Morikami provides informative and unique experiences for all ages through its Special Programs. Here you will find educational and cultural programming related to our current exhibitions and all things Japan—lectures, films, performances, special events, and more!
All programs are open for registration on August 1st of each year for the upcoming season. Each season runs from October through the summer of the next year.
Explore each special programs page or browse the full list.
Calligraphy (Shodo) Performance Dance (Butoh) Performance Films Morikami Book Club Mori Stories Music (Koto) Performance Obon Weekend Orchid Weekend Speaker Series Sunset Stroll Stroll for Well-Being Youth Music Camp
Educational Programming
NEW Season Starts Today
All programs open for Registration and Ticket purchase(s).
The season runs from October of the present year through the summer of the following year. The season is available for registration and ticket purchases on August 1st every year.
Craft activities for kids of all ages.
Virtual Family Fun Days
Virtual craft activities for kids of all ages.
12:00AM, Monday, October 2, 2023
Virtual
12:00AM, Saturday, February 3, 2024
Virtual
Setsubun Oni Masks
12:00AM, Saturday, April 13, 2024
Virtual
Shiro no Hi: Castle Day
12:00AM, Sunday, May 12, 2024
Virtual
Kirigami Mother’s Day Card
12:00AM, Saturday, August 31, 2024
Virtual
Tofu Day
Experience the Garden Early
Member Morning Walks
Open to all Morikami Members
We are excited to announce the start of a unique program - Member Morning Walks. This is an exclusive opportunity for our valued members to experience the gardens in the calm of morning, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. Starting June 7th, every Wednesday, you can escape into the serene beauty of our …
9:00AM, Wednesday, October 4, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Morikami Gardens
9:00AM, Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Morikami Gardens
GAMBATTE! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit, Triumphing over Adversity: Japanese American Incarceration Reflections, Then and Now
Speaker Series: GAMBATTE! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit
Lecture by photographer Paul Kitagaki, Jr.
Explore the lasting impacts of Japanese American incarceration through the lens of renowned photographer, Paul Kitagaki, Jr
2:00PM, Saturday, October 7, 2023
Morikami Theater
Tickets are first come, first served on the day of the event.
Morikami Book Club
Open to all Morikami Members
Embark on a thrilling literary journey with Benefactor member Christine Carton and fellow Morikami members as they kick off a brand new season of riveting book explorations! To join the Morikami Book Club, please reach out to Christine Carton at christinec@gate.net. Morikami Book Club 2023-2024 Selection October 11 - Dead-end Memories Stories: By Banana Yoshimoto A collection of 5 …
12:00PM, Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
12:00PM, Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
Take a cinematic journey through Japan with the Morikami Film Series
Film: After the Storm
Underwritten by Linda and Michael Sonnenreich
Dwelling on his past glory as a prize-winning author, Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) wastes the money he makes as a private detective on gambling and can barely pay child support. After the death of his father, his aging mother (Kirin Kiki) and beautiful ex-wife (Yoko Make) seem to be moving on with their lives. Renewing contact with his initially distrusting family, Ryota struggles to take back control of his existence and to find a lasting place in the life of his young son (Taiyo Yoshizawa) - until a stormy summer night offers them a chance to truly bond again.
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Yokai Masks
Kowai (scary)! Make your own spooky mask for Halloween based on spirits and creatures from Japanese folklore!
10:00AM, Saturday, October 28, 2023
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Take a cinematic journey through Japan with the Morikami Film Series.
Film: Summer Days with Coo
Sponsored by The Rubens Family Foundation
One day, Koichi Uehara, a fourth-grader living in the suburbs of Tokyo, picks up a fossil that looks like a large stone while on his way home from school. To his surprise, he has picked up a baby Kappa (a Japanese mythical water creature), who has been asleep underground for the past 300 years. Koichi names this baby creature “Coo” and brings him to live with his family, and soon the two are inseparable friends.
Sponsored by JM Family Enterprises
Butoh: Japanese Avant-garde Dance
Talk and dance demonstration by Pinar Sinka
Butoh, a type of Japanese dance theater came on the scene in 1959 and over the decades has grown beyond Japan and onto the international scene. Join us for an enlightening experience that explores the depths of Butoh’s essence. Learn about the history, philosophy, fundamental elements and aesthetic ideals of Japanese Avant-garde dance theatre Butoh and Post Butoh, followed by a demonstration by speaker Pinar Sinka.
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Sampuru Cornucopia
Sampuru are fake samples of food displayed in restaurants all around Japan showcasing what it looks like before you try out the meal for yourself! Come learn to make your own sampuru of some seasonal foods!
12:00PM, Saturday, November 18, 2023
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Take a cinematic journey through Japan with the Morikami Film Series.
Film: Patema Inverted
Sponsored by the The Rubens Family Foundation
From visionary director Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Time of Eve) comes a perspective-twisting sci-fi adventure about two kids separated by opposite gravities. Patema lives in an underground world of tunnels, the long-abandoned ruins of a giant industrial complex. Though she is a princess, she is held back by the rules imposed by the elders of her clan. One day when she is exploring in a forbidden zone, she is startled by a strange bat-like creature and tumbles headlong into a void – and out into the wide open world above the surface, a place with reversed physics, where if she let go she would “fall up” into the sky and be lost forever.
11:00AM, Monday, December 11, 2023
Morikami Theater
(FREE for members for Membership Appreciation Weekend, limited tickets available)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Nengajō: New Year’s Cards
Join us throughout the holiday season to create a nengajō, a Japanese New Year’s card, to share with friends and family.
10:00AM, Saturday, December 16, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Sunday, December 17, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Monday, December 18, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Thursday, December 21, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Friday, December 22, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Saturday, December 23, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Sunday, December 24, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Lobby
10:00AM, Thursday, December 28, 2023
Lobby
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Shimekazari
Come celebrate the end of the year by weaving your own shimekazari, a Japanese New Year’s wreath.
12:00PM, Saturday, December 16, 2023
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Omamori Charms
Start the new year lucky by making your own origami omamori, Japanese good luck charms!
12:00PM, Saturday, January 6, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Koto New Year Music Performance
Please note our theater tends to be cold. You may want a sweater or jacket with you.
Sponsored by JM Family Enterprises
The Dance of the Brush
Performance by Kihachiro Nishiura with music accompaniment by Fushu Daiko
Enjoy an evening of music and artistry with Japanese calligraphy master Kihachiro Nishiura. Watch art come to life with each brush stroke by Nishiura as he creates large scale works of art. Each stroke of the brush is purposeful but expressive as it dances across the surface of the paper alongside enchanting music by Fushu Daiko’s musical ensemble. At the end of the performance will be a silent auction fundraiser with the created pieces.
Sponsored by JM Family Enterprises
Shodo: The Way of Calligraphy
Talk by Kihachiro Nishiura
What is Japanese calligraphy? Be introduced to the art and history of Japanese calligraphy with master calligrapher Kihachiro Nishiura. Observe the intricate brush strokes as he demonstrates the artistry alongside his talk.
Take a cinematic journey through Japan with the Morikami Film Series
Film: I wish
Underwritten by Linda and Michael Sonnenreich
A 12-year-old Japanese boy and his younger brother hope to reunite their divorced parents by taking advantage of an urban legend that says that two people can make a wish by watching two bullet trains pass each other.
Orchid Weekend
Saturday, February 3 & Sunday, February 4, 2024 Time: 1o:00 am - 5:00 pm Cost: FREE with your paid museum admission Enjoy a weekend stroll in the Morikami gardens while having the rare opportunity to learn about orchids! You could even purchase one to take home with you from our various vendors featured all weekend long. FEATURING VENDORS FROM ACROSS THE …
10:00AM, Saturday, February 3, 2024
Morikami Gardens
10:00AM, Sunday, February 4, 2024
Morikami Gardens
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Plum Blossom Haiku
Plum blossoms are the seasonal flower blooming in Japan in February. Create a scroll with beautiful plum blossoms or other blooms and write your own haiku to give it to someone special!
12:00PM, Sunday, February 4, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Hinamatsuri Dolls
Come celebrate Hinamatsuri, the Japanese Doll Festival, by creating your own Hinamatsuri doll!
12:00PM, Sunday, March 3, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Sakura Bonsai
Cherry blossom season in Japan is here, but only lasts a few weeks! Craft your own cherry blossom bonsai that’ll last forever!
12:00PM, Saturday, April 6, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities
Musha Ningyō: Avatars of the Samurai Spirit
Talk by Alan Scott Pate
Japan is famous for the legacy of its samurai warriors, immortalized in art, film, and literature. In Japan, this particular world was also embodied in an extravagant doll culture, with elaborate forms created over the centuries commemorating historical warriors as well as the spirit of the samurai.
1:00PM, Friday, April 26, 2024
Morikami Theater
(Tickets available the day of the event at a first come, first served basis. Limited seating available.)
Sponsored by the JM Family Enterprises
Who are you? The Stories Behind the Hapa Project
Talk by Kip Fulbeck
Learn more about our latest exhibition Hapa.me, with the artist and curator, Kip Fulbeck. Fulbeck has photographed thousands of people, inviting them to define themselves in their own words and with their own handwriting. In this energetic and entertaining artist talk, Fulbeck shares some of his behind-the-scenes experiences working with these individuals -- showing some never before seen images and extrapolating how these stories reflect our contemporary world.
1:00PM, Friday, May 3, 2024
Morikami Theater
(Tickets available the day of the event at a first come, first served basis. Limited seating available.)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Children’s Day
Come join us to celebrate the Japanese holiday of Children’s Day by making a pinwheel, playing Japanese games, or making a Japanese flying carp called koinobori!
10:00AM, Sunday, May 5, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Take a cinematic journey through Japan with the Morikami Film Series
Film: Weathering With You
Sponsored by the The Rubens Family Foundation
Weathering With You is by director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name. The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…
Sponsored by JM Family Enterprises
Documentary Film: Hafu: The Mixed Race Experience
Discussion led by Director Megumi Nishikura and Moderator Dr. Mitzi Carter
"HAFU" is a documentary that explores the complex experiences of mixed-race Japanese individuals in modern-day Japan. The film follows the lives of five "hafus," or people who have one Japanese parent and one non-Japanese parent, as they navigate their multicultural identities in a country that proudly proclaims to be mono-ethnic. For some hafus, Japan is the only home they know, while for others, living in Japan is an entirely new experience. Still others find themselves caught between two different worlds.
Guest Artist Workshops
Youth Summer Music & Culture Camp
(Grade 3rd – 12th)
Campers will be immersed in Japanese culture participating in fun craft activities, Japanese cultural arts, and exciting music classes which include the 13-string koto (zither) and taiko drums, taught by professional musicians, Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, Koto instructor and members from the Fushu Daiko Taiko group. All materials and Instruments that campers need are provided for their use at camp.
9:00AM, Monday, June 24, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Festival Fans
Summer is here, the time to go to festivals while keeping cool! Make a festive fan of your own for Independence Day.
12:00PM, Saturday, June 29, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Tanabata
Make a wish for the Star Festival, Tanabata! Write your wish on a strip of colored paper, or tanzaku, and tie it to a branch of our Tanabata bamboo to celebrate.
10:00AM, Sunday, June 30, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
10:00AM, Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
10:00AM, Thursday, July 4, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
10:00AM, Friday, July 5, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
10:00AM, Saturday, July 6, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Mini Folding Screen
Make your own miniature Japanese paper folding screen to decorate your desk!
12:00PM, Saturday, July 20, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Educational Programming
Registration Opens for the NEW Season Today
All programs open for Registration and Ticket purchase(s).
The season runs from October of the present year through the summer of the following year. The season is available for registration and ticket purchases on August 1st every year.
10:00AM, Thursday, August 1, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
10:00AM, Friday, August 1, 2025
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Cicada Noisemaker
Cicadas, or semi in Japanese, are famous for their chorus of buzzing in the summer. Imitate their buzzing by making your own noisemaker!
12:00PM, Saturday, August 17, 2024
Kamiya Room (Classroom A)
Craft activity for kids of all ages
Family Fun Day: Shuubun no Hi Flowers
Celebrate Shuubun no Hi, the Autumn Equinox, with the flowers of the season in a tissue paper craft.
12:00PM, Sunday, September 22, 2024
Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens