(c) Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA December 1999
No portion of this Teacher Curriculum Guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company's Department of Education.
Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick Director of Education Huntington Theatre Company 264 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115
This Teacher Curriculum Guide for
Sisters Matsumoto by Philip Kan Gotanda
was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by Valerie C.M. Ching Education and Outreach Associate with contributions by Peter Altman Producing Director
Donna Glick Director of Education
Scott Edmiston Literary Associate
Linda Murphy Assistant Director of Education
Rena Murman Student Matinee Coordinator
Robin Mangino Brockton High School
Janice Deane Everett High School
Amy Leo Everett High School
Stefanie Christo Education Intern
Lynley Fleak Education Intern
Becca Honig Education Assistant
We wish to acknowledge the Japanese American Citizens League for permission to reprint material from its curriculum and resource guide, A Lesson in American History: The Japanese-American Experience, and Theatre Espresso for information associated with its drama, Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese Internment Camps.
The John Hancock Student Matinee Series is funded in part by a generous grant from the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company.
ABOUT THIS CURRICULUM This curriculum package has been developed for use in conjunction with the Study Guide for the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Sisters Matsumoto by Philip Kan Gotanda. Teachers are encouraged to pick and choose, and to change and adapt each entry to meet the preferences and needs of individual classes and students. We recommend that teachers read the Sisters Matsumoto Study Guide before approaching this curriculum guide, and then read the curriculum guide in its entirety.
This curriculum includes the following sections: Audience Etiquette introduces students to the concept of drama and audience etiquette. Objectives provide the teacher with measurable goals. Preparation offers background information and introduces issues of the play without requiring special knowledge. Action Outline Questions help students to develop specific reading and comprehension skills by leading them to assess important elements of the play. For Further Discussion encourages students to develop independent judgments and a clearer understanding of some complexities of the play and its issues, and helps them to relate such issues to their own lives. For Further Exploration allows students to explore independently and creatively some of the issues and background of the play. Writing Projects afford students opportunities for self-expression, analytical thought, and developing their writing skills. Questions for After Attending a Performance of the Play encourages students to consider the aesthetic and practical elements of a live performance. Activities provides hands-on and interactive projects and tasks consideration of the play. Quotations allows students to approach specific lines of the play in an assortment of ways. Suggested Readings and Films encourages students to read other literature and to see movies with similar themes, conflicts, and characters. Vocabulary offers a hand-out sheet without definitions for work with words and language. (The definitions are supplied in the Sister Matsumoto study guide.) Bibliography lists valuable sources used in developing this Curriculum Guide. Appendix contains documents and other materials that can be used in a variety of ways. 2
AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE Because many students have not had the opportunity to view live theatre, we are including an audience etiquette section with this study/curriculum guide. Teachers, please spend some time on this subject since it will greatly enhance your students’ experience at the theatre.
1. What are the differences between live theatre and the cinema? 2. How does one respond to a live performance of a play, as opposed to when seeing a film at a local cinema or watching a video at home? 3. What is the audience’s role during a live performance? How do you think audience behavior can affect an actor’s performance? 4. How does a play script differ from a novel? 5. What do you know about the theatrical rehearsal process? Have you ever participated in one as an actor, singer, director or technical person? 6. What are some of the elements involved in producing a play? — set, costumes, lighting actors, director stage management, tech direction, etc. 7. What is a professional stage actor’s life like?
Unlike at a movie theatre, no food, gum or beverages are allowed in the auditorium at a Huntington Theatre Company performance. Book bags should be left at school or on the school bus. Beepers, cameras, flashlights, laser lights, walk-men, and cell phones are also not allowed in the theatre. Hats must be removed. The acoustics in the theatre are such that whispers in the balcony can be heard as clearly on the stage as the actors’ voices are heard in the balcony. Audience members should refrain from talking during the performance. 3
OBJECTIVES
Students should:
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develop an understanding of the circumstances that led to the internment of over 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II
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familiarize themselves with aspects of the Japanese-American experience preceding, during, and following World War II
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identify the central themes represented in Sisters Matsumoto, including: the blessings and burdens of family multicultural identities in America prejudice and discrimination
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compare and contrast their own cultural identities to those of the characters in the play
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participate in hands-on arts activities including acting, visual arts, and performing music and movement
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appraise the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Sisters Matsumoto, considering both the technical and artistic interpretations.
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PREPARATION These activities are intended to introduce the central issues of Sisters Matsumoto and to help students familiarize themselves with important background information relevant to the play. Students do not need to have read the play in order to complete these activities. Note: Teachers may wish to revisit some of these issues after their students have seen or read the play. Background Teachers are encouraged to refer to the appropriate sections of the Sisters Matsumoto Study Guide for specific information about the topics below. Japanese Immigration to the U.S. and Hawaii Have students gather information about Japanese immigration to the U.S. and Hawaii during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Have students create a fictitious character based on their research. Students may wish to consider the following circumstances and questions: You are a recent immigrant from Japan who has arrived in 1900. Do you live in Hawaii or on the west coast of the U.S.? What is your job, and how do you enjoy it? Describe your community. Do you live among other Japanese immigrants? Do you have a family? Who are the Issei, Nisei, and Kibei? Have students create monologues based on their research to read out loud in class, or assemble their writings into a class booklet. Japanese Culture Organize a Japan Day in your classroom. Encourage students to develop their own plans for the activities and elements of the event. To prepare, have students find out about the following, either individually or in groups: - traditional clothing for men, women, and children - visual art, theatre, dance, music, architecture, horticulture - literature, especially poetry - philosophy and religion - customs, beliefs, ceremonies - food and drink - martial arts traditions - language In addition to other activities, students may choose to: -transform the classroom into a gallery where photographs, pictures of Japanese characters with English translations, drawings and collages inspired by their research can be displayed. - include a “listening� station where classmates can listen to Japanese music. - invite students from a local martial arts school to do a demonstration. - create models of traditional Japanese houses, rock gardens, famous temples.
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Internment 1. Have selected students present the following in class as a note from the principal: There have been several instances of vandalism caused by graders (appropriate grade of the class) at other schools within the city. Even though our graders have not been caught doing such things, and they have never been known to do such things in the past, we feel they are a threat to the school. Therefore, from now on, graders will not be allowed to participate in any school activities. They will not be allowed to have lunch. They will not be permitted outside of school during school hours. This will include field trips, school sponsored activities, clubs, and sports. We are preparing a separate area of the school to which all graders will report and be watched everyday. All books, book bags, paper, pens, and pencils will be confiscated. This will continue until further notice.
Have the rest of your class discuss their reactions to and feelings about this announcement. Do they feel this principal’s order is fair? Why or why not? Should they go along with the order and not cause trouble, or should they protest? Have students compare their reactions to what members of the Japanese-American community might have felt when Executive Order 9066 was enforced. 2. Divide your class into groups of four students, each to constitute a Japanese family - parents and two children. The families have just been informed that they will be evacuated. Distribute copies of the Evacuation Notice found in the Appendix of this guide. Have each group follow the instructions carefully to generate a list of the items they will carry. Allow only 15 minutes. One person in each “family” should then share each list with the rest of the class, justifying the choices. 3. According to many historians and legal experts, internment violated many constitutional rights of Japanese-Americans. Distribute copies of the Bill of Rights and have students explain the articles in their own words. Divide your class into five groups, and assign each one of the following Articles: Article I: Article IV: Article V: Article VI: Article VIII:
Restrictions on Powers of Congress Seizures, Searches, and Warrants Criminal Proceedings and Condemnation of Property Mode of Trial in Criminal Proceedings Bails, Fines, Punishments
Have each group of students determine whether the internment of Japanese-Americans violated these rights, and report their findings to the class. 4. Ask students to search in libraries and on the internet for primary source material describing life in the internment camps. (See Suggested Readings and Films section of this guide for web site addresses and other resources.) Students may wish to search for information on topics including: assembly centers camp security medical facilities food and supplies
living quarters camp schools religious services camp regulations
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work/job opportunities social activities camp government internee art, writings, music
Students may also choose to focus their research on one of the specific camps: Amache, Gila River, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, Tule Lake To share their findings, students may: - write a letter in the character of an internee, describing aspects of camp life to a Caucasian friend - develop a role-play scene, dramatizing a camp event or story - create a poster or collage of internee art work and photographs. Images should include ones that reflect the students’ own reactions to and feelings about internment. - Draw or create in collage a map of a fictitious camp that contains the type of buildings found in some of the historical camps. Include images that represent how internees felt about their surroundings. 5. Have students compare life of the internees to what they know about U.S. life outside of the camps during World War II. What hardships did all Americans face during the war? How did people cope with these hardships? What were music, fashion, and entertainment like during the war? What were some of the most important events of the war? Students should pay close attention to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how this attack influenced U.S. public opinion regarding Japanese-Americans. Japanese-American troops in World War II Have students research and discuss the following topics: 442nd Regimental Combat Team 100th Infantry Battalion Liberation of Dachau and Bruyeres “Purple Heart Battalion”
Rescue of the “Lost Battalion” Casualty rate of the 100th and 442nd
Invite a World War II veteran to share his experience with your class. If possible, identify a veteran who either served with Japanese-American soldiers or can speak about the attitudes of Caucasian soldiers towards their Japanese-American comrades. Encourage students to find out how to contact surviving members of the 442nd/100th and write letters to them, asking them about their war experiences and expressing the students’ own feelings about the service of Japanese-Americans in the U.S. military during World War II. Culture Clash Between Hawaiians and Mainlanders Have students gather information about the lifestyles of Hawaiian Japanese and their U.S. mainland counterparts. What occupations were common among Japanese Hawaiians prior to World War II, and how were these different than or similar to the occupations of mainlanders? Did both groups typically share the same educational backgrounds? (Focus in particular on the Kibei and how their education differed from that of their peers.) What do the terms “buddhahead” and “katonk” mean, and what do these terms tell us about attitudes that Hawaiians and mainlanders of Japanese ancestry had towards each other? After students have familiarized themselves with these two different cultures, they may choose to share their information in one of the following ways: - role play an encounter between a Hawaiian and a mainlander - create a “A Day in the Life..” story - write a letter as if you were a friend of a Hawaiian soldier of the 442nd who has had fights with 7
a mainland soldier. Suggest ways that the two soldiers can resolve their differences. Introducing the Issues The Blessings and Burdens of Family Family can be a source of strength that enable us to persevere despite hardships. At the same time family responsibilities and pressures can become an overwhelming burden. Have students list on a piece of paper all the ways their own families help them, e.g. by providing a source of comfort and love, by counsel, by solidarity from older family members, etc. Then have students list the ways a family can be a burden, e.g., you must babysit younger siblings, you are put under pressure to fulfill traditions, etc. Make two columns on the classroom board, one labeled “Family Blessings,” the other labeled “Family Burdens.” Encourage your students to share some of the items on their lists. Write the responses in the appropriate columns. Instigate a general discussion about family. Some ideas to consider might include: how do family expectations influence whom a person chooses as friends, dates, possible spouses? How does family influence a person’s career and educational choices? What special bonds do family members have with each other? What are the main barriers which are typical within families? How will our relationships to our family probably change as we grow older? What is your relationship with your family? How would you like it to be? Multicultural Identities in America 1. Have students reflect on their ethnic/cultural backgrounds in a 5-10 minute free writing exercise. What traditions, customs, values are preserved in their families? Encourage students to consider family names, nicknames for grandparents, use of languages other than English, holiday and religious celebrations, material objects or stories passed down from previous generations. Next, divide your class into small groups. Ask students to generate a list of values, customs, traditions, attitudes, and the like that represent American culture. What images appear prominently on television, on film, and in print that define American culture? How do other countries define American culture? Students can combine their ideas into one list on the class board. Have students revisit their free writing exercise. How do their family cultures compare to what they have established as American culture? What are the differences and similarities? In what ways do their families maintain cultural identities that may be separate from mainstream American culture? 2. Using small pictures, colored paper, and other art supplies, have students create a panel for a paper quilt. Each panel should be the same size. Have students create collages on their panels that contain images representing their cultural identities. Have students use symbols or images to represent not only concrete objects and events (foods, holiday/religious celebrations, family heirlooms, ...) but also particular values of their families and themselves (honesty, importance of education, ...) and how they feel about them (supported, nurtured, trapped, grateful, resentful,...) Once these panels are finished, have students explain them in class. Have them attach their panels together to create a class quilt and display in the classroom. Prejudice and Discrimination 8
1. Lead a class discussion of the difference between prejudice and discrimination and write the class’s definitions on the board. Have students compare their definitions with those found in a dictionary. Organize your class into small groups and have each group discuss prejudice towards immigrants, sharing stories they may have about impolite, hurtful, and even painfully humorous incidents they know of that have occurred to immigrants (including perhaps their grandparents, parents, friends, themselves) in the past or present. Ask the students of each group to choose one story per group that they feel is most revealing, and have them share these with the rest of the class. After each group presents its story, discuss why such behavior exists. 2. Together with your students, set up some categories against which the class can feel prejudiced. Set up penalties (discriminatory acts) to correspond with these categories. For example: Prejudice a. Blondes b. Short persons c. Tall persons
Discriminatory Act Must sit in the back of room. May not speak in class. Must write a paragraph reporting all their activities of the previous day.
Choose one category at a time and enforce the relevant penalty for a few days. After completing this activity, lead a class discussion about the experience: How did the victims feel? How did the others feel? Define fairness. Should one expect fairness in life? What if a law were passed that all “good-looking” persons must go into the military? What could ordinary individuals do about it? 3. Organize some role playing exercises for your class to allow students to express how they would respond in a situation that they might feel prejudicially offensive. For example, how would the students respond if a friend offended them with a racial slur about another friend? What would they do if the racial slur came from their boss? From a neighbor? A parent?
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ACTION OUTLINE QUESTIONS Act One 1. Where is the family staying as the play begins? Why have all five adults agreed to stay in the same house? Why is the house important and valuable to them? 2. From where is the family returning? 3. In what condition does the family find the house and fields upon their return home? Who was supposed to have been responsible for maintaining the farm in the family’s absence? Why might this person have neglected his responsibilities? What has happened to the family’s possessions? 4. What can you infer about racial tensions in America during the 1940s from this opening scene? 5. Rose and Hideo have a brief discussion about Rose’s experience working in the pharmacy at the camp. What does Rose’s recollection reveal about conditions in the camps? 6. What was Hideo’s occupation before the war? What work does he want to pursue now? How does he feel about returning to his wife’s father’s farm? 7. What is the family’s plan for Rose’s future? What do we learn about Rose’s romantic past? 8. What does Chiz believe is the best way to live as a Japanese-American in postwar America? How is Chiz planning to raise her children? 9. How does the Matsumoto family situation seem to improve after the first scene? What details reveal that they have begun to rebuild their lives? 10. Who is Mrs. Okubo? What service does she perform? Does Rose accept the idea that she will have an arranged marriage? 11. What happened when Bola went into town and tried to rent an office for his medical practice? What does this incident reveal about white racist attitudes toward returning Japanese? According to Mr. Bellingham, how are the Japanese-Americans different from Italian-Americans and German-Americans? 12. According to Bola, how did racism operate in the U.S. Military? What was the government’s motivation for the “sacrifice” of the 442nd? What aim was the government trying to accomplish (in Bola’s opinion)? 13. Was Rose’s date successful? 14. Why does Hideo seem anxious and concerned? What are some of the things that are on his mind? 15. Who is Uncle Hersham?
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16. How did Grace and Hideo become engaged? How does Grace feel about the importance of family tradition? 17. What does Rose learn about Chiz and Bola’s courtship? How did her father react to their relationship? 18. What do we learn about the circumstances surrounding Togo Matsumoto’s death? 19. Whom does Rose meet? How do they know each other? 20. What do we learn about Togo Matsumoto’s reputation in his community? How did he help Henry’s family? 21. What happened to Henry’s brother, Tetsu? Why is Grace upset by discussion of this news? What important decision did Grace make in her past? What does this choice reveal about her character? 22. What can you infer about the relationship between Mr. Hersham and Mr. Matsumoto? 23. When the subject of the internment camps comes up in conversation, how does Uncle Hersham react? How can you interpret his comments? 24. Hersham is the reluctant bearer of bad news in this scene. What did Togo neglect to tell his family before he died? How does Hersham’s revelation affect the Matsumoto family’s current situation, as well as their plans for the future? 25. Which character reacts most strongly to Hersham’s news? Does this surprise you? Act Two 1. Why was Togo Matsumoto attacked in the camp? How was he affected by this experience? Who was responsible for the attack? 2. What does Bola mean by his comment, “Your father had a reason to be quiet”? 3. What does Henry bring to show Rose? What is Henry’s occupation? 4. Rose comments that “Everything seems to be falling apart.” How is each of the family members coping with the changes in their situation? 5. What is Bola’s tone in Act II scene 3? Why do you think he acts in this manner? 6. Considering the comments Bola makes in this scene, how does he view the relationship between Grace and Hideo? 7. What traits and values do Hideo and Grace share?
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8. Why is Hideo so concerned about postwar problems in Japan? Why does Grace criticize Hideo for his attitude? 9. What two schools of thought clashed in the internment camps? What values and ideals did Mr. Matsumoto and his followers support? What values and ideals did Hideo and his friends support? 10. How was the conflict of these two sets of values expressed? 11. What is Hideo’s explanation for the U.S. government’s decision to begin releasing the prisoners from the camps? According to Hideo, why did the American government create Japanese-American military units? What do you think were the reasons? 12. How does Bola describe his experiences as a doctor in camp? What do the details given in this and earlier scenes reveal about the conditions of the internment camps? What is your reaction upon hearing accounts of these living conditions? 13. Why are Chiz and Bola concerned about bringing their sons to Stockton? 14. Why did Chiz buy the padded brassiere and blonde wig? Why does she decide to wear them now? 15. What does Grace suggest the family should do to their belongings? Why is this decision out of character for Grace? 16. How does the bonfire affect the family’s mood? 17. Explain what Grace learns from Mr. Daugherty’s letter. What is her reaction after reading the letter? 18. When Grace confronts Mr. Hersham about his involvement with the Bank of San Joaquin and Pacific Gas, how does he respond? What reply does he give to the charge that he betrayed his friend? 19. What does Mr. Hersham’s outburst to Bola reveal about many white Americans’ attitudes towards Japanese-Americans 1945? 20. How did Togo Matsumoto’s pride hurt his family? 21. What do you think Grace means by her remark, “I can’t be my father’s daughter anymore”? 22. What principles does Henry say that he lives by? Do you admire him? Why or why not? 23. What insights does Henry offer Rose concerning racial tensions in America? 24. What is the Matsumoto family’s plan for the future?
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FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION 1. Why was it difficult for Japanese-Americans from the West Coast to rebuild their lives after World War II? What were the prevailing attitudes of white Americans toward Japanese-Americans after the war? How and why did these attitudes develop? How are conditions different, if at all, for recent immigrants and their children today? 2. What memories do you have of learning about the internment camps in school? Were the details of the living conditions in the camps part of your education? Philip Kan Gotanda’s family had to experience life in the internment camps and a re-assimilation into American culture. How does Gotanda’s presentation of history differ from the presentation of history you have received in school? How and why can it be helpful to “rewrite” American history from diverse perspectives? 3. At several points in the play, Bola alludes to historical all-Japanese-American fighting units, the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Do you agree with Hideo’s assessment that “They died for a PR stunt to save the government’s ass”? Do you think such a thing could happen today? What military actions have occurred in recent years that have inspired both praise and criticism from the general public? 4. Examine the roles that each of the Matsumoto sisters assume within their family. Which is the most devoted to family traditions? Which is most rebellious? Which adapts more vigorously to the changes the family must face? Who has a harder time letting go? Who seems to be the leader of the family? In assuming their various roles, how do the sisters complement each other? 5. How does each Japanese-American character in the play respond to familial obligations? What actions do these characters take in defiance of those obligations? How do these characters strive to establish their individual identities while at the same time perpetuating their family identity? 6. As expressed by the character, Mr. Hersham, what attitudes prevailed among “patriotic white Americans” towards Japanese-Americans during World War II? Were most whites expected to express hatred toward Japanese-Americans in order to appear loyal? How prevalent was racism among whites? If a white sympathized with the plight of Japanese-Americans, was he labeled an enemy? Discuss the intricacies of racial tensions over the years between whites and Japanese-Americans. 7. How do the characters of Sisters Matsumoto preserve ties to their Japanese heritage? Where are your ancestors or family members from? How do you and your family maintain your connections with your cultural/ethnic heritage? Do you feel this is important? Why or why not? 8. Reflect on how your reading/viewing Sisters Matsumoto has influenced your opinion of the decision of the American government to imprison Japanese-Americans, including citizens. What new insights did this play inspire? In your opinion what role should political leaders play in safeguarding the civil rights of citizens? What role should citizens themselves play?
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FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION 1. Research the military concerns that led to the evacuation of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast during World War II and assess the validity of these concerns. How large a role did war hysteria play in the decision to confine thousands of American citizens? What actions did federal political leaders take to defuse or escalate hysteria? Some topics to consider may include: - Curtis B. Munson’s report to the President and Secretary of State in 1941 - Roberts Commission Report on the bombing of Pearl Harbor - Rumors and fears about “fifth column” activities - General John L. DeWitt - Why only 1% of the Japanese population in Hawaii was incarcerated 2. Research the steps taken by state and federal governments since the 1970s to redress the constitutional rights violations effected by the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Find out specific information about: - Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians - Court cases of Fred Korematsu, Minoru Yasui, Gordon Hirabayashi - Civil Liberties Act of 1988 - Day of Remembrance resolutions in California 3. In Sisters Matsumoto we learn that Grace and Hideo’s marriage was arranged. During the play, Rose begins to follow this tradition. Research the tradition of arranged marriage in Japan, India, and other countries and cultures. What are the advantages and disadvantages of arranged marriages? Compare and contrast the concepts of an “arranged marriage” and a “love marriage”. Which type of marriage would you prefer, and why? 4. Research the life and work of the playwright, Philip Kan Gotanda. The following are suggested categories on which to focus your research: - Development as a writer and film maker - Critical reviews of his plays - Common themes in his work - The influence of his cultural background on his work 5. If you were assigned to be the dramaturg for the production of Sisters Matsumoto, what research material would you provide for the director and actors at the first rehearsal (e.g., history of Japanese immigration to the U.S., causes of internment, attitudes towards Japanese-Americans during World War II,...)? What images would you display at the rehearsal? Bring in some of these pictures and hang them around the classroom. 6. Earlier versions of Sisters Matsumoto were produced in 1999 at Seattle Repertory Theatre and San Jose Repertory Theatre. Contact these theatre companies and request marketing materials, especially items that contain visual images. How are the posters and images for each production (including the Huntington’s) different? How are they similar? How are descriptions of the play similar or different? Imagine you are a Marketing Director for a theatre company that plans to produce this play. Design a poster and write a press release that will reflect your understanding of the play’s important themes and topics. 14
WRITING PROJECTS 1. You are a young “picture bride” from Japan on a boat headed for San Francisco in 1900, travelling to meet your future husband. Write a letter to a friend. Explain how you became engaged. What kind of job does your future husband have? How did you and your future husband become acquainted? What do you think life will be like in America? What are your dreams and fears for the future? 2. It is 1924. The President has recently signed the Immigration Exclusion Act, which denies citizenship to Japanese immigrants. You are an editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. Write an editorial that expresses why you oppose the legislation. 3. Imagine you are one of the Matsumoto sisters or one of their husbands. Write a journal entry about an event that took place in Rohwer, such as Togo Matsumoto’s death, the receipt of the news that Rose’s fiancé was killed in combat, or the attack on Togo Matsumoto by young Kibei. Feel free to write about an event of your own creation based on what you have learned about life in the camps. 4. Following are examples of haiku written from camps in Japanese and translated into English: Thirty years With such a wide sky Loyalty, disloyalty, in America the Japanese if asked, just empty dreams have no home what should I answer? --Sasabune --Sunada Toshu --Sunada Toshu Even a mountain Endure! of coal becomes We are enduring a children’s playground by the color of our skin --Yamanaka Keiho — Sanada Kikyo What meaning and emotion is expressed in these poems? Compose a haiku that reflects your feelings about the internment camp experience. The entire class can submit their haiku to Haiku Headlines, a monthly haiku newsletter that offers prizes for the best entries. Contact David Priebe, Haiku Headlines, 1347 West 71st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90044. 5. After reading or viewing Sisters Matsumoto, compose three poems, each of which describes a scene from the play in language that makes use of all the senses - sight, taste, smell, sound, touch/sensation. For example, you may write with the voice of Grace at the moment she learns about the sale of the family farm, or write as Bola explaining the fight he was involved in at the country club. 6. Develop your own versions of scenes that are referred to in Sisters Matsumoto, but do not actually take place onstage in the play. Some examples might include: - Togo Matsumoto being attacked in camp - Mr. Hersham’s visit to Togo Matsumoto at Rohwer and the sale of the Matsumoto farm - Bola’s altercation in the country club - The confrontation between Grace and her father about Grace’s feelings for Tetsu Sakai 7. Write a review of the Huntington’s production of Sisters Matsumoto. Perhaps some reviews could be published in your school or local newspaper. Be sure to send us a copy. If you and your classmates have contrasting views, hold a forum or debate in which you can express your views orally. 15
QUESTIONS FOR AFTER ATTENDING A PERFORMANCE OF THE PLAY Note to teachers: Pass out these questions to your students and go over question #1 with them before they attend a performance of Sisters Matsumoto. 1. Above the stage of the Huntington Theatre Company there is an inscription that states: "To hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature." There is also an inscription in the theatre's entryway that says "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts." From what plays are these lines? What do you think they mean? Why do you think the original owners of the theatre had these quotations inscribed? With these quotations in mind, consider the following questions while watching a performance of Sisters Matsumoto. 2. What did the Huntington’s set design for Sisters Matsumoto tell you about the characters and their situation? Cite specific details about the set that made you feel as you do. 3. What clues did the costumes of Sisters Matsumoto give you about this play's characters before they said or did anything? 4. How did the actors' physicalization of their characters enhance their interpretations of the plot? Give specific examples such as the way the actors walked, sat, gestured, handled props, and so forth. 5. Who was your favorite character in this play? What was it that the actor playing this role did to make you feel positively? 6. Did the physical elements of the Huntington's production (i.e., the sets, props, costuming and lighting) suggest different things to you about the characters? Discuss the many ways that the sets, props, costumes, and light and sound designs of this production attempt to serve its director and actors. Consider each element individually. Note: Teachers may want to assign groups of students one production element (sets, props, costumes, sound, music, etc.) each to concentrate on during the performance their class sees. 7. What major design choices were evident in the scenery, lighting and costumes of Sisters Matsumoto? Think specifically about the colors, textures, and shapes used in the Huntington’s production. How did sound or music influence the mood of certain scenes or moments? 8. Sisters Matsumoto is set in 1945. Do your classmates think that the Huntington’s production truthfully captures the essence of that time period? Why or why not? In what ways did the design elements and performances by the actors help identify a specific place and time different from our own? 9. Live theatre is fundamentally different from television and movies in that the audience contributes to the energy created on stage. How would you describe the audience's response to the performance you attended? Were there any specific moments which seemed to resonate particularly strongly with the audience, eliciting laughter, gasps, surprise, or applause? Why do you suppose those moments had strong meaning for a contemporary American audience in Boston?
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ACTIVITIES • Five Minute Performances Arrange your class in small groups. Tell each group it is going to have to present the story of the play in exactly five minutes. They can use whatever methods seem appropriate -- action, prose narration, mime, movement, song, background music, pictures or whatever. Point out that each group must select the most important features, events, and purposes of the play. Send the groups away for a class to discuss and practice. At the next lesson have them perform their five minute versions to the rest of the class, and then compare versions in terms of what was missing, interesting, important, surprising, in common, and emphasized. Discuss why the versions may have differed. • Still Life 1. This exercise is especially useful if you're trying to talk about relationships between characters. Take a willing student and ask him or her to stand in front of the class. Get the student to stand in a pose which he or she thinks is in some way characteristic of one of the characters -- it could be kneeling and supplicant, or head bowed and despairing, or poking a nose into someone else's affairs, or looking behind or ahead, or... The student will look no doubt hopelessly bemused and embarrassed to begin; but get the rest of the class to make suggestions, either by saying something or by simply coming and moving the student to what seems a better position without speaking. This latter point is quite important. Add another student character to the tableau. The way that the second student stands in relationship to the first person is significant. He or she may be turning away or towards the other, be spurning or supporting, an enemy or a friend, or ambivalent or unrelated in any sense (and note that it is often a revelation to students that characters may not meet or know what the reader knows). 2. Assign students to create still life moments and compare them with still lifes of other moments in the play; doing so, see what has changed and why. You can ask for other characters and see what changes or adjustments are needed. Start small groups of students off and ask them to compare versions. Try to get the students to justify what they do, but accept it if they are satisfied that they have expressed themselves clearly just through tableau. Ask the other members of the class if they understand the tableau, and if they can identify particular moments, crises, characters, and groupings. • Creating Characterization Have each of your students choose a character from Sisters Matsumoto that he/she would like to portray. As though they were preparing for the role in rehearsal, have them ask the following questions about their characters: a. What do I want in the play? What is my overall objective? b. What is in the way of what I want in the play? What are my obstacles? Who is/are my obstacles? Does what gets in the way of what I want change throughout the course of the play? How? c. Does my character change during the course of the play? What is my character's journey, or plot of transformations? d. What are the contradictions inherent in my character? e. If my character were a type of animal, what would it be? f. If my character were a type of music, what would it be?
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• Role Playing/Improvisation 1. Create contemporary situations suggested from the text, such as a child defying the traditions or wishes of his or her family, some one who discriminates against another person because of racial, cultural, ethnic, or some other prejudice, a friend is betrayed by another, etc. Divide the class into groups, and give each group a situation. Allow the students fifteen minutes to create a scene. Have the groups perform their scenes for the class. 2. Divide your class into small groups. Assign characters from the play to each group. Have each group perform two-minute dialogues. Instruct students that their prime objective is to remain in character truthfully. 3. Divide your class into as many groups as there are scenes in the play. Have each group create a frozen statue or tableau which captures the essential emotion, conflict, or tension of that scene. Present the scenes in sequence. 4. Assign one individual to play the host of a party and three other group members to play guests. Each of the three guests should choose a character from Sisters Matsumoto to portray and, without telling anyone who they are, enter the party as their chosen character. The guests should interact with the host and other guests until the host can guess who they are. 5. Have students improvise a moment from Sisters Matsumoto and then test the effects of changing something -- tone of voice, some important trait in a character, or a vital remark. How does such a change affect the selected moment? What repercussions would such a change have on other aspects of the play? Students could improvise what happens before or after some point, or what happens after the play’s end. These exercises can help your class understand how a work of art always involves both an ongoing process and an interrupted process, or a decision to stop what could be endlessly revised. See if the students can identify some of Philip Kan Gotanda’s main points of choice or decision in their story. • Acting 1. Have students act out a scene from Sisters Matsumoto, using props and costumes. Have students consider who stands where, who moves when and where, gestures, tone of voice, intended emotional impact. 2. Assign students, working in groups of two to five, to develop a situation from Sisters Matsumoto and act it out first in pantomime, then with dialogue. 3. Have each student select a character from Sisters Matsumoto and pick a line from the play that best captures the essence of his or her chosen character. Organize your class in groups by character, and have each student present his or her line and the reasons for his or her selection. After all chosen lines have been read aloud and explained, discuss the patterns of the class’ choices. 4. Have your students choose a character from Sisters Matsumoto and prepare a monologue of one to three minutes, pretending they are their chosen character. They should begin by saying, "My name is (blank) and I am (blank) and continue describing an event in the play or an imagined event. Students should try to give each monologue a beginning, a middle, and an end. Students should try to remain in 18
character throughout their talk. They could use costumes and props if they choose. 5. Ask students to act out the scene provided in the accompanying Study Guide. Before they begin, have the students consider what experiences of the characters might be like experiences of their own, and how the characters' feelings could resemble feelings of their own. Try to have students relate their own personal truth to each scene. Videotape the performances as a project. • Visual Art 1. Using plates, papier-mache, and other materials, have students create masks representing some of the characters in Sisters Matsumoto. Students might act out a scene from Sisters Matsumoto wearing their masks. Once their performance has been completed, ask the students to reflect on how their masks impacted their performance. Have students perform the scene a second time without the masks. What impression do the masks make on the audience? How do the masks make the scene different? 2. Pass out art paper, paints, brushes. Have students create abstract paintings of characters from the play. Make sure the students do not tell their classmates who their paintings represent. Hang the completed paintings around the room. Ask students to pick out qualities, moods, and feelings of each painting. Next have each artist identify the character his/her painting represents and explain how the various details of the painting depict the character. **** The concept of abstract imagery may need to be explained to some students. Emphasize that they are trying to capture moods, feelings, and conflicts and that their paintings need not perfectly resemble their character (or anything concrete, for that matter.) 3. Have students choose any character from Sisters Matsumoto and each create a character collage. They should include pictures (hand-drawn or cut from magazines/newspapers) of actions the character performs, relationships the character has with others, typical moods, feelings, or attitudes, etc. Quotations from the play that reveal something about the character could be included. These can be quotations from the character as well as quotations about the character. 4. Have a group of students design a set for a production of Sisters Matsumoto and then build a model of this set. Compare the model to the Huntington’s design. 5. Assign a group of students to design costumes for Sisters Matsumoto. 6. Assign students to create "character bags" for the characters in the play. For this exercise, each student will need a brown paper bag. Students should place objects in the bag which they feel are representative of the character they chose. The students may use objects that already exist or create objects (example - Hideo’s letters to family in Tokyo). Have students trade bags and try to guess the character based on the objects inside. Have students provide a rationalization for why each object is included (either orally or in writing). Instruct students to create improvisations using all of the objects in the paper bag as an additional activity. • Music/Dance 1. Have students create background music and/or sound effects to accompany scenes in the play. Or, assign them to use music and/or effects to supplement any of the role playing activities listed above. 19
3. As a class, compose a "cast rap." Assign characters to students in the class. Have each student compose a brief rap for his/her character. Have the students write in the first person. Instruct the students that their raps are to be "direct expressions" from the characters. Have students perform together as a class. Whose rap was the most accurately reflective of the character he/she chose? 4. Ask students to create a tape of song hits from the 1940s. Have them bring in the tape to play in class. Extra credit could be awarded to students who can demonstrate some of the dance styles popular during that decade. 5. Ask students to choose a character or moment in the play and find a song or piece of music that expresses the personality of the character or the action and mood of the moment. Have students bring in a tape of the music to play and explain in class. Students may also choose to choreograph movement to the music. • Storytelling / Oral History 1. Assign students the task of interviewing a family member or family friend who can provide information about the values, traditions, customs associated with a particular ethnic/cultural heritage. In their interviews students should include questions about reasons for coming to America, family expectations, differences in lifestyle, surprises, means of livelihood, struggles, failures and successes. Students may wish to audiotape the interview. After students have conducted their interviews, have them prepare a 5- to 10-minute oral history presentation about how, who, when, where, and why their ancestors came to the U.S. Students may wish to present their oral histories in one of a variety of ways, such as: - a story told from the point of view of the student’s ancestor - an oral report with photographs or other physical items that can be displayed to the class - a scene, depicting one event, that a group of students perform for the class 2. Have students interview a relative, family friend, or community elder who has personal memories of World War II. How was the person’s life affected by the war (friends or relatives who fought, rationing of food and other items, air raid drills, etc.)? Did the person have personal ways to cope with wartime hardships? What were these ways? What are the person’s memories of the important events of the war, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, V-E Day, the bombing of Hiroshima, etc.? Have students write up their interviews in a question-and-answer format and present their information to the class.
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QUOTATIONS The Chongs. Remember the sign they put up in their window? “We are Chinese.” - Grace America won, we live here, and we’re Americans not Japanese. - Grace I don’t recognize anything anymore. Do you? I mean, even the people I thought I knew I don’t - they look at us funny, they say mean things. I don’t know who I am anymore, where we fit in. - Rose Always remember we are Matsumotos. That’s the only thing we can hold on to. The only thing nobody can take from us. We are Matsumotos. - Grace After what happened - my kids are only going to speak English. They’re going to play with Caucasian kids, go to an all white Christian church and celebrate every American holiday with a vengeance. - Chiz But the 100th and the 442nd -- the all Japanese-American units. Hey, they’re expendable, let’s send them. Shig dies, Tak dies, George loses his leg, Paul loses his arm. They did it. To prove they were loyal Americans. And they proved it with their blood. - Bola People get together for different reasons, Rose. It isn’t only just about you. It’s the two of you. It’s about the two families. - Grace Who do you think they’ll believe in court? The Bank or some Japs that just got out of prison? - Chiz You think that it made a difference to this country -- that Rose’s fiancé and Bola’s brother died for something. They died for a PR stunt to save the government’s ass. - Hideo I want to burn things. Like Papa did when the FBI started taking people away. Some people burned their Japanese things, Papa had a bonfire. - Grace I tried to help him. Think anybody else would? Hell no, it’s war time. People hate the Japanese. I did it because we were friends, because your father was a good man and he always treated me fairly. Mr. Hersham Who started this whole thing in the first place? Was it me? Was it the Bank of San Joaquin? Was it Pacific Gas? No. Ask yourselves, really ask yourselves. If the Japs hadn’t bombed Pearl Harbor, would you be in the mess you’re in today? - Mr. Hersham I’m tired of being proud all the time. I can’t be my father’s daughter anymore. - Grace I don’t think about the future anymore. Have dreams. Things I want to have. Things I want to do. I have a hard enough time accepting the past. - Rose They never liked us. You just didn’t notice it. You didn’t have to. - Henry
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SUGGESTED READINGS AND FILMS Short Stories, Novels, Memoirs, Oral Histories Makioka Sisters by Junshiro Tanizaki Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida Journey Home by Yoshiko Uchida No No Boy by John Okada Through Harsh Winter by Akemi Kikumura Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne W. and James D. Houston Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson The Loom and Other Stories by R.A. Sasaki Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories by Hisaye Yamamoto Our House Divided, Seven Japanese American Families in World War II by Tomi Kaizawa Knaefler Citizen 13660 by Mine Okubo Through Innocent Eyes edited by Edwin Hiroto Issei, Portrait of a Pioneer edited by Sunada Sarasohn Nisei Daughter by Monica Sone Poetry, Art, Photography Manzanar, Photographs by Ansel Adams Legends from Camp by Lawson Fusao Inada Lone Heart Mountain by Estelle Ishigo Beyond Words by Debora Gesensway and Mindy Roseman Shedding Silence by Janice Mirikatani The View From Within, Japanese American Art from the Internment Camps 1942-1945 compiled by the Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles Go For Broke by Chester Tanaka Campnotes and Other Poems by Mitsuye Yamada Photo Collection: The Relocation of Japanese Americans, compiled by Documentary Photo Aids, FL. Plays and Films by Philip Kan Gotanda The Avocado Kid A Song for a Nisei Fisherman The Wash Fish Head Soup Yankee Dawg You Die Day Standing On Its Head Ballad of Yachiyo Yohen The Kiss Drinking Tea Life Tastes Good Other Plays and Feature Films Snow Falling On Cedars (opens January 7, 2000) Come See the Paradise Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese Internment Camps by Wendy Lement/Theatre Espresso Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov
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Documentary Films and Videos Children of the Camps The Color of Honor Conversations: Before and After the War Days of Waiting Emi A Family Gathering 442nd For the Future Invisible Citizens Manzanar Meeting at Tule Lake A Personal Matter: Gordon Hirabayashi v. the United States Tanforan, Race Track to Assembly Center Through Innocent Eyes Unfinished Business Watadori: Birds of Passage Beyond Barbed Wire Honor Bound: A Personal Journey From Hawaii to the Holocaust: A Shared Moment in History Beyond Boundaries: Japanese American Redress and Reparations Something Strong Within Unforgettable Face
CD ROM Executive Order 9066: The Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II Web sites http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/harmony/default.htm http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/index0.1.html#japanese http://www.webcom.com/unk/pc/race/intf.html http://www.oz.net/~cyu/internment/camps.html http://www.children-of-the-camps.org/default.htm http://www.uwec.edu/academic/geography/ivogeler/w188/j2.htm
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VOCABULARY aqua-farming
kimono
banzai!
Kobe
buddhahead
lilikoi pie
buta hunt
Lake, Veronica
cyclamen mite
Little Tokyo
daikon
Lodi
delta region
Manteca
fifth column
Natsume Soseki
442nd Regimental Combat Team/ 100th Infantry Battalion
Nisei obutsudan
frontage road Pearl Harbor General Tojo Hideki peat dirt Grable, Betty poi hakujin ringworm haole Rohwer Hiroshima sake imari ware shamojis Issei Stockton kampai tanomoshi fund kaopectate Tanizaki Junichiro katonk Tofu Kauai Tokyo Kibei yoshi 24
BIBLIOGRAPHY Americans of Japanese Ancestry and the United States Constitution. San Francisco: National Japanese American Historical Society, 1987. Chang, Thelma. I Can Never Forget: Men of the 100th/442nd. Honolulu: Sigi Productions, 1991. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Personal Justice Denied. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1982. Crost, Lyn. Honor by Fire: Japanese Americans at War in Europe and the Pacific. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1994. Daniels, Roger, Sandra Taylor, Harry H.L. Kitano, eds. Japanese Americans, from Relocation to Redress. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991. Daniels, Roger. Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II. New York: Hill and Wang, 1993. Hatamiya, Leslie T. Righting a Wrong. Stanford, CA: Stanford Unviersity Press, 1993. Hohri, William Minoru. Repairing America, Account of the Movement for Japanese American Redress. Seattle: Washington University Press, 1988. Hosokawa, Bill. The Quiet Americans. New York: William Morrow and Co., 1987. Irons, Peter. Justice at War, the Story of Japanese American Internment Cases. London: Oxford University press, 1983. Irons, Peter. Justice Delayed. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1990. James, Thomas. Exile Within, The Schooling of Japanese Americans 1942-1945. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987. Japanese American Citizens League National Education Committee. The Japanese American Experience: A Lesson in American History Curriculum and Resource Guide. San Francisco: JACL, 1996. MIS Association of Northern California. Pacific War and Peace, Americans of Japanese Ancestry in Military Intelligence Service 1941-1952. San Francisco: MIS Association of Northern California, 1991. Nakano, Mei. Japanese American Women. San Francisco: Milna Press and National Japanese American Historical Society, 1990. Wilson, Robert A. and Bill Hosokawa. East to America: A History of Japanese in the United States. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1980.
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APPENDIX
1. Copy of an Evacuation Notice 2. Photographs, courtesy of the Japanese American Citizens League 3. List of Japanese cultural and resource organizations
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Cultural and Resource Organizations Japan Society of Boston.-A non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting understanding between Japan and Massachusetts. 22 Batterymarch Street Boston MA 02109 (617)451-0726 email: jsb@US-Japan.org Asian American Resource Workshop Ms. Anne-Marie Booth Executive Director 160 Kneeland St. Boston, MA 02111 Asian American Civic Association- An organization who’s fundamental purpose is to help Asian immigrants and refugees to successfully adjust to life and achieve economic self-sufficiency in the US. Mr. Chau-Ming Lee Executive Director 200 Tremont St. Boston MA 02116 Japanese American Citizens League- An international and civil rights organization representing Americans of Japanese ancestry. Headquarters: 1765 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94115 (415) 921-5225 email: JACL@hooked.net JACL of NE: c/o Marjorie Yamamoto 8 Cedar Road Lincoln, MA 01733 Japanese Library of Boston 489 Winthrop Street, C115 Medford, MA 02155 (781) 641-2370
Showa Boston Institute for Language and Culture- offers ESOL programs, Japanese Language classes and Intercultural Exchange programs 420 Pond St. Boston, MA 02130-3499 (617)522-0080 email:showaj@world.std.com Consulate General of Japan - aid to Japanese citizens, information on Japan, library, films, etc. Federal Reserve Plaza 600 Atlantic Ave. 14th floor Boston MA 02210 (617) 973-9772 Asian American Curriculum Project resource for books, curriculum, audio-visual materials, and teaching aids pertaining to Japanese American history P.O. Box 1587 234 Main Street San Mateo, CA 94401 (800) 874-2242 National Asian American Telecommunications Association - resource for films and videos 346 Ninth Street 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 (415) 863-0814 National Japanese American Historical Society - serves as information/referral center and holds wide collection of Japanese-American books, photos, artifacts. 1855 Folsom Street #161 San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 431-5007