Festivals and Japan Resources for the Summer Term!
Celebrate Kodomo no Hi (Children's Day) and other summer festivals this term! Bring the literature, geography, sports, and arts and culture of Japan into your classroom this summer term with our most popular teaching and learning materials.
Whether you're planning a full unit, a one-off lesson, a sports event, or an extracurricular cultural activity, our resources are here to help! Check out our suggested resources and ideas below!
Festivals | Teach about Japan | Hold a Japan Day / Cultural Workshop
Children's Day and Summer Festivals
Celebrated every year on 5 May in Japan, Children’s Day (kodomo no hi) is a festival dedicated to wishing for the health and happiness of children. Around this time, you may find many koi carp flags flying all over the country or children running around wearing origami kabuto helmets! There are many festivals and celebration in Japan during spring and summer. Below you will find resources and activities for festivals and celebrations from May until August.
Click on each image above for the individual lesson materials.
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Teach a Lesson or lead an activity related to Japan!
The Japan Society has a range of free online resources to engage and inspire students and support teaching about Japan. Below are our featured resources for this term!
Click on each image above for the individual lesson materials.
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Hold a Japan Day or Japanese Cultural Workshop!
Holding a Japan Day or Cultural workshop at your school can be simple. Our Japan Day Organiser Pack is designed to help teachers who want to organise cultural activities in their school. It is packed with suggestions and instructions for activities or events of any duration–from hour-long sessions to a week-long event, making it easy for teachers to run the activities on their own even if cultural experts are not present. Teachers can also take advantage of our free loan resources for schools to borrow cultural artefacts and equipmennt to help bring Japan into the classroom.
- Download our Host a Japan Day Information Pack for teachers - Japan Day Organiser Information Pack (1.5MB)
- Check out our free loan resources. The Japan Activity Chest contains over 50 authentic traditional and modern Japanese artefacts and comprehensive teacher’s notes
- Find cultural expets using our Access to Experts database to help you run a cultural session – from origami to calligraphy and more!
- For other activities such as a calligraphy, teachers can facilitate the session on their own using our Calligraphy Tutorial video and lesson resources together with our free loan equipment.
Hold a Japanese Sports Event!
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Ekiden Relay RaceEkiden is a popular relay race format in Japan; its emphasis on teamwork and community building makes it ideal for schools. The UK Ekiden is taking place on Friday 11 June – see their website for more details of how to get involved. Learn more about ekiden on our Ekiden page here. UK Ekiden https://ukekiden.com |
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Undokai Japanese Sports DayThe Japanese Sports Day (undokai) is a fun-filled day with an emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, and a big event in the school calendar. Learn more on our Japanese Sports Day page here. Download the Japanese Sports Day Games Pack with instructions and illustrations for 14 typical Undokai games! |
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The Japan Society Education team offers support, guidance, and expertise for teachers and schools looking to introduce Japan into the classroom. If you can't find what you are looking for on our website, please feel free to get in touch, and a member of the Education team will be happy to help - Contact Education Team