Minnesota Children's Museum

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Artful Traditions

Visitors’ experiences in this area are related to people, places and things seen in a group of eight woodblock prints. Visitors are introduced to enduring Japanese traditions—including clothing, festivals, children’s games and stories. Inside this Japanese home of the Edo period (1603-1867), activities include:

Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day) and Kodomo-no-hi (Children’s Day) Tea Party
Visitors remove their shoes, step onto a traditional tatami (woven floor covering), sit on the floor on zabuton (floor pillows) at a low table and enjoy tea and traditional rice treats. Chigai-dana (staggered shelves) hold replicas of festival day foods, teapot, tea cups, plates, blows, serving trays and napkins. A lacquered box stored on the shelves, contains a Carp Puzzle activity. Nearby, a display case features a collection of dolls which would traditionally be admired at the tea party.
Traditional Try-ons
Visitors try on yukata (simple kimono-like cotton garment usually worn in summer or as an after-bath garment), kimono (Japan’s traditional garment), happi (short coats worn by males) and simple slippers.
Play Karuta
Visitors play a Japanese card game that is deeply rooted in tradition but has been updated and is still played today in Japan. Visitors race to make matches between cards bearing one half of a well-known Japanese poem or proverb and cards bearing the other half. The card game is stored in a wooden trunk of Japanese design.
Ancient Picture Scroll
Visitors will turn a picture scroll, interpreting the pictures and narrating the story they see in humorous vignettes of animals.