電気通信大学 ASE II: Japan & the future・日本の未来

Hello! 

How are you? A big otsukaresamadeshita on the presentations last week. Good job on those! 

Now here is a post on the future - this time, Japan and the future. 

Look at the picture above. It shows an average Japanese family having dinner, and it comes from a Japanese magazine article from 1954 about home life. Is there anything different about family dinner time now than from then? 

Activity
What kinds of social or cultural changes can you see happening in Japan in the future? Japanese society and culture has already been through many changes since World War II. 

Take a look at these next group of pictures. They show some changes that have happened in around the last 50 years or so, up to now. What do you notice about the buildings, or the cars, or the way people dress? How do you feel that things have changed? 

Chuo-dori, Ginza, Tokyo, late 1960s

Chuo-dori, Ginza, Tokyo, today

Japanese young people, early 1960s

Japanese young people, today

Some contemporary fashions in Japan, late 1960s

Some contemporary fashions in Japan, today

Now let's take a look at this video about the Tsukuba Expo in 1985. This was almost 20 years later, but already things had changed since the 1960s: 

I have just two questions: 

What was the theme of the Tsukuba Expo? 

What kinds of achievements did the Tsukuba Expo want to show?

Other questions to think about:

So what kinds of changes can you imagine happening in society or culture in the future from now? What sorts of fashions might people be wearing? For example, would long hair come back into fashion among men? Would women wear mini-skirts again? Or - would men wear skirts and women wear suits? How about music? What would it sound like in the future? 

What designs in cars could you see in the future? Would we see a return to some older designs in cars? How about buildings? How might they be different? Perhaps would we see something in the future that people 50 years ago would never have imagined! 

Now here are the board notes for our class from 11/19:

See you next week!

Images: Top - by Unknown - Japanese magazine "Photograph Gazette, May 1954 issue" published by Government of Japan., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17850644/Ginza in 1967 - by Roger W from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A. - Tokyo - Chuo-Dori, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60804070/Ginza in 2017 - by Gary - DSC08269 - Chuo-dori Ginza, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40961932/Japanese young people in 1964 - screenshot taken from Japanese+youth,+Tokyo,+1964+(11).jpg/Japanese young people today - screenshot taken from https://www.google.co.jp/search?biw=1199&bih=746&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=w2dXWpWxAcr08QXcjLHAAg&q=japanese+young+people&oq=japanese+young+people&gs_l=psy-ab.12...0.0.0.37755.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.ZsHKi1iiTEI#imgrc=VXhxXXgo1PeJ-M:/Fashions in the 1960s - screenshot taken from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSgihLQJ00A84oVxNXdnaTdsbeTOGyngG-Cw7QCFjOczG3LECPdEbMZn_H9xcCV5UGrB9aZYdZqsodtUNL0InEGB4x1qi37sgsipFgP8_t3ThGqxbukg0V5zUJZvTYyx5ZwU6YWul76k/s1600/Street fashion today – screenshot taken from images on Instagram.
I do not own the rights to the images originally posted on Instagram. All rights reserved on original images to the copyright holders. Screenshots of images uploaded for educational purposes only.

東京理科大学 Writing & Composition 1b: Accidents of chemical engineering - the case of LSD・化学工学、研究の過失「LSDについて」

Hello!

How are you? To go with our reading today about the accidental discovery of LSD, here is a video of a famous song that many people felt was about LSD - the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Before we begin, however, as a review, here are the board notes for our class on 11/4: 

Now let's look at, and listen to, the song!

The Beatles themselves said that it was not about LSD, or any drugs at all. But the lyrics to the song have the imagery to them that fit in part with what Albert Hoffman had said were his experiences with LSD when he began experimenting with it in the 1940s.

In the U.S., Britain, and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, LSD became a popular drug amongst hippies and many other young people, and influenced the popular music of the time. The concert poster at the top was typical of the time for its psychedelic imagery - the kind many people connected with LSD use.

While many believed that LSD was not harmful, the experiences of many young people at the time showed that it could be very harmful - especially in young people who might already have had delicate mental health. 

LSD became an example of a discovery in science that later became important in the cultural history of the late 20th century in many Western countries - but for the wrong reasons. 

Activity/homework
Listen to this song. Listen to it as many times as you want or need. You do not have to understand what they mean - because the lyrics really do not make a logical story at all. But what do you think of it? What imagery do you get from the song that you find fantastic or impactful? How do you think it might fit with what Albert Hoffman's experience with LSD was? 

Make some notes about this and bring them in next week to share. 

See you then!

Images: Top - screenshot of original image taken from https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/11/our-favorite-concert-posters.html/Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.

I do not own the rights to the original image. Screenshot taken and uploaded for classroom use only. 

Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the musical composition or the video. Uploaded for classroom purposes only. 

電気通信大学 ASE I: Accidents of science - the case of LSD・理科、研究の過失「LSDについて」

Hello!

How are you? To go with our reading today about the accidental discovery of LSD, here is a video of a song that many people felt was about the kind of drug experience that LSD creates. 

In the U.S., Britain, and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, LSD became a popular drug amongst hippies and many other young people, and it influenced the popular music of the time. 

The rock concert poster above was typical of the time for its psychedelic imagery - the kind many people connected with LSD use.

While many believed that LSD was not harmful, the experiences of many young people at the time showed that it could be very harmful - especially in young people who might already have had delicate mental health. 

LSD became an example of a discovery in science that later became important in the cultural history of the late 20th century in many Western countries - often for the wrong reasons. 

Activity/homework
Listen to this song as many times as you want or need. You do not have to understand what it means - because the lyrics really do not make a logical story at all. But what do you think of it? What imagery do you get from the song that you find fantastic or impactful? How do you think it might fit with what Albert Hoffman's experience with LSD was? 

Make some notes about this and bring them in next week to share. 

Here are the board notes for our class on 6/4:

See you then!

Image: Screenshot of original image from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e1a12837c58156a98ba36d/t/57f5698e2e69cfd39f9ab989/1475701158908/pae-insiders-report.pdf 
I do not own the rights to the original image. not copyright infringement intended. All rights reserved to the copyright holder(s). Screenshot taken and uploaded for classroom use only. 
Board notes - personal photograph. All rights reserved.

Video uploaded from YouTube. I do not own the rights to the musical composition or the video. Uploaded for classroom purposes only. 

電気通信大学 ASE II: Japan & the future・日本の未来

Hello! 

How are you? Here is another post on the future - this time, Japan and the future. 

Look at the picture above. It shows an average Japanese family having dinner, and it comes from a Japanese magazine article from 1954 about home life. Is there anything different about family dinner time now than from then? 

Activity
What kinds of social or cultural changes can you see happening in Japan in the future? Japanese society and culture has already been through many changes since World War II. 

Take a look at these next group of pictures. They show some changes that have happened in around the last 50 years or so, up to now. What do you notice about the buildings, or the cars, or the way people dress? How do you feel that things have changed? 

Chuo-dori, Ginza, Tokyo, 1967

Chuo-dori, Ginza, Tokyo, 2017

Japanese young people, 1964

Japanese young people, 2017

Some contemporary fashions in Japan, late 1960s

Some contemporary fashions in Japan, 2017

Now let's take a look at this video about the Tsukuba Expo in 1985. This was almost 20 years later, but already things had changed since the 1960s: 

I have just two questions: 

What was the theme of the Tsukuba Expo? 

What kinds of achievements did the expo want to show?

Other questions to think about:

So what kinds of changes can you imagine happening in society or culture in the future from now? What sorts of fashions might people be wearing? For example, would long hair come back into fashion among men? Would women wear mini-skirts again? Or - would men wear skirts and women wear suits? How about music? What would it sound like in the future? 

What designs in cars could you see in the future? Would we see a return to some older designs in cars? How about buildings? How might they be different? Perhaps would we see something in the future that people 50 years ago would never have imagined! 

See you next week!

Images: Top - by Unknown - Japanese magazine "Photograph Gazette, May 1954 issue" published by Government of Japan., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17850644/Ginza in 1967 - By Roger W from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A. - Tokyo - Chuo-Dori, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60804070/Ginza in 2017 - By Gary - DSC08269 - Chuo-dori Ginza, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40961932/Japanese young people in 1964 - screenshot taken from Japanese+youth,+Tokyo,+1964+(11).jpg/Japanese young people in 2017 - screenshot taken from https://www.google.co.jp/search?biw=1199&bih=746&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=w2dXWpWxAcr08QXcjLHAAg&q=japanese+young+people&oq=japanese+young+people&gs_l=psy-ab.12...0.0.0.37755.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.ZsHKi1iiTEI#imgrc=VXhxXXgo1PeJ-M:/Fashions in the 1960s - screenshot taken from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSgihLQJ00A84oVxNXdnaTdsbeTOGyngG-Cw7QCFjOczG3LECPdEbMZn_H9xcCV5UGrB9aZYdZqsodtUNL0InEGB4x1qi37sgsipFgP8_t3ThGqxbukg0V5zUJZvTYyx5ZwU6YWul76k/s1600/Street fashion in 2017 – screenshot taken from https://medium.com/@TokyoFashion/japanese-street-fashion-2017-15-things-you-need-to-know-ab06eabfca39

電気通信大学 AWE II: Fall semester final writing assignment supporting post (Part 2)・後期末作文の付記 (Part 2)

Hello! 

How are you? Here is one more supporting post for your final writing assignment about Japan and the future. 

Science and technology are not all there are about the future, because there is also society and culture too. You do not have to focus on science and technology in your thinking about the future - there are also things such as fashion and music, and the looks of cars and buildings, and the way people live in their day-to-day lives.  

Look at the picture above. It's a Bon Curry ad from 50 years ago, when it first was sold, in 1968. At the time, this was revolutionary - a healthy meal in a pack that could be boiled in a pot of water. This was similar to what the Apollo astronauts ate in space!    

Activity
What kinds of social or cultural changes can you see happening in Japan in the future? Japanese society and culture has already been through many changes since World War II. 

Take a look at these next group of pictures. They show some changes that have happened in around the last 50 years, up to now. What do you notice about the buildings, or the cars, or the way people dress? How do you feel that things have changed? 

I choose the 1960s a lot because so much of that time was rich in imagination about the future for many Japanese. So take a look at these pictures:

Japanese young people, 1964

Japanese young people, 2017

Some street fashions in Tokyo, late 1960s

Some street fashions in Tokyo, 2017

So when we think about the future from our viewpoint now, what kinds of changes can you imagine happening in society or culture in the future? 

What kinds of fashions might people wear? For example, would long hair come back into fashion among men? Would women all wear mini-skirts again? Or - would men wear skirts and women wear suits? 

How about music? What would the music of the future be like? What designs in cars could you see in the future? How about architecture? What will buildings in the future look like? These and many other questions are the kinds of things you can think of! 

Good luck with this! I hope this can give you more ideas on how you can write on Japan and the future. 

See you next week!

Images: Top - by Unknown - Japanese magazine "Photograph Gazette, May 1954 issue" published by Government of Japan., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17850644/Ginza in 1967 - By Roger W from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A. - Tokyo - Chuo-Dori, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60804070/Ginza in 2017 - By Gary - DSC08269 - Chuo-dori Ginza, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40961932/Japanese young people in 1964 - screenshot taken from Japanese+youth,+Tokyo,+1964+(11).jpg/Japanese young people in 2017 - screenshot taken from https://www.google.co.jp/search?biw=1199&bih=746&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=w2dXWpWxAcr08QXcjLHAAg&q=japanese+young+people&oq=japanese+young+people&gs_l=psy-ab.12...0.0.0.37755.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.ZsHKi1iiTEI#imgrc=VXhxXXgo1PeJ-M:/Fashions in the 1960s - screenshot taken from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSgihLQJ00A84oVxNXdnaTdsbeTOGyngG-Cw7QCFjOczG3LECPdEbMZn_H9xcCV5UGrB9aZYdZqsodtUNL0InEGB4x1qi37sgsipFgP8_t3ThGqxbukg0V5zUJZvTYyx5ZwU6YWul76k/s1600/Street fashion in 2017 – screenshot taken from https://medium.com/@TokyoFashion/japanese-street-fashion-2017-15-things-you-need-to-know-ab06eabfca39

ECA (Speaking) I (J & D): 過去の物価

Hello!



How are you! Today let's think about prices (物価) from the past (過去) - how well do they match up to prices now - in the present (現在)? 

Activity

Look at the poster at the top. It's an old Meiji poster from the 1960s. It's from a long time ago, isn't it? How much money do you think these cost back at that time?

Now look at some old pictures of things we still enjoy or use now. With a partner or in a group, can you guess if these things were cheaper, the same, or more expensive in the past?

(Remember! Cheap = 安い/The same = 同じ/Expensive = 高い)

例えば ：

Bon Curry has been enjoyed in Japan for a long time - since 1968! This is an old Bon Curry package. In 1968, do you think a package of Bon Curry was cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now?

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive     

Answer (答え): It was cheaper.  

Now with a partner or in a group, make some guesses about these things. Were they cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now?

1. Morinaga Drops - late 1960s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

2. Ramune Pet - late 1960s/early 1970s 

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive 

3. Pepsi - early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

4. Candy Candy school notebook - early 1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

5. Shinkansen ticket - late 1960s/early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

6. Original Apple Macintosh computer - mid-1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

Have fun with this! See you!

Images: Meiji Peanut Chocolate Balls, Bon Curry, Morinaga Drops, Ramune, and Pepsi ad images - screenshots from Pinterest. Candy Candy notebook image - screenshot from eBay. All rights reserved on all images and products to their respective copyright holders. No copyright infringement intended. 

Shinkansen photograph: Roger Wollstadt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/3429753993/in/set-72157623081490477/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18004116

Macintosh photograph: w:User:Grm wnr - Modifications of Image:Macintosh 128k.jpg and w:Image:Macintosh 128k No Text.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=519781

Shinkansen and Macintosh images from Wikimedia Commons. All images uploaded solely for classroom use. 

ECA (Speaking) I (C, W, & A): 過去の物価

Hello!

How are you! Today let's think about prices (物価) from the past (過去) - how well do they match up to prices in the present (現在)? 

Activity

Look at the poster at the top. It's an old Morinaga Drops poster from the 1960s. It's from a long time ago, isn't it? How much money do you think these cost back at that time?

Now look at some old pictures of things we still enjoy or use now. With a partner or in a group, can you guess if these things were cheaper, the same, or more expensive in the past?

(Remember! Cheap = 安い/the same = 同じ/expensive = 高い)

例えば ：

Bon Curry has been enjoyed in Japan for a long time - since 1968! This is an old Bon Curry package. In 1968, do you think a package of Bon Curry was cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now?

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive     

Answer (答え): It was cheaper.   

Now with a partner or in a group, make some guesses about these things. Were they cheaper, the same, or more expensive, than now? 

1. Meiji Peanut Chocolate Balls - late 1960s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

2. Ramune - late 1960s/early 1970s 

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive 

3. Pepsi - early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

4. Candy Candy school notebook - early 1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

5. Shinkansen ticket - late 1960s/early 1970s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

6. Original Macintosh - mid-1980s

I think it was cheaper      I think it was the same      I think it was more expensive

Have fun with this! See you!

Images: Morinaga Drops, Bon Curry, Meiji Peanut Chocolate Balls, Ramune, and Pepsi ad images - screenshots from Pinterest. Candy Candy notebook image - screenshot from eBay. All rights reserved on all images and products to their respective copyright holders. No copyright infringement intended. 

Shinkansen photograph: Roger Wollstadt - http://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/3429753993/in/set-72157623081490477/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18004116

Macintosh photograph: w:User:Grm wnr - Modifications of Image:Macintosh 128k.jpg and w:Image:Macintosh 128k No Text.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=519781

Shinkansen and Macintosh images from Wikimedia Commons. All images uploaded solely for classroom use.