Project Methodology
Yukiko Kawahara (Asian Studies, University of Redlands) acted as the faculty mentor, facilitator and coordinator for this 2002 ASIANetwork Freeman Student Faculty Fellows Program project, providing guidance to the students and completing a teaching packet for use in schools. Each of the four student fellows drew on her own academic specialty in the part of the project for which she was responsible. Katie Bartlomea, a creative writing student, translated the song lyrics into English verse. Amanda Coak, a prospective  liberal studies (elementary education) major, researched on the social environment and the historical circumstances under which the songs were written. Meena Malik, a music major with emphasis on vocal performance and a minor in German, recorded the songs. Born and raised in Japan and with native fluency in Japanese, Meena also acted as interpreter for the other students who were not so advanced in Japanese language. Danielle White, a history major, researched the social and historical background behind the songs and their composers and poets.

In January of 2002, two of the student fellows went to Japan with Professor Kawahara as members of an Interim class studying the Japanese education system. The group visited music classes and interviewed music teachers and students at a number of schools ranging from kindergarten through college. We also interviewed host family members and their friends about how songs they learned in school impacted their lives.

During the spring semester of 2002, each student began preliminary work on her part of the project, and the group met regularly to prepare the groundwork for our project and to work on the historical background and the educational system in Japan, with special focus on music education. We discussed about the selection of songs for further analysis, the selection of places to visit, and developing questionnaires based on informal interviews in January.

We undertook a research trip to Japan in June of 2002. This trip had three purposes. First, we gathered primary sources on the background of the composers and songwriters and the circumstances under which particular songs were created. Second, we conducted a survey among the Japanese people about which of the songs they were brought up with did they recall, and whether there are differences in the songs recalled on the basis of gender, sex, or geographical differences. Third, we visited sites related to the composers and lyricists and other significant places that had meaningful connections to the songs. Visits to those sites helped us to understand the meanings and emotions that were hidden in the lyrics, and were particularly valuable to those student collaborators who had not lived in Japan for extended periods.

After our return from Japan, each student continued and completed her part of the project during the academic year of 2002-03: analysis of the questionnaires; polished translations of the lyrics; recording of the selected songs; report on the historical background behind the songs and their composers and lyricists.