Exam Topics A - REL 303 Japanese Religion

The exam will be in two parts. Part I will be on matters related to Writing Papers. Part II will be on topics covered thus far in the readings and lectures. You will take the exam online on your own time on Canvas.

The exam will be multiple choice, and as covered in the syllabus, will count 10% of your grade. There is only one right answer per question. If there appears to be more than one right answer, pick the best answer.

If you have any questions about the exam or the topics included in the exam, please ask me. You can come in during office hours, make an appointment or send me email.

Part I: Writing Papers

Read the following essays and guidelines that are posted on the Writing Papers links on my web pages:

I. Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities

II. Four Stages of Writing

III. Paper Writing Guidelines

IV. Sentence Structure and Grammar: Clauses and Commas

V. Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness
 
 

Part II: Readings and Lectures

I will not be overly picky about dates and names. However, you should know major figures and thinkers covered in the course so far and the major ideas associated with them:

Early Japanese Religion and Culture

• Who were the kami in terms of relationship to the prehistoric Japanese tribes and clans?
• What is Kawai's Hollow-Centered Balanced Model of Japanese mythology?
• Who are the Sun Goddess, Storm God, and Moon God?

Japanese Shamanism

• According to Carmen Blacker, how do shamanesses and shamans provide access to the gods and goddesses?
• What is the relationship between the shamaness, the musician, the saniwa-hito (interlocutor), and the temenos (sacred space)?
• Who was Pimiko or Himiko, and how did she help to rule her people in Japan?
• What are the miko, nuru, and yuta?
• Who was Nakayama Miki, and how did she become a modern-day religious leader?
• What are some of the similarities and differences between her and the ancient shamnesses like Pimiko?

Kitagawa, "The Shadow and the Sun: A Glimpse of the Fujiwara"

• Who was Kamatari, who changed his last name from Nakatomi to Fujiwara?
• What was the importance of the Fujiwara clan?

Buddhism

• Who are these characters from the early stories of the historical Buddha?
  Siddhartha Gautama, Queen Maya, King Suddhodana, Prajapati, Devadatta, Prince Ajatasatru, King Bimbisara, Queen Vaidehi
• What are these early teachings: The Four Noble Truths, The Three Marks of Existence, karma, samsara, nirvana, bodhi, moksa
• What are these Mahayana Buddhist teachings: Two-fold Truth, bodhisattva ideal