Japanese House

.

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 reeds that grow in the tidal areas of Boston Harbor and collected by Museum staff, a builder of thatched roofs from Plimouth Plantation built a fence for the garden.

Tea Ceremony was explored…

…and there were programs on Japanese cooking…

…as well as other programs that demonstrated ways the Japanese lived that were both similar and different to Bostonians.

And, of course, there were programs for teachers as well.

During the late 1960s, the Museum was experimenting with creating immersive exhibition environments that would involve the visitor thoroughly. With good intentions, staff used the tea house as an all-purpose Japanese home for teaching about daily life, changing the name of the exhibit to The Japanese Home.

The MATCh (Materials and Activities for Teachers and Children) project began with the premise that real objects and activities were essential to expand and improve the teaching and engagement of students in a variety of subjects. The MATCh program created units of study in which everything necessary for a two- to three-week exploration of the subject was packaged together in boxes for use in classrooms.  Each box contained real objects as well as films, pictures, recordings, models, maps, and books, along with curriculum instructions and guides. 

Mayor Takayama had visited the United States in the early 1950s, and was impressed with the similarities between Boston and Tokyo, both being cultural and educational centers.  When the Sister City program was established, he approached Mayor Hynes, who invited Mayor Takayama to visit Boston.  It has been a long and fruitful sisterhood, with numerous exchanges of artists, musicians, dancers, and craftspeople, as well as student exchanges and gifts that continue to grace both cities.