Teaching Resources

New Year, or Oshogatsu, is the most important holiday of the year in Japan. In the run-up to the day, people spend time cleaning their homes, putting up decorations, and writing cards to friends and family. This is a story about a little girl celebrating the New Year in Japan with her family at the same time as dealing with the loss of her beloved pet hamster, Ham.

This page provides some background information and materials to support schools outlines taking part in the activities for the Arts & Culture for Peace Initiative.

In this lesson, students will learn about the two main religions in Japan, Shinto and Buddhism. They will find out about both shrines (Shinto) and temples (Buddhist), some of their features, the customs associated with them, and the part they play in everyday life.

A kamishibai story about how a young boy and a child koi flag are brought together by chance on Children's Day and learn that families come in all shapes and sizes.   

A collection of origami and craft activities

Japan has many festivals and seasonal celebrations throughout the year. See our list of lesson links for each celebrations. There is also our complete collection of activity packs!

The Spider’s thread is a well-known story in Japan. It is a moral fable inspired by Buddhist beliefs about good, evil and redemption, written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and published in 1918. This kamishibai is suitable for KS3 and above. 

This standalone lesson brings Japanese culture into the maths classroom, allowing students to learn about the history and significance of three Japanese patterns as they explore the properties of shapes. 

This lesson introduces Japan, Japanese culture, and the Tokyo Olympic games to KS2 students. It includes many fun facts and a short quiz at the end.

In the final lesson, students will learn about the different materials and techniques which have been used to design buildings in Japan, allowing them to withstand earthquakes.