Folklore Family Day: Celebrating Children's Day through Mukashi Banashi

Community Event

In Person

Japan Society

333 East 47th Street New York, United States of America

Date: May 3, 2015

Time: 11 a.m.

An all-day adventure at Japan Society! Join us from 11 AM – 4 PM.

Step into the folktales of Peach Boy, Urashima Taro, Princess Kaguya and more in a spectacular event that transforms Japan Society into the set of Japan’s most well-known fables. Playful performances, fantastical films, and real-life characters greet children in this all-day adventure.

Tickets: Adults $15/$12 Japan Society individual & corporate members; kids (ages 3-12) $8/$6 Japan Society members; Free for kids 2 and under

Unlock your imagination with these hands-on activities:
Playful Performances
The wild and colorful troupe Theatre Banana presents the story of Momotaro (Peach Boy) through interactive song and dance that the whole family can enjoy. Five performances take place throughout the day occurring every hour.

Captivating Kamishibai Storytelling
Children dive into the depths of the sea with Urashima Taro and soar to the moon with Princess Kaguya as they explore the fantastical worlds of these and other folktales through traditional kamishibai storytelling led by NY Children Cultural Association. Stories will be read in English and Japanese. Five performances take place throughout the day occurring every hour.

Art Cart: Kitty Cat Crafts
Create your very own cat ears and other crafts to wear while you roam through the exhibition, Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection!

Crafty Carp Streamers
Children make their own colorful koinobori carp streamers. This traditional Children's Day decoration expresses hope that children will grow up healthy and strong like a carp, a symbol of strength, courage, and success. Suitable for ages 3 and up with an accompanying adult.

Curious Calligraphy
Children discover the art of shodo (Japanese calligraphy) in an enchanting folklore setting. Using brush and charcoal ink on paper, participants learn how to write simple kanji characters for words related to the featured stories, such as peach, bamboo, flower, friend, monkey, and moon. Sessions take place every 30 minutes. Suitable for children of all ages.

Unlimited access to Life of Cats
Japan Society's wildly popular exhibition Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection offers a wealth of artwork and stories from Edo period Japan, ranging from woodblock prints of the mischievous bakeneko ghost kitten to statues of the benevolent, beckoning Maneki Neko. Children make cat ears and other kitty cat crafts to wear while prowling through the exhibition. In addition to unlimited access to Life of Cats, kids can take home their own copies of cat-themed omocha-e (toy picture cards) based on the artwork in the show.

Peach Boy Sword Fighting Workshop
Parents and kids alike can train for a simulated battle from the story Peach Boy in a hands-on workshop led by Samurai Sword Soul. With sessions offered throughout the day, participants watch a dramatic performance in which Momotaro frees an innocent victim from marauding oni, and then receive instruction on how to fight safely with choreographed steps and foam swords. During the course of the session, participants learn the seven samurai virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor and loyalty.

Art Cart: Time After Time Capsule
Children are invited to bring a small nonperishable object to decorate and add to artist Sebastian Masuda's nine-foot translucent sculpture of Hello Kitty, installed in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza from April 29 through September 13. Once the sculpture is filled from this event and other community events around New York City, it will head to Tokyo to be reunited with other such sculptures from cities around the world at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Fantastical Films
The Stories of Princess Kaguya and One-inch Boy come to life on the big screen through Katsuo Takahashi’s remarkable puppet animation films The Tiny Boy(1967, 14 min, English subtitles) and The Princess of the Moon (1972, 18 min., in English). Perhaps best known for his whimsical puppet animation of fairytales and folklore, Takahashi was a pioneer in the field of animation in the 60s, though very little of his work has been screened or written about outside of Japan. The two films will be screened together three times throughout the day.

Feline fun with ASPCA Adopt-a-Cat Van
In honor of the Life of Cats exhibition, and to give back to the kitty community, Japan Society partners with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) during Folklore Family Day to give kids a chance to pet and play with cats and learn about adoption. Additionally five percent of all sales of the Life of Cats catalogue will be donated to the ASPCA.

And more!

Healthy Japanese light meals, snacks and festival-related refreshments available for purchase by .