Essay Questions for Thinking through Sources 8

1. Looking for continuities: What older patterns of Japanese thought and practice persisted despite much cultural borrowing from China? To what extent did borrowed elements of Chinese culture come to be regarded as Japanese?
2. Noticing inconsistencies and change: No national culture develops as a single set of ideas and practices. What inconsistencies, tensions, or differences in emphasis can you identify in these documents? What changes over time can you find in these selections?
3. Considering Confucian reactions: How might Confucian scholars respond to each of these documents?