Friends from Kyoto

友達Join Mei on a visit to her
tomodachi’s (friends’) homeand learn about how theylive.

THE JAPANESE HOUSE
ACTIVITIESTIME:40 minutes
MATERIALS:• Video: Many Homes inKyoto, Japan

1. Learn about Daily Life of Kids in Kyoto
The Japanese House in Boston Children’s Museum was originally built
around 1890 near Nishijin, a famous silk district of Kyoto. It was transported as a gift to Boston in 1979 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of
their sister-city relationship. The style of the house is called Kyo noMachiya, which National Geographic included in its June 2012 article,“Now or Never? 9 Places to See Before They Slip Away.”
Many kids in Kyoto and other parts of Japan live in modern housing, butsome still live in traditional homes like the Kyo no Machiya. The video,“Many Homes in Kyoto, Japan” presents the diversity within homes andfamilial environments from the kids’ perspectives. It introduces the social
aspects and changes in an urban environment as well as their daily lifein this city.

1

PRONUNCIATIONGUIDE:
Kyoto: Kyoh-toe
Tomodachi: Toe-moe-dahchee
Nishijin: Nee-she-gee-n
Kyo no Machiya:
Kyoh no mah-chee-yah© 2013 Boston Children’s Museum

2. Meet New Friends

THE JAPANESE HOUSE
ACTIVITIESBefore you start—Talk about your own town and home—How old is it? How is it
the same or different from your own friends’ houses and town?
1. Pretend you are visiting Kyoto, Japan. You will meet many tomodachi—
friends—there.
2. Watch the video, “Many Homes in Kyoto, Japan.”
3. Talk about the video and the friends that you’ve met. What parts of yournew friends’ lives are similar to yours? What parts are the same or different
from your home or town?

Useful tips:• Be aware of bias words when talking about othercultures: for example, referring to a custom as “different” from your own is a direct observation, but using
words such as “weird,” “strange,” or “odd” to describe thecustom carries negative connotations.
• Be aware of diversity within one culture: when talking
about a culture, it is important not to generalize orassume they are all the same. The stories in the video
are real stories of real people, but they are only someexamples of life, people, and customs in Kyoto.

2© 2013 Boston Children’s Museum

3. Things to Talk about• Which homes and friends would you like to visit if you were to take a trip toJapan for real?
• The Nishijin district in Kyoto where our friends in the video live is famousfor silk and textile industry. What is your hometown famous for?
• Imagine you are making a video about your hometown and your daily life
for kids in Japan. What would you like to show and tell them?

3© 2013 Boston Children’s MuseumTHE JAPANESE HOUSE
ACTIVITIES

Meet the CastRan• She lives in a machiya.
• She enjoys calligraphy.

• Her grandpa owns a silk business and makes obi(kimono belt)• Her home has a traditional kotatsu, Shinto shrines, and a
Buddhist altar.
• She sleeps on a futon.

Shiori• Her family tore down an old machiya and built a newhome.
• She lives with her parents, sister, and grandparents.
• Her grandfather owns a konbini (convenience store) infront of her home.
• She loves Disney and High School Musical.
• She likes to cook and eat hamburgers with rice.

Yoshiteru• His family owns a wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets)
shop.
• His home is very modern with a hi-tech toilet.
• He likes history and wants to travel around the world.

4© 2013 Boston Children’s MuseumTHE JAPANESE HOUSE
ACTIVITIES

Meet the CastSouhei• He lives in a modern house with his parents.
• He loves baseball, pokemon, and collecting fossil rocks.
• His grandparents’ home uses a hibachi stove.

Yukiko• She lives in a condominium with her parents.
• She likes to read manga (Japanese comic books) and eat
many kind of okashi (Japanese snacks).
• After school, she does ballet, plays the piano, andstudies English.

Other cast members:
Furutake-san• Machiya conservationist
Nakajima-san• Silk dyer
• Many generations of her family have been in the silk business.
Yoshioka-san• Silk weaver• She uses an oriki (a loom).
Arisa Furimoto• Arisa’s House Museum• Turned her grandmother’s machiya into a museum—community center.

5© 2013 Boston Children’s Museum