2011 University of Tokyo Japanese Language / Question 1 / Answer Explanation

[University of Tokyo / 2011 / Japanese Language / Question 1 / Answer Explanation]

<Understanding the Text>
The source is Toshio Kuwako's 'Environmental Philosophy in the Landscape'.
Focus on the 'form' aspect while minimizing supplements to the 'content' aspect to grasp the overview of the text.
Paragraphs ①-④ (Semantic Paragraph I), regarding the experience of rivers. Humans essentially accumulate spatial experience by being bodily existences. The experience of a river is an experience of the mode of flowing water, and at the same time, it is a 'landscape experience within bodily movement' (underlined part A). Following this, the 'experience of a river' is explained repeatedly as follows: 'diverse experiences of the landscape that appear to the body moving through it,' 'while walking on the sidewalk, one experiences the river... experiences the landscape of the city that serves as the background... and becomes conscious of the experience of the self walking there,' 'the experience of a river is the self's bodily consciousness in the river space,' 'landscape is... the expression of space that appears to the body,' 'the meaning of the landscape differs for each person,' 'the perception of the landscape... gives diverse experiences,' and so on.
Paragraphs ⑤-⑧ (Semantic Paragraph II), contrast between bodily space and conceptual space. The reorganization of space by fixed concepts excludes possibilities other than the actions they indicate. 'This exclusion is... It can be grasped as a situation where what should essentially be bodily space is replaced by conceptual space' (underlined part B).
The river is a landscape of the present that connects an unknown past and an unknown future. What is sought in the river space is a creative space where new experiences and ideas can emerge (= bodily space).
Paragraphs ⑨-⑩ (Semantic Paragraph III), spontaneity of river space. The completion of river construction becomes the starting point for the river space to grow. 'It is similar to a garden' (underlined part C). This is because planting trees is the starting point for cultivation. A river can possess individuality over a long period of time through the power of nature and human assistance.
Paragraphs ⑪-⑬ (Semantic Paragraph IV), temporality of river space. 'The river space accumulates history as time passes' (underlined part D). That history gives meaning to the space. On the other hand, assigning meaning through conceptual control hinders people who encounter the landscape from accumulating their own unique history through free imagination.
The river space, which makes one conscious of time, contains the accumulation of many people's experiences and the workings of nature, and also becomes a foundation for the person who encounters it to build their own unique history.
The landscape is constructed by the intersection of that person's accumulation of experience, their history, and the history accumulated in the space. 'The landscape is indeed the place where the self and the world, and the self and others meet' (underlined part E).

<Question Explanation>
Question (1) Explain what 'landscape experience within bodily movement' (underlined part A) means. (Approx. 60 characters)

Content explanation question. Start from what is close. It states, 'The experience of a river is an experience of flowing water and various modes of water (→ fixed viewpoint/external experience). At the same time, it is a "landscape experience within bodily movement" (→ change of viewpoint/internal experience).' From this, it can be understood that the subject of underlined part A is 'the experience of a river,' and it represents the 'internal experience accompanying bodily movement' (see also the first sentence of paragraph ④) within that experience.
Extract mentions of 'the experience of a river' from the same semantic paragraph I. Please refer to <Understanding the Text> for this. The general outline is 'taking into consciousness through perception the changes in the river and its background landscape accompanying bodily movement, and finding meaning for each person' (change of viewpoint due to bodily movement → change of landscape → change of internal consciousness). The point that makes a difference is that the conclusion of the answer must explain it as an internal experience, such as 'taking it into consciousness and expanding the world of meaning.'

<GV Answer Example>
By walking along the river, taking into consciousness through perception the way the river and its background landscape expand and change, and expanding one's own world of meaning. (65 characters)

<Reference S-dai Answer Example>
By walking along the flow of the river, people bodily perceive the diversity of the changing landscape as an experience of their own consciousness that changes along with it. (59 characters)

<Reference K-juku Answer Example>
When moving along a river, individuals accept the river and its surrounding scenery, which change while showing various expressions, through their own bodily sensations. (63 characters)

Question (2) Explain what 'a situation where what should essentially be bodily space is replaced by conceptual space' (underlined part B) means. (Approx. 60 characters)

Content explanation question. Note that the line is drawn not just to 'is replaced' but to 'a situation where it is replaced.' If it were the former, one could only say 'space A is replaced by space B,' but the latter can have 'implications.'
The 'situation' corresponds to 'it,' the subject of the sentence containing the underlined part, and its referent is 'this exclusion,' the subject of the previous sentence. 'This exclusion' is 'the exclusion of possibilities other than the actions indicated by fixed concepts.' If so, the 'situation' in the underlined part is that 'the possibility of action (a) that was guaranteed in bodily space' is 'excluded (c)' by 'fixed concepts (b).'
For element (a), extract 'possibility of diverse experiences (a2) inspired by the unknown nature (a1)' from paragraphs ⑦ and ⑧, and add the point that it is mediated by the body. For element (b), in contrast to element (a), use 'concepts set in advance (b1) based on a certain rationality (b2)' from the specific example in paragraph ⑤. Through that concept, 'the possibility of individual experience is uniquely limited (c).'

<GV Answer Example>
The possibility of experiences that expand by being inspired by unknown nature through the medium of individual bodies is uniquely limited by concepts set in advance based on a certain rationality. (65 characters)

<Reference S-dai Answer Example>
The unknown nature that humans should encounter through their bodies is artificially managed by fixed concepts, becoming a poor space. (55 characters)

<Reference K-juku Answer Example>
The rich river space that should bring new experiences to individual human bodies becomes a poor space that controls human behavior due to the fixed ideas of some people. (64 characters)

Question (3) It says 'It is similar to a garden' (underlined part C); explain why this can be said. (Approx. 60 characters)

Reason explanation question. The reason why 'it' = river space (P) and garden (Q) are similar. This is a question asking for an analogy between P and Q; Question (3) of Question 1 in 2012 was a similar question. This question also does not use the <separate type> 'P is (p1, p2...) and Q is (q1, q2...)' but rather the <lumped type> 'P and Q are the same in that A' to indicate it concisely.
First, since it says 'completion is the starting point for the river space to grow (P)' and 'planting is... the starting point for cultivation (Q)' before and after the underlined part, it is easy to extract 'human setting becomes the starting point and it grows (P∩Q).' However, regarding 'how it grows,' it only touches on the P side. In that case, how far the description of P and Q overlaps must rely on the 'self-evidence' regarding Q (garden) (so it is difficult if you cannot imagine it).
Regarding P, from paragraph ⑩, one can pick up 'takes time / by the power of nature / with the help of humans / realizes individuality.' This is likely the same for Q (garden) (self-evident). In the answer, I focused on the point 'by the power of nature itself,' being conscious of the contrast with 'conceptual space.'

<GV Answer Example>
River space is similar to a garden in that, starting with the setting of the space by humans, nature itself realizes its individuality over time in interaction with humans. (65 characters)

<Reference S-dai Answer Example>
Like a garden, river space only becomes a rich landscape for the first time through the power of nature over a long time and human assistance, with its completion as the starting point. (56 characters)

<Reference K-juku Answer Example>
Both rivers and gardens are based on artificial maintenance, after which the power of nature cultivates individuality over a long period of time, and humans only assist in that. (67 characters)

Question (4) It says 'The river space accumulates history as time passes' (underlined part D); explain what this means. (Approx. 60 characters)

Content explanation question. Explain that river space 'accumulates history' over time. Considering the 'division of roles' with Question (5) in the same semantic paragraph, (4) limits the description to 'people (and the workings of nature) add history to the space' (people → space), and (5) constructs the description centering on 'space adds history to people' (space → people) (of course, since (5) is a summary question, 'people → space' is also added as a premise). Also, since it says 'the history of the space accumulated in this way' at the end of paragraph ⑫, paragraphs ⑪ to ⑫, where underlined part D is drawn, basically become the answer range.
Based on the above, the paraphrase of the underlined part itself can be something like 'river space transforms while including the experiences of the people who encounter it and the workings of nature.' However, this is insufficient. This is because, as stated in the last sentence of paragraph ⑪, when encountering conceptual space, the landscape 'hinders the person who encounters it from accumulating their own unique history.' Therefore, the answer clearly indicated that it is not 'conceptual space.'
In addition, from paragraph ⑫, I also incorporated the description that river space 'exists as a space that makes one conscious of time.' In other words, the flow of water in the river space symbolizes and gives form to the 'flow of time.'

<GV Answer Example>
River space, which symbolizes the flow of time, transforms while including the experiences of the people who encounter it and the workings of nature, as long as it is not dominated by fixed concepts. (65 characters)

<Reference: S-dai Answer Example>
Rivers become landscapes with unique meanings that can provide people with inherent experiences through the long accumulation of nature and human activity. (55 characters)

<Reference: K-juku Answer Example>
As rivers are transformed by the power of nature and human intervention, the unique character of each river, which enables diverse human experiences, is formed. (59 characters)

Question (5): Explain what is meant by "The landscape is the very place where the self meets the world, and the self meets the other" (underlined part E), based on the overall argument of the text, in 100 to 120 characters.

A "content explanation" summary question. In the case of the University of Tokyo, the underline is basically drawn at the conclusion of the text, so including "reason explanation" types, create an answer by adding elements that connect to the underlined part based on the argument leading up to the conclusion. The basic procedure is:

1. Paraphrase the underlined part simply. (Foundation for the answer)
2. Select the necessary arguments that connect to the "foundation" and determine the structure. (Outline)
3. Pick necessary small elements from the full text and concretize the outline. (Detail)

This is how it goes.
1. The underlined part says "The landscape is... a place where...", but if you end a long sentence with a noun, the sentence becomes stiff and it becomes difficult to include necessary information. Therefore, in some cases, it is better to rearrange the structure and express the same content.
"In the landscape, the self meets the world and meets the other" (provisional).
Here, let's interpret "landscape" as "river space," "world" as "the totality of the history of the river space," and "other" as "the unique history contained within the history of the river space."
2. First, from paragraph 13, where the underline is. "The intersection of that person's history and the history of the space accumulated in the space is what constructs the landscape" overlaps with the underlined part. As examined in Question (4), among the intersections of people and the history of space, the focus in paragraph 13 is on the "space -> person" aspect, based on the concrete examples immediately preceding it. If so, how do we connect it to the "person -> space" argument from the previous paragraphs? At this point, we can focus on the final sentence of paragraph 12.
"The history of the space accumulated in this way becomes the foundation for each person who lives in that space and visits it to construct their own unique history."
In other words, "person -> space" becomes the "foundation (condition)" for "space -> person." Based on these, we decide on the following structure.
"If the river space is not dominated by concepts (a) and accepts people's histories (b), then people can meet the landscape as a totality of history (c) and discover the unique other contained in that history (d)" (provisional).
3. Use the considerations for each meaning paragraph/question. The ab elements are almost sufficient if you reuse the answer from (4), but let's add to the 'a' element the idea discussed in (2) that "concepts determine space usage uniquely," and to the 'b' element the idea discussed in (3) that "nature realizes its own individuality while cooperating with humans."
For the 'c' element, add the "perception of a changing landscape through the mediation of the body" from the consideration in (1), and for the 'd' element, add the element from paragraph 8 that "new experiences and ideas are born (creativity is inspired)" through the perception of the landscape and otherness, and conclude the answer.

<GV Answer Example>
If the river space is not dominated by concepts that uniquely determine its state, but is something that is generated while accepting people's imaginations, then people can perceive the diversity of the changing landscape through their own bodies, and be inspired by the unique otherness accumulated there to enhance their own creativity. (120 characters)

<Reference: S-dai Answer Example>
Landscape is not something that should be managed by limited concepts, but a creative place where new experiences and ideas are born through involvement with others, by each individual sharing the intersection of the accumulation of nature and human activity and their own unique experience through their own body. (118 characters)

<Reference: K-juku Answer Example>
What should be emphasized when designing river space is the landscape. It is something that is established by grasping individual rivers that have changed through people's experiences and the workings of nature in accordance with unique bodily experiences, and it is only within that that people have unexpected and diverse experiences. (118 characters)

Question (6)
a. Leap b. Fragment c. Suppression d. Inhibition

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