, education technology, student motivation and learning, and mindset science. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Symbolic Systems at Stanford University.

He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen curriculum units for SPICE, including Along the Silk Road, China in Transition, Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks, and U.S.–South Korean Relations. His writings have appeared in publications of the National Council for History Education and the Association for Asian Studies.

Rylan has also been actively engaged in media-related work for SPICE. In addition to serving as producer for two films—My Cambodia and My Cambodian America—he has developed several web-based lessons and materials, including What Does It Mean to Be an American?

In 2010, 2015, and 2021, Rylan received the Franklin Buchanan Prize, which is awarded annually by the Association for Asian Studies to honor an outstanding curriculum publication on Asia at any educational level, elementary through university.
 
Rylan has presented teacher seminars across the country at venues such as the World Affairs Council, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and for organizations such as the National Council for the Social Studies, the International Baccalaureate Organization, the African Studies Association, and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. He has also conducted presentations internationally for the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools in Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines; for the European Council of International Schools in Spain, France, and Portugal; and at Yonsei University in South Korea.
 
Manager of Curriculum and Instructional Design
Instructor, Stanford e-Hiroshima
Manager, Stanford SEAS Hawaii
Workshops

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The Forbidden City housed the imperial families of China from the 1400s until the early 20th century. It was considered the embodiment of Chinese culture and power, and attracted scholars, officials, and dignitaries. Today it is the largest museum in China, attracting visitors from China and abroad.

This workshop—facilitated by the China Institute and co-sponsored by SPICE—is a unique opportunity for K–12 educators wishing to deepen their understanding of China and bring that knowledge into the classroom. Participants will learn about, and discuss, aspects related to the Forbidden City including but not limited to: architecture, philosophy, politics, Chinese history, and the transition from palace to museum. We will also discuss how to integrate China and Forbidden City-related topics into the classroom, apply critical thinking to the content discussed, and provide take-home resources to all participants.

This workshop is part of We All Live in the Forbidden City (www.walfc.org), China Institute’s unique educational program about the history, culture, architecture, and life of imperial and contemporary China as seen through the lens of this iconic structure. This program also includes books, children’s workshops, and a website with additional resources for parents and teachers.

Okimoto Conference Room
Encina Hall East, Third Floor
http://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/directions

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NCTA MS: Religions in China and Japan

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In an effort to infuse Asian studies in the social studies and literature curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), is offering a professional development opportunity at Stanford University.

This all day workshop will focus on teaching about religion in China and Japan and the influence of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Participants will hear from top China and Japan scholars, engage in China and Japan related curriculum, and network with other local teachers.  This is the fourth seminar in a four part series.

Encina Basement Conf. Room, Encina Hall
616 Serra Street
Stanford, CA 94305

Seminars

NCTA MS: Feudal Japan and Tokugawa Japan

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In an effort to infuse Asian studies in the social studies and literature curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), is offering a professional development opportunity at Stanford University.

This all day workshop will focus on teaching about feudal Japan and the Tokugawa era. Participants will hear from top Japan scholars, engage in Japan related curriculum, and network with other local teachers.  This is the third seminar in a four part series.

Encina Basement Conf. Room, Encina Hall 
616 Serra Street
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NCTA MS: The Silk Road

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In an effort to infuse Asian studies in the social studies and literature curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), is offering a professional development opportunity at Stanford University.

This all day workshop will focus on teaching about ancient China and the Silk Road. Participants will hear from top China scholars, engage in China related curriculum, and network with other local teachers.  This is the second seminar in a four part series.

Encia Basement Conf. Room, Encina Hall
616 Serra Street
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NCTA MS: Ancient China and the Chinese Dynasties

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In an effort to infuse Asian studies in the social studies and literature curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), is offering a professional development opportunity at Stanford University.

This all day workshop will focus on teaching about China's dynasties. Participants will hear from top China scholars, engage in China related curriculum, and network with other local teachers.  This is the first seminar in a four part series.

Encina Basement Conf. Room, Encina Hall
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This all day workshop will focus on teaching about issues Asian American face in contemporary society. This is the fourth workshop in a four part series.

Encina Basement Conf. Room, Encina Hall
616 Serra Street
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Seminars

NCTA HS: U.S-South Korea Relations

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In an effort to infuse Asian studies in the social studies and literature curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), is offering a professional development opportunity at Stanford University.

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Encina Basement Conf. Room, Encina Hall
616 serra Street 
Stanford, CA 94305

Seminars
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