Nihon no Okami Tansaku Quests

For each quest you successfully complete, you’ll receive koku. Bonus koku will be awarded for
going above and beyond expectations (sharing your creation to your google site, performing for
the class, taking risks, etc.).

Instructions:
1. Looking at your research from this week, select the concept, idea, person, or event that
you feel is most historically significant. What impacted worldview the most?
2. Select a quest from the list below. You may do a quest only once through the whole
game.
3. When you complete quests, you’ll need to take what you researched and remix it.
4. For each quest you complete, you’ll take your knowledge and interpret it. When you do
this, your brain is much more likely to understand what you’ve learned.
5. For each quest, write an artist statement explaining your decisions and what is
represented through your interpretation. All work must meet minimum standards for
written work in Grade 8.
6. Refer to the assessment checklist to make sure you’re meeting the criteria!

Creating with Words

❏ #potablequotable: Using a quote from someone who really existed during the Edo or
Meiji periods, create a graphic using images and the quote. Assign hashtags to the post
to give the viewer essential information about the person or event that’s being portrayed.

❏ #anachronism: Place the subject in a different time period. For example, how might
someone who lived during Japanese isolationism react during lockdown for COVID?
What might the Ainu think about the George Floyd protests?

❏ #kidsbooklove: Choose a well-known children’s book - perhaps one you loved as a kid.
Use the same style to develop your own version based on one of the events, people, or
phenomenon you researched.

❏ #yearbook: Create some spreads for a yearbook to highlight some of the people and
events you researched. You might think of aspirations, memories, quotes, advice,
nicknames, favourite classes, and other common elements in yearbooks.

❏ #phrankenword: Create an alphabet of brand new words by mashing up two or more

vocabulary terms you learned about through your research. Define these words.
 ❏ #blackoutpoetry: Create a poem from a selection of text that you used for your
research by crossing out words and lines, leaving the reader with an original work that
reveals a deeper understanding of the original text.

❏ #haikusarekul: Research the famous Japanese poet Basho and write 6 Haikus,
responding to your surroundings (just as Basho did) AND incorporating your research
about Japan.

Creating with Images

❏ #colourpalette: Using paint chips or pages torn out of a magazine, design a custom
colour palette to demonstrate your understanding of some of the themes you
encountered in your research.

❏ #2images1q: Create a three-slide presentation (this could be done with tech or without)
that uses two images and a single open-ended question to demonstrate your
understanding of one of the research topics. Then, use the presentation to engage your
goningumi in a discussion about your question.
Some frames for your question:
❏ “What would happen if…?”
❏ “How are ___ and ____ the same or different?”
❏ “How do you feel about …?”
❏ “In your opinion…?”
❏ “What do you think of…?”
❏ “What made you decide to…?”
❏ “Why do you think…?”
❏ “How would this be different if…?”
❏ “How would you solve the problem of…?”

❏ #minimalistposter: Illustrate a complex concept or idea from what you researched by

designing a minimalist poster. Some helpful principles are monochronistic colour
palettes, basic geometric shapes, limited text, and a careful consideration of how the
arrangement of shapes might create metaphorical meaning.

❏ #visualanalogy: Choose one topic you learned about in your research. It should be a
complex concept rather than a historical event. Think metaphorically about this concept.
Ask yourself, “What is (this concept) like?” You might also use analogous thinking, by
trying a few different analogies: “If (this concept) was a food item, it would be ______
because...” “If (this concept) was a musician/and/artist, it would be ______ because...” “If
(this concept) was a fashion trend, it would be ______ because...” Create an image set
of two images: one that represents the concept and one that represents your metaphor.
Write a paragraph explaining your rationale.
 ❏ #emojistory: Tell the significance of one of the events you learned about using only
emojis.

❏ #haikonography: Create a visual haiku about something you learned about using only
icons/images that fits within the structure of a traditional haiku: Three lines of five
icons/seven icons/five icons. You might find the website thenounproject.com helpful to
think of visual icons that represent concepts.

❏ #popculturemashup: Represent an idea or concept you learned about using a modern

form of Japanese pop culture, like manga/anime, J-pop, fashion/pop culture trends like
kawaii, and mashing it up with a more traditional art form like tea ceremonies, haiku,
bonsai, etc.

❏ #propsforpropaganda: In times of disaster and disruption, governments and

organizations sometimes motivate their citizens by creating propaganda or
advertisements. For example, search propaganda posters from World War II. Make your
own poster to inspire the Japanese people of this time.

Creating with Sounds

❏ #parodylyrics: Take the lyrics of an existing song and rewrite them to demonstrate your
understanding of a key concept, historical event, or person you learned about. You may
wish to listen to some parody songs to help you get inspired - check out Weird Al and
https://www.youtube.com/user/historyteachers. For extra Koku, record or perform the
song!

❏ #audiolandscape: Find or create a series of audio clips that show your knowledge of
Japan’s geography by highlighting its defining features. A soundscape is a collection of
found sounds stitched together to create a sonic picture of a place.

❏ #50People1Q: Create your own version of Fifty People One Question

(fiftypeopleonequestion.com) about a key concept related to your research.

❏ #playlistofalife: Create an audiobiography for one of the people or events you learned
about during your research. For each playlist selection, give a brief description of the
lyrical, tonal, or thematic connections between the music selection and your chosen
historical figure or event.

❏ #crowdsourcedplaylistofalife: Gather a collection of songs by asking people in the

class, around the school, or in your own lives which songs they’d contribute to a playlist
about a theme you identified in your research. For each playlist selection, give a brief
description of the lyrical, tonal, or thematic connections between the music selection and
your chosen theme.
Creating with the Body
❏ #humojis: Use physical bodies, facial expressions, and digital photography to create a
customized set of emojis related to a topic, theme, or event you learned about.

❏ #customsignage: Develop a set of hand signs to communicate a complex idea or

theme you identified in your research. You may wish to do some research about
American Sign Language (ASL) words that may already exist to inspire your words.
These signs must be able to be reproduced by others, so create a visual dictionary of
your terms.

❏ #machinemade: Design a machine that solves a problem identified in your research,

using people as the medium out of which the machine will be constructed. Perform the
machine solving the problem.

❏ #sensorymap: Map the Japanese geography during the Edo and Meiji periods by
creating a sensory map of textures, smells, sights, sounds, and tastes from the time
period.

❏ #historicaltableau: A tableau is a representation of a moment when actors adopt a

freeze - standing in character without moving. Think of it like taking a picture of a
moment in history and recreating that picture through a silent, frozen pantomime. Identify
the context clues and central characters of one of the moments you researched, find or
make props and costumes, and consider how to arrange the characters to portray the
emotions, integrate your props, and including setting details. Take a photograph of your
tableau.

❏ #chronologicalchoreography: Depict a timeline of essential events through a

choreographed dance. Use rhythm, movement, and music to capture the defining
moments - both historical and emotional - of each point in the timeline. Record your
dance.

Creating with Stuff

❏ #bookstacksummary: Craft a summary of a topic, event, or person you learned about
in your research by arranging a selection of books such that their titles summarize the
idea, event, or person. Be sure to think about the key details, important events, and
central ideas of your research as you choose your book titles. Take a photo of your book
stack.

❏ #metaphoricalarchitechture: Design a piece of architecture (a home, museum, school,

theatre, landmark, park, etc.) to represent the essential features or relationships within a
 topic you researched. Draw or create a 3D representation of your piece of architecture,
explaining the choices and connections you made.

❏ #fivecoursemeal: Prepare a metaphorical dinner party to demonstrate your

understanding of a concept you learned about. Identify the key stages in the concept,
and assign a dish to each “course” of the concept. Design a professional-looking menu
to outline each course, with descriptions of the food and how it relates to the concept
you chose.

❏ #metaphoricalfashion: Design a metaphorical line of clothing based on an essential

theme you drew from your research. Your fashion line could be based on any kind of
fashion - basketball shoes, slogan t-shirts, or even a complete runway of formalwear. For
each item, include a description of the connections you are making between your
metaphorical fashion item and the historical concepts you learned about.

❏ #LegomyEdo: Bring some Lego, Jenga blocks, or other building materials from home
and build a metaphorical representation of an idea from your research.

Creating with Social Media

❏ #onewordtorulethemall: Distill your research into a single word. Selecting one word to
represent a concept, event, or idea you learned about, write your word in a way that
communicates something about its meaning. You might use placement, font choice, and
composition to help you communicate your message. Write a short reflection about why
you chose the word you did, and the choices you made in its display.

❏ #gettychallenge: The Getty Challenge emerged as a social media challenge during

COVID lockdown, where people recreated famous works of art from the Getty collection
using only household objects that they already owned. Find a piece of art that connects
thematically or historically with what you researched and recreate it using items in your
classroom. Write a reflection about what this new interpretation of the artwork reveals
about an event or idea you researched.

❏ #GIFStory: Use a series of animated GIFs to tell a story about something you
researched. Include a short written description of why you chose the GIFs you did and
how they connect to your topic.

❏ #socialscene: Create a faux Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. account for a
historical figure or an imagined person who lived during the Edo/Meiji time period. Since
social media is, in essence, social, you’ll need to also include interactions with other
people of the time. You’ll really need to get inside the head of your subject to create a
nuanced social media presence. Use of clever hashtags can really enhance your ideas!
❏ #historicalvisionboard: Create a Pinterest-style vision board from the point of view of a
person you learned about to demonstrate your understanding of this person’s beliefs and
perspectives.

❏ #timehopper: Create a “This Day in History” #tbt visual to show the significance of an
event you learned about.