Japanese House

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History Timeline

Explore key moments in the history of teaching and learning about Japan at Boston Children’s Museum and about the installation of the Kyo no Machiya inside the Museum.

1913-1950

1951-1975

1976-1983

1984-1992

1993-2015

308 Congress Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 426-6500

©2015-2021 The Boston Children’s Museum

Using the artifact study model of the Museum’s Native American exhibit, adding on a small reading/resource room and a workshop/meeting room, the Japanese Comprehensive Program Area expands the House exhibit into a whole Japanese environment where visitors can look, learn, participate, and do in-depth study of the country.

Moss, which is traditional in Japanese gardens, needs fresh air and water. After more research and consultation with Japanese experts, the garden is redesigned to reflect the traditions of small Kyoto house gardens, where there often is little sunlight, as well as to meet the demands of an interior space.

In addition to celebrating several Japanese festivals in The Japanese House and providing many school programs, an introductory exhibit is created to display the carpenters’ tools and photos of the carpenters rebuilding the House, as well as a model to show how the House was constructed.

In order to personalize the House, BCM staff created a fictional story of Toshi, a boy who lives in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, whose grandfather tells him the story of how The Japanese House came to Boston. Childhood in Japan is shown through examples of Japanese lunch boxes, baseball gloves, and other artifacts.

See more photos of the dedication ceremonies…

The Japanese House is built using traditional Japanese joinery construction. There are no screws or nails used in the framing; the ends of the pieces of wood are chiseled and cut so that they fit together tightly and strongly. The House is built in layers, each grid fitting next to or on top of the previous one, sharing the weight and the stress. There is evidence of the hand of the carpenters in several places, such as the pine pillar separating the alcove and shrine, where a carpenter deliberately chipped the wood to vary its appearance. Several different types of wood are used in the House, which is also characteristic of Japanese buildings. The only nontraditional Japanese work done on the House was by American plumbers, who came to install sprinklers so that the Museum would be in compliance with the building code.

Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion, which is still practiced today. It is a set of practices that connects Japan to its ancient roots and to nature. Many Shinto traditions, such as festivals and shrine visits, are a part of Japanese culture, and are observed even by people of other religions, or those with no religion. Therefore, when The Japanese House came to Boston, Shinto played an important role. A total of five Shinto ceremonies were held for the House, to ensure that it will always keep the essence of Japan.

Japanese houses are made from specific woods that are easily available in Japan. Upon inspection of The Japanese House, the carpenters found much rotten wood that needed to be replaced with specific Japanese wood. The Japanese House at BCM is a combination of old and new woods.

Machiya is a style of residential and commercial townhouse. A Kyo no Machiya is a unique form of machiya found only in Kyoto. In the Nishijin area, the silk-weaving district of Kyoto, the front part of the house is used for weaving or selling silk. The back part of the house is where the family lives. Machiya means “townhouse,” but they aren’t exactly similar to what Americans call a townhouse. Machiya always have a shop or some sort of commercial business in the front room. Machiya have a history of being adapted for new uses as new enterprises are undertaken by the residents, so it is entirely fitting that one was adapted for its new use as an educational exhibit in Boston Children’s Museum.

The Japanese visitors view the small Japanese tea house and note that the tatami are arranged incorrectly. Upon hearing of the staff’s plan to broaden the Japan program, the Mayor offers to donate a full-scale Japanese house to the Museum. The next day he and his delegation visit the newly chosen wharf location for Boston Children’s Museum’s new home, and plans percolate around how to represent Kyoto in Boston permanently.