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Combining History, Art, and Reflection
Postcards from Japan

 

Students in Seventh Grade History recently completed an imaginative project that transformed them into medieval travelers exploring cultural connections between Japan and its neighboring countries. After studying Japan's cultural influences from the 8th-12th centuries, students created detailed postcards written from the perspective of visitors from China, Korea, or India.

Each student designed a two-sided postcard featuring hand-drawn illustrations or digitally created artwork on one side, with some even including creative postage stamps. On the reverse, they wrote letters home describing their observations of medieval Japanese culture, highlighting both similarities and differences they discovered.

“Students had to find things that were similar but also noticeably different,” explains Teacher Sean Nowicki. “For example, one student wrote about how both China and Japan had a similar musical instrument, called a sheng or shō, that mimics the call of a phoenix, while another compared Buddhist temples, noting how Japanese pagodas differ from Indian stupas, due to locally available building materials.”

The completed postcards now hang on strings in the middle school hallway, creating an interactive display that allows other students to flip through and examine both sides of each card. This unique presentation has caught the attention of passing sixth graders, who often stop to explore the historical observations of their older peers.

“The postcard project is part of a larger unit on medieval Japan,” remarks Nowicki, “that will continue with studies of the Heian period and samurai culture, helping students understand the rich cultural exchanges that shaped Japanese civilization.”