Look at the photographs on Women's Prehistoric Jomon pottery and compare the Jomon pottery with other Japanese pottery you find on other sites and with the other works of Japanese art that you find in your book. How do you react to the statement that the Jomon do not seem 'truly' Japanese?

Examine the haniwa figure included in the San Francisco Asian Art Museum online exhibit. Based on what you see there and on the haniwa figure included in your textbook, comment on the assertion that Japanese haniwa figures gain from the seeming lack of interest in technical matters and glazing (when compared to Chinese figures).

Read this essay on Japanese gardens by Clifton Olds, Professor of Art History, Bowdoin College. Based on what you read (and see, should you care to click on the links to individual gardens), why is it probable that the Japanese garden has its roots in Shinto beliefs?