Memories of Japan (LS-ME-712)

In this Learning Scenario, children will discover Japan through the eyes of some foreign travelers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. They will learn from their notes, photographs, and diaries, uncovering old traditions related to Japanese art, theater, music, and lifestyle. Searching on Europeana, they will create a digital diary, adding images and information about Japan.

Discovering Japan through the eyes of foreign travelers

Hakone, tourist on a stretcher chair at Lake Ashino in Fuji National Park. Photo by Lübeck Oswald, Deutsche Fotothek, Dresden, Public Domain

Lots of foreign travelers arrived in Japan at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth described Japan and its traditions in diaries, travel reports, and one of the new media that was catching on: photography.

This activity allows participants to travel with them, listening to their stories full of wonder and create themselves, searching on Europeana, a digital diary with images and information about Japan. The diary can be a template they could implement in the classroom or at home.

Hands-on! Creating a personal travel orihon

During the second activity, children will also have the opportunity to create a personal orihon (Japanese book/travel diary) and write on it a story related to a significant trip they did.

Outcomes of the activity

The aims of the activity are:

  • to make children learn about Japanese culture and new ways to discover different cultures
  • to let children reflect on the richness and value of diversity
  • to encourage self-reflection, writing, and creativity skills
  • to strengthen children’s storytelling and key competences.

Would you like to know more about this Learning Scenario? You can download it below:

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Public Domain Mark 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Rijksmuseum.

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